Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC / Conditional Acceptance / PG-16]

[Skaia 578]

Tsetseg had a well of pride surge through her as she had managed to strike her mark true this time. However, she furrowed her brow as the creature continued to move around. Eventually, though, after all of their attacks struck true, the girl closed her eyes as a bright flash burst through the room. Laying flat on her back, the girl let out a low groan only to pop back up as the voice resonated through the halls of the building. The girl's eyes darted around, trying to find where it was coming from, only to have a bewildered expression on her face as she couldn't find anything. As it faded, the girl stood up, still looking from something that didn't exist. 

She then let out a yelp of surprise, seeing that there was suddenly two new people in the room, someone cautious of their sudden appearance. As the girl of the two informed them that they were the animals that had helped them, Tsetseg's expression went blank for a moment. As she processed this all, she then merely said, "oh...aww..." Her sadness was only then turned to caution as she once again remembered that there was now a weird magic user in here. Slowly backing away, as Penelope started talking to both of them, the girl then looked to see Gunther going to tend to the fire. Being frankly wracked with disappointment at the lack of any fluffy or furry animals in the building as where as uncomfortable with two Isaurians here as well, the girl simply said, "I'll go help too!" And bolted off to go aid Gunther. 

 

Alois couldn't do more but stare as the onslaught of attacks had managed to finish off the dragon, being knocked off his feet as an explosion of magical energy surged through the room. Blinking as his vision returned to him, the boy stood up, looking cautiously into the air as a voice from seemingly nowhere spoke to them. After it had congratulated them, Alois simply remarked, "alright. Disembodied voice is a new one. I'll give you that." The boy was, obviously, not a fan of whoever it was that was speaking to them. Even more so because they seemed to be familiar with the group as it was. Alois wasn't a betting man nor was he particularly paranoid, but given all of the weird things that had happened so far and given how it seemed that they had someone out to kill them, he couldn't help but think that this person was responsible for it all. And were that the case, this had been as close to directly trying to kill them as it had gotten so far. Alois couldn't help but smirk at the thought, thinking they must be doing something right if that were the case.

He couldn't dwell on this much longer though, both because it wasn't as if the voice was around for any sort of questioning or examination and there was a few other things going on in this room. Most notably, that the people of his village were actually people now and not animals. This was only made more apparent by Acantha's prickly as usual behavior, seeing that being an animal didn't do much to curb the girl's attitude. The boy didn't quite mind that, at first at least, however he couldn't help but glare towards his mayor. Being thankful was one thing, but there was something off putting to him just about how thankful he was. Or at least accommodating in this case. After all, they had torn up his castle, broke apart his clubhouse and worst of all, existed. He didn't pay him much mind however, as Penelope was already talking to him and if there was anything he plotting besides just thanking them, she'd probably figure it out. 

Instead, his attention had turned to Acantha and Cora, though more so the former then the latter. As soon as Cora enveloped her in a hug, Acantha froze like the statue that lay in pieces on the floor. After a second, she recovered with a scoff. "Ugh, you're still such a crybaby." She returned the hug with surprising gentleness, though her expression remained annoyed. "Suppose it can't be helped." After some time, however, she patted her on the back before easing out of the hug. "All right, enough! That's enough of that."

Alois hadn't paid much mind to much of the comments that the girl had given, nor had he paid much mind to the antics between the two friends. However, there was something that she had to Alois that struck a nerve with him, causing annoyance to rise through him as well as something of a hint of nostalgia. His discontent clear on his expression, the boy simply let out a, "huuuuuh?" This expression turned to a snide smile as he continuing looking at Acantha saying, “oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you must’ve been some kind of genius. Beaver’s aren’t supposed to live that long, right?”

The woman, whose expression had started to relax, twisted itself into an annoyed frown as she whipped around to glare at Alois. “The hell would I know how long beavers live for? And for your information, I wasn’t even a beaver for that long. Less than a day. Which means I didn’t live as a beaver for long, which means yes, I am a genius, or at least smarter than you!” she pointed at him imperiously, finger poking at his chest.

Matching her glare with his own, the boy said, “oh really? Then I’m sure a genius like yourself should know how to say thanks to the person who made it only last a day! So?” Looking at her with yet more snide confidence, pointing to himself as if waiting for something he said, “oh but wait. Maybe you never learned. Don’t worry, I can spell it out for you if you’d like. Oh but,” with mock pity the boy continued to smile saying, “do you even know the alphabet? Oh, I’m sorry for being so cruel and asking so much of you.”

Acantha’s face turned boiling red. “What, to you?! You didn’t do anything!” she glared to the side for a second, before muttering, “Well, not much, anyway.” Turning back to Alois, she continued, “And I do so know the alphabet! Or at least most of it! A-Anyway, why does that even matter?! Being able to spell isn’t going to save you from an attack!”

Waving the girl’s concerns off he said, “I pity that our beloved, esteemed mayor had you to rely on to figure out what the letters in his house meant then.” Putting a hand of mock reassurance on the girl’s shoulder he said, “don’t worry Acantha, reading can help you learn all kinds of things to help against attacks and figure things out. It’s alright that you’re so terribly slow to learn things, but I, the great Alois, can teach you its joys no problem.”

“I’d have figured it out eventually! Plus, all that time you spent reading books was time you could’ve spent on practicing your swings, if this last battle showed me anything.” The woman sneered. “And no thanks, I’d rather ask a slug. It’d probably be better at teaching than you anyway.”

His mock false jovial expression breaking way to annoyance, Alois said, “let me throw a stone at you and see how good all that practice does you. And good! I don’t want to teach your dumb ass anything anyway!”

“Well maybe you would’ve been able to do more if you had stayed in the village!” Acantha shouted. It was here that her expression betrayed more than her usual anger--confusion and a little bit of hurt. But they quickly gave way to annoyance once more. “And good! I didn’t want to learn anything from you anyway either!” she turned away with a harrumph.

Alois faltered for a moment, feeling a familiar bitter sting for the second time since coming home. His annoyed expression twitching the boy said, "w-well maybe you wouldn't have been an animal if you just left once in awhile! And good! I'm glad that makes two of us!" The boy's expression clearly was still annoyed, but seemed to have a different blend of annoyance mixed in, he himself not even really sure what that was the case. All the same, he turned away from the girl with a huff as well, grumbling quietly to himself. 

[Tiamat's Circus 116]

It was hard for Citron to process everything that followed, wincing as she did her best to stay limp. Between the fall, the playing dead, and her numerous bruises and gashes… It was hard for her to really focus, staring dead ahead, as flashes of magical light impacted her, followed by shouts, indescenerable shouts...She would even have sworn she smelled fire as she stayed in place, but she also would have bet that was her nose playing tricks on her. After all, her ears were, as a voice echoed through her mind. Her entire body tensed as the voice’s words filled her ears, reverberating as she slowly raised her head, trying to make sense of the voice, or at least who was talking… And then? Nothing.

It was over. The statue was gone, the animals were people again… And they were… Safe. Sure, there was… Some sort of argument going on? But it didn’t involve her… Not yet, at least. Letting out a sigh, she did her best to pick herself up off the ground, something that was immediately made more difficult by the gashes and bruising along her legs and arms, even if her chest took most of the impact from the fall. “C’mon…” She murmured, wincing as she struggled to her feet, eyes immediately floating over to Peaches, who continued to stay limp. Limping over, Citron slowly lowered a hand to the wyvern’s neck, before slowly wrapping her arms around the wyvern as much as she could. “It’s alright now,” she did her best to sound reassuring, despite the numerous wounds the wyvern had sustained; even taking the brunt of the fall for her. “It’s over now, just stay still and-”

Her reassurance of the wyvern was cut-off as the guardsman, Lincoln said something in her direction, calling them over so he could at least treat their wounds. “R-right,” she pulled away from the wyvern, who did her best not to move, as the isaurian began to limp towards the guard. “Thank you,” Citron began, nodding as she approached him. “But, um… Do you know if there’ll be anyone to see to Peaches? She got hurt pretty bad, and we had to take more… ‘Forced’ Landings than is probably healthy,” Citron explained in a panic, rambling despite the fact that he was clearly there to see everything.

[Saikazo 241]

It was finally over. They managed to defeat the creature, although there was a lot of magical backlash from the attack. The good news was though, the feeling came back into his leg, allowing him to walk once more. It seemed that the people that were animals were turned back into humans, which meant the humans were turned back to animals. Then, his job here was done. Still, it seemed the others wanted his help.

“Shiro, would you round-up anyone that can’t walk and bring them over here? I haven’t seen Ciela or Licorice. They may be hurt,” Link said, looking at the frog Protean. Shiro nodded and headed out, looking for any sign of the two. It didn't take very long to find Ciela, as she she was outside, out cold. Shiro didn't know what happened, but that didn't look good at all. He walked over, grabbing her wrist, checking for a pulse. Thankfully, he could feel it, meaning there wouldn't be more trouble tonight. He gently picked her up, walking her inside, where it seemed Alois had a fight with one of the locals, the two looking very sour.

He took the long way around, he wasn't dealing with that.

And wouldn't luck have it, because he went the long way around, he found the Pegasus Knight in a pile of crates. Adjusting Ciela so that he had her over his shoulder, he went to carefully picked up Adel as well. Still, he wasn't the strongest in his human form and he'd be damned if he transformed in front of these townspeople, so he headed over to Link, struggling with the weight of two people.

Finally, he got to Link, setting the troublemakers down. "I couldn't find Licorice," he explained, not adding it was for a lack of trying. With that, he sat, watching Link patching the others up. A thought then popped into his head. "Edrick. It might be best if you and I leave town. Last thing we'd want is for the town to turn on us after all this," If Cora took Edrick's belief in magic people in the sky that badly, then he couldn't imagine the rest of the town not taking up pitchforks, and he didn't trust Edrick to keep his mouth shut long enough to not get them all in trouble.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Saikazo

[Wind Rider 10]

It didn't seem real at first, but the sight of the hideous stone creature freezing back into a normal, lifeless statue was so relieving. Sienna let out a content sigh and looked around at the others, despite being one enemy, it really took its toll on everyone. But the sudden bright flash from the statue did catch her unaware, especially the mysterious voice that followed.

"You took much longer than I expected to deal with a mere imitation. Still, I will grant you this small victory." As the light faded and the group was able to open their eyes once more, the voice spoke again. "Do not think that this is the end. I am sure we shall meet again, Dragon seekers."

The feeling in her legs came back seconds later, and she immediately transformed back to her humanoid state. Dragon seekers? Was this the voice of that evil goddess the princesses talked about. The fur on Sienna's tail stood on end, that voice, whoever it was, gave her the chills. Her attention was brought back to the present as she looked to the three "new" faces in the room. The animals that had been following them had returned to being human. The mayor and the guard seemed relieved to be out of their predicament, but the third human had seemingly ran off, possibly out of fright of everything that happened. Who knows?

Sienna put her beaststone back into her bag and noticed Shiro come back inside a few moments later with Ciela in his arms. Why was she outside, unconscious for that matter?

"I couldn't find Licorice."

Those four words made her freeze. It suddenly dawned on Sienna why Ciela was like that. She tried to stop Licorice but... Where was she? Without a second thought, she ran outside with a worried look on her face. "Licorice!" She called out after running out. Why was she acting like this? The Licorice she knew was never like this, she wouldn't run away leaving her comrades behind to fend for themselves. What was with all this odd behavior?

[Sethera 290]

Slowly, everybody had risen and begun to move around, whether it was searching for ways to put out the fire or looking for their fallen comrades. Catriona was relieved to see that nobody had died in that last battle, though it seemed as if a couple weren't very far from it if what that Acantha said was true. Heart sinking, she glanced around the main hall where most of them were gathered. While most of them looked a little battered, that was about it. However, a couple looked far worse, such as Edrick and...her eyes widened. That merchant and her wyvern...were the two of them dead after all?

Across from her, after hearing Penelope's words, Dresogon's earlier expression of gratitude gave way to one that seemed to suit his face more--that of annoyance and general distrust. He stayed silent, appearing to struggle with himself. While that was happening, the robed stranger introduced himself to the tactician.

“My sincerest apologies for my impropriety, my lady. My name is Abdul Jalal Al-Azif, a humble merchant and traveling scholar. I only recently arrived in this town when I heard your struggle, and I only approached with the intent to help whoever was in danger with what little magic I know. I hope you will be willing to allow me to make a more proper introduction for someone of your regal bearing once the situation allows!”

From the name, he had to be Isaurian as well. Meeting two Isaurians in the span of a single day--what were the odds? Then again, it wasn't that odd. While the people of Galtea, Locris, and Pontus had a tendency to remain within their own borders, Histians and Isaurians would travel freely between countries for trade. It was just another cultural difference. Seeing two in the same tiny village was a bit odd, but Catriona had no room to judge. Their own group was odder yet.

And he had helped them out. She had seen his attack on the statue soon after the stained-glass window had shattered, the sound of breaking glass catching her attention immediately. The statue had come perilously close to her. Though Link had stood between them, she had wondered, briefly, if the end had come.

"Master Abdul, was it?" the lord tested the word, relieved when it came out sounding somewhat natural. She had been versed in pronouncing Isaurian names for diplomatic reasons, but they were still a little difficult to say. She would not even attempt to say his full name right now. "You have my gratitude for your assistance against the statue. It takes bravery to stand up to something so unnatural when you could have just walked away," it sounded a little ridiculous, that they had fought and needed help against a statue, but that had been no ordinary statue either. "I am Catriona Nabudis, princess of Galtea, and the one that just spoke is my sister, Penelope Nabudis." By now, the metaphorical cat was long out of the bag. Abdul would most likely have heard the others shouting "princess" during the earlier battle anyway. It would be a futile endeavor to try to hide things now. There was only one country that had princesses. Isauria did have royalty, but they were governed by a queen who, to her knowledge, had no children yet.

At the sound of a sigh, the woman turned back to the mayor, whose shoulders had now slumped. "I suppose I should elaborate. Normally I would not even consider telling outsiders such things, but...after what you have done for the village, we owe you an explanation at least."

"What?! Mayor, are you out of your mind?!" Acantha, who had been quietly sulking to the side after her argument with Alois, whirled around in a display of shock. "You can't just--"

"I believe I am still in possession of my faculties, yes," the man replied in a dry tone. "Not only have these people saved the village, but they include among their number two of the line of Augustus himself. Though I can't imagine why they would come here, unless it's to return that boy," he scowled at Alois, missing Acantha's roll of the eyes.

"Alois has been an invaluable member of our group," Catriona said, stone-faced. There appeared to be some sort of bad blood between the two, but it wasn't her place to get between that. Still, she had no plans of forcing the fighter to leave, either. "We made no plans on returning him, merely arrived looking for information on the Great Dragon." At this point, keeping their aim secret would be foolish, especially if the hall around them honored what she thought it did.

"Take him then, with my blessing," the mayor shook his head, voice raising. "He has caused enough trouble here as it is." Seeming to realize he had gone off-topic, the man took a deep breath to calm himself down. "As for the Great Dragon, and your explanation, that will all have to wait," he turned back to Penelope. "While I am willing to explain our situation, there are other, more urgent matters that require our attention. Such as your injured companions, and our village. The villagers panicked soon after becoming animals, and it is not in the best state right now. And then we must prepare for a feast," he began to mutter to himself, though the princess caught a few words such as "finances," "food spoilage," and "market square." He appeared to grow more enthusiastic, obviously in his element as he paced the floor.

"Might as well leave him alone now. You won't get anything from him until he's done making plans," Acantha shook her head at Penelope before walking over to where Link was. "Here, you'll need these," she handed over a few vulneraries while looking away. "Don't get any ideas. I still don't like you people. I'm only doing this because it'd be inconvenient to clean up after any dead bodies, that's all."

"But, um… Do you know if there’ll be anyone to see to Peaches? She got hurt pretty bad, and we had to take more… 'Forced' Landings than is probably healthy."

"Egads, are all of you idiots or something? You don't even know how to look after an animal?! By the dragon, it looks like I have to do everything around here," the woman shoved her way past Citron to approach the wyvern. Though she trembled a bit, whether it was because of her prior experiences as a beaver or not, she ignored any reactions from Peaches and began applying a vulnerary on the creature's wounds. Despite her harsh words, her hands were surprisingly gentle, and Peaches would feel little pain from the process. She even began humming to the wyvern partway through as she looked to have become lost in her own world, though she was so quiet that nobody but Peaches would be able to hear it.

Catriona was surprised to see such skill from the villager, but then she remembered hearing that the woman owned a horse. Are horses and wyverns that similar? Nonetheless, it was obvious that the vulnerary was having some sort of effect on the wyvern as the wounds covering its body began to close.

Meanwhile, Gunther and Tsetseg wouldn't find anything to put out the fire in the main hall, though they would come across a few large barrels of water and that same Dragon's Breath wine in the back room next to some crates, a couple of which had been knocked over after Adel crashed into them.

Said pegasus knight and Ciela were brought to the main hall by Shiro. While their current unconscious states were chilling, the frog's words were even more so. "I couldn't find Licorice," he explained, then turned and said something to Edrick about leaving. While his concerns were understandable, the mayor had already seen Edrick's pendant and had said nothing. Though he couldn't say anything in the first place, being a badger, but still...

Nearby, Sienna froze before beginning to run. Catriona moved to stop her, but the Protean had already fled outside, where she began to call out for the other fox.

The lord frowned. While she did not like the other's recent behavior--telling them all to leave the village without much in the way of explanations--she was still a member of the group. Except now she was gone. Had she really been so frightened of the statue then? And yet, she had faced the far more frightening sight of the undead horde without so much as a bat of the eye. Something about this didn't sit right with her. Not to mention, that suspicious man who had fled immediately after being seen.

The woman rubbed her head to stave off the burgeoning headache pounding in her temples. It appears that injuries are not the only problems we are facing right now. 

---

OOC

Spoiler

Everybody's gathered together, but there is one that's missing and a couple who are knocked out... Otherwise, not too much has happened since last week. You are free to interact with each other and any NPCs present, heal your wounds, help put out the fire, dance the cancan, etc.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Sethera

[LordCowCow 839]

"I'll go help too!"

Gunther gave a smile at the girl's words. He was thankful for the offer. Especially as he wasn't fully certain what he was going to do to put the fire out. That is until he found some barrels. Some of them seemed to contain wine which Gunther had a feeling wouldn't do much to help. But there were also some barrels containing water. "Here we go. We can use this." He said. Then, with some effort, rolled the barrel over to the flames. It was heavy and he nodded to Tsetseg to help him lift it.

Though even together it seemed difficult. So, sheepishly, he called out towards the princess. "Catriona, er, would you mind lending a hand with this?" He was ashamed to be asking this but Catriona was the strongest among them and everyone else seemed more busy or beaten up.

Gunther decided to use his lance to piece a hole in the barrel with his lance to allow the water to trickle out freely. Making sure to not overturn it until he got more help to actually heft the thing. "Some Knight I am." He said, not realizing he said it out loud. Though the only ones near enough to hear him would be Tsetseg and Catriona herself if she had gotten nearer by then.

In the brief moment between asking and waiting for help Gunther thought over the day. Wondering just what he did today that was of any help. And he realized that, once again, he was drawing a blank. Perhaps he would have done them better staying back in his post.

---

While she had several people that she was paying attention to Penelope was rather pleased to think that she kept up with them. She even noticed Alois's little spat with that girl, and she was certain to take note of that, that they had rescued from a furry fate.

“My sincerest apologies for my impropriety, my lady. My name is Abdul Jalal Al-Azif, a humble merchant and traveling scholar. I only recently arrived in this town when I heard your struggle, and I only approached with the intent to help whoever was in danger with what little magic I know. I hope you will be willing to allow me to make a more proper introduction for someone of your regal bearing once the situation allows!”

The response made Penelope smile and titter. "You know, truly humble merchants don't need to call themselves thusly." Yes, there was something more to this one. He certainly was doing his best to come off simple and not noteworthy. But note she did. She wondered what more secrets there were to be had.

Their own secret, though as it stood it was barely a secret anyway, came out of Catriona's mouth. "But it's as my sister says. If it troubles you then you may call me by name. I wonder what your own goal is. You are a merchant yes? What wares were you bringing to this city?"

She cast a glance over to the mayor. "Don't think I'm done with you yet." her eyes clearly said, though he seemed to be distracted at the moment. She would deal with him momentarily. Though she made sure to, loudly, mention "I'm thankful for my impressive memory. There's so many noteworthy things in the mayor's home that are just so...fascinating."

Clearing her throat she gazed back at the stranger once more. "Thank you for your help, Abdul, it's not everyone who would rush in to help others in such a way. Though I'm sure you can see, despite the injuries, that we are capable of protecting ourselves from...threats."

---

Cora's relief was immeasurable. Acantha's reaction. Her fight with Alois. Her treatment of the wyvern, which brought to mind Cora's horse and she momentarily wondered if everything was fine with hi, everything just felt so familiar. Even the mayor's scatterbrained but focused attitude at the mention of a feast was relieving.

Everything was truly getting back to normal. She wasn't sure mere minutes ago if she'd ever see her town as it once was but now...well, things were jumping back into place.

It started as a giggle. Then a snort. Which turned into full blown laughter that caused the girl to double up. She wiped at her eyes which had both tears from before as well as tears of mirth. "Everything...is going to be alright." She said, nodding to herself.

She then straightened up and cleared her throat. "Um, right, thanks to you all for helping. I wish I had been a bit more helpful..." Her eyes widened. "I should go check on the others!" She turned to the mayor. "Sir, where should I start?" She had seemingly, for the moment, forgotten the secrets that she found they were hiding from her. Though that surely would come back later. Right then she just wanted to make sure everyone was safe.

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

Edrick still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but that was the sort of thing you had to deal with when you were bleeding and got rocked by what was felt like a full-body punch from a ghost. He wasn’t exactly steady on his feet once he got up, and he was still certain he was hearing ravens crowing in his ears. Something which wasn’t helped by the feminine voice that had spoken to them. He knew it wasn’t The Goddess. His parents had always told him that he would know if he was ever to witness her, and that voice didn’t seem to have been her. At least not in any way he could be sure about. But then what could he be sure about anymore?

“...especially them, or you really will drop dead…” Except how much he took offense to that bitch saying he was about to die from this. This was nothing! Barely even a flesh wound! In fact he was ready to go over there and give her a piece of his mind about that… but Alois got to her first. And made it abundantly clear that this was local business. Yeah he wasn’t gonna touch that with a ten-foot pole. Well, that just meant-

“You two, on me. I’m no healer, but I know enough to patch up the worst of your wounds.” And now Link was getting worried about him? Alright that couldn’t stand.

“I’m fine, Link. It’s just a flesh wound.” The boy certainly had a talent for ignoring injuries, even when they were this severe. “Worry about Citron first, this doesn’t even hur-”

"Edrick. It might be best if you and I leave town. Last thing we'd want is for the town to turn on us after all this." And there was Shiro to remind him that he wasn’t welcome here. Or at least one person didn’t want him here. He was about to respond, and then-

“Do you know if there’ll be anyone to see to Peaches? She got hurt pretty bad.” Yeah that was an understatement if the farmer ever heard one. Welp, that meant it was time for him to get to work here. A Wyvern couldn’t be that different from a turkey, and he’d treated his share of those. So he made his way over to her without any hesitation, digging in his pack for a moment to fish out some clean cloth. It would be better if he had clean water to do this with, but this would be better than nothing.

“Move over,” he said nonchalantly as he slipped up alongside the Wyvern beside the beaver woman, Acantha he thought he’d heard she was called, and began surveying the wounds. “Hmm… not much muscle tearing. You’re very lucky, Peaches. You know that?”

The wyvern wasn’t exactly sure how to respond, having opened her eyes earlier. She was initially rather tense as the strange, ex-beaver lady approached, but a combination of her humming, gentle-hands, and the kind, bloody man from before’s own approach seemed to ease the wyvern’s worries. “Scree…” the wyvern trailed off, as if mid-sigh. She couldn’t quite understand what Edrick was saying, but he did seem to be talking to her, so she should reply, right? Especially if it meant he, and the weird lady, kept tending her wounds.

“Easy now,” he responded as he brought a hand down to gently rub at an unwounded part of her side. “This is going to hurt, but try to hold still.” That was all the warning the Wyvern got before he began gently wiping out the wounds with that piece of cloth, trying to get the worst of any detritus out of them before any other treatment happened.

The wyvern started to recoil from the pain, before steadying herself as the Bloody-Man cleaned her wounds. She wanted to lash out at the strange girl, and even the kind, Bloody man, but… This wasn’t the first time she had felt like this, and it was generally Citron who did this part, so… They were probably doing the right thing, right? It also didn’t help that she couldn’t justify trying to start a fight in this condition… but that’s beside the point.

“That’s a good girl, peaches.” He cooed, keeping his voice low to try and sooth the creature as he continued working at her. If this was how all wyverns were, he could probably get used to them. Peaches certainly wasn’t scary, anyways. "We're probably gonna have to wash you off after this..."

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Link accepted the vulnerary from Acantha with a nod. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said softly. He still had his own supply but it was important to make medicine stretch as far as he could. Citron directed attention to her wyvern and Acantha flitted off to care for it rather quickly, though, so the soldier wasn’t sure that she had even heard him. The guardswoman was rather brisk anyways so he couldn’t find it in himself to care. What did concern him was Edrick running off to help her care for the wyvern. The kid was still riding on a battle-high: he was the least qualified to decide what was and wasn’t a serious wound. Besides, even if he was right (and Link wasn’t convinced he was), it still needed to be cleaned immediately. More people were done in by infections than damage done by the initial wound, though he supposed a Pontic wouldn’t know anything about that.

"I couldn't find Licorice,"  Shiro said, returning from his scouting. He was carrying Adel and Ciela, one over each shoulder. Licorice was gone. Damn it, he had seen this coming a mile away. Of course she fled when no one was watching. 

Whatever. He didn’t have time to dwell. Priorities.

Link closed the distance between them and took Ciela. “Lay Adel down right over there. Try and prop her head up with something if you can,” he nodded at the bench Citron had seated herself on. Using the spare tunic he kept in his backpack as a makeshift pillow for the healer, as well as the backpack itself as one for Adel, he quickly got both of them situated. “No blood. They should both wake up soon, though probably with a headache.” He backed away from them and glanced back at Shiro for the briefest second. “Thank you. For helping. Don’t go anywhere.” Then he pivoted on his heel and walked over to Citron.

“. . . .” He stopped a few feet in front of her. She hadn’t noticed him yet; she seemed intent on observing what Edrick and Acantha were doing to her wyvern. Link understood the sentiment. Epona had seen very few battles at the border, in spite of the fact that she was a large and powerful horse, one who wasn’t at all easily spooked, and most of that was because of how much he feared for her safety.

Link cleared his throat. 

Citron had wanted to voice her complaints with the way the one girl had referred to them, calling into question her ability to care for ‘a single animal’. But, as the woman went over to help Edrick care for the wyvern, she couldn’t bring herself to actually do that. Still, she couldn’t really pull herself away from watching them until the one who had called her over cleared his throat, having approached where she sat on the bench. “H-huh? Oh, right, sorry,” Citron did her best to collect herself, glancing back to Lincoln. “Thank you again, for this.”

“You helped the princesses with their fight,” Link said, glancing over her to assess her injuries. “Anything hurting especially more than the rest? None of your cuts look serious but most of the damage was from a fall. Somethin’ could be broken I can’t see.”

“Um…” Citron trailed off, doing her best to think. It was still a bit hard to think that she had encountered princesses during her travels, but the next question brought her back to reality fairly quickly. “My ribs and legs hurt pretty bad, but I don’t think anything is broken.” She explained, scratching at one of her arms. 

“Hm.” Link hummed softly in response. “Could you lift your shirt up? I wanna check your ribs anyway. It’s hard to judge a wound yourself so soon after a fight; the battle-high drowns out most of the pain up until you calm down.” As he spoke he noticed that her left shoulder seemed to be swollen. Not terribly, but he could still see the early signs of an injury. He made a mental note to ask her about it soon.

“Yeah, no problem,” Citron nodded, raising her shirt far enough for the soldier to check her wounds. “And I guess that makes sense? That would explain why my… Everything, is starting to hurt a bit more.” She’d wince, letting out a slightly-pained sigh.

“Right.” Link took his gloves off and laid them beside her on the bench. “I’m gonna press down on a few different spots of your chest. Tell me if any area hurts more than another.” He started at the lowest part of her ribcage, applying a gentle amount of pressure with his fingertips. “Good?”

“Yeah,” Citron smiled. Sure, it hurt, but it was a familiar ‘I bruised myself falling from a height I shouldn’t have fallen from’ ache, not the slightly-less-familiar ‘I broke a bone falling from a height I shouldn’t have fallen from’ ache. “I think so, at least.” She added, unsure if it was still the battle-adrenaline.

He moved his hand to the other side and repeated the process. “And now?”

Citron winced as he did so, but eventually shook her head. “Hurts a tiny bit more, but it doesn’t feel near as bad as a break.”

Link repeated the process for several more minutes. His conclusion was that her ribs were just very, very bruised from the fall. Satisfied with that part of the check-up he leaned back. “... Your ribs are fine. Might hurt for the next few days but you’ll be alright. The real problem is your shoulder.” He gestured towards her left shoulder with his head. “That thing I said about a battle-high? … Try to move that arm.”

“Huh?” Citron paused, staring at Lincoln like he had just grown three heads. “I mean, I guess I can move my a-” she cut herself off, as she attempted to move her shoulder, and it… Didn’t. It just didn’t. The more she focused on it, the more she realized that… It didn’t exactly hurt, it was just incredibly numb, and unresponsive. “What?” Her heart sunk in her chest as she hesitantly moved her right hand to reaffirm that her arm was there, before attempting once again, in vain, to move her arm.

The soldier took no pleasure in being right. “The bone is… not where it should be. I don’t really know the way it works; I’m not a physician.” He sounded apologetic. “I can tell you it probably happened ‘cause of the way you landed. I could probably fix it but…” He trailed off then shrugged. “I’m not really great at it. You’re better off asking Princess Catriona to do it.”

“Oh… Okay,” Citron eventually replied, her panic only having lessened slightly as she rubbed her arm. “Then I guess… I’ll just wait until she’s done making sure everyone else is okay then, and see if she wouldn’t mind helping me out here.” She did her best to smile. “Thank you again for the help.” She repeated. Even if she was hurt, and… Worse off than initially intended, she couldn’t help but be thankful that there was someone who could at least tell her what was going on.

“Hm.” Link pulled a pinch of what looked like a root out of the vulnerary Acantha had given him. “Sorry. Suck on this for now. It’ll help with any headaches and take the sting off some of your pain.” He was off after that. He wasn’t very happy with himself. Citron’s shoulder needed to be popped back into the socket and he wasn’t comfortable doing it: the few times he had done it had been on himself, and it had felt like someone was trying to rip his bones out at the time. Princess Catriona had served as an actual medic for a time, before joining the skirmishes, so he was sure she had been trained on the matter. 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Link approached Edrick and clamped a heavy hand down on his shoulder. “Sit down,” the soldier said. “You can let me bandage those up now, or it can wait until all that blood loss catches up to you and you pass out, but either way it’s gettin’ done. So sit down.”
 

[Tiamat's Circus 116]

Citron did her best to smile as she took the root from the vulnerary, promptly placing it between her teeth to suck on. “Thanksh,” she murmured, watching as the guard moved on to Edrick. Her smile faded just as soon he turned around, turning to a wince. The longer she was out of combat, the more it set in that she was safe… Her shoulder’s dull ache turning to a more sharp, constant pain; the unresponsive limb not helping her anxieties in the slightest. As she searched the room for Catriona, she couldn’t help but smile as her eyes fell upon Peaches, being carefully tended to by Acantha and Edrick. Even if she wasn’t sure she appreciated Acantha’s attitude… She’d have to thank her for taking care of Peaches later.

Shaking her head, Citron did her best to focus as she looked around the room for Catriona. She couldn’t let herself get distracted… Not while her arm was like this. She eventually spotted Catriona rubbing her head, looking somewhat… Displeased? Confused? Citron wasn’t exactly sure, but she looked to be certainly experiencing some form of emotion. “Bossh L-” Citron caught herself, clearing her throat as she took the vulnerary root from her mouth and cleared her throat. “Miss Catr… No, that’s not right… Mistress Catriona? Lady Catriona?” Citron murmured under her breath, trying to figure out the right way to address the princess, as everything caught up to her. “Your Highness,” she called out, waving her good arm towards the princess as she slowly approached her. “Um, I don’t mean to impose or, anything like that,” she stumbled through her words. “But Mister… Er... Sir? Lincoln,” she paused, unsure of the honorifics to use for him either. “Just finished assessing my wounds, and he said that my shoulder was… The bone wasn’t… Where it should be?” She did her best to explain, gesturing at the swollen shoulder. “And my arm, I… Can’t move it, but he said you might be able to put it back in place?” Citron cleared her throat uncomfortably, coughing a bit. “So, if… It’s not too much to ask, when you’re not busy, if it wouldn’t be overstepping my status or anything like that, I would appreciate it if you would be able to find the time to help me?” Citron asked, rubbing at her limp arm.

[Skaia 578]

Alois's sour mood towards Acantha lasted about as long as it normally did, which was to say he got over their spat in the span of a minute, instead looking back to the mayor as he seemed to scowl towards Alois. Returning the glare as well, his expression briefly softened as Cat told the mayor that they had no plan to return him and calling him invaluable. That he would stay here when they were done and that the group would ever want to leave him back in his home village was a thought that had literally never crossed his mind. And he also was very assured that he was very important to this group, but there was something about hearing someone else say it that Alois couldn't explain. All the same, he let out a sigh as the mayor just went back to rambling and seemingly avoiding the Penelope's and Cat's topic of questioning. 

To no one in particular Alois simply said, "well, glad to see our Mayor's still got his festive priorities in check." Scoffing at the man, the boy looked around the room he was in. Though the most of the building was now in a wreck, some of it even being partially burned, that didn't change that this building had existed. That it was a place that all of the adults generally gathered in and likely where all the Caller business was supposed to take place in. Alois had no idea why this was supposed to be some great secret, especially to its own people, but he was sure that before leaving here he would get all the answers he needed from the man in charge. 

Tsetseg went along with Gunther, helping him with putting out the fire. The girl helped get on either side of the barrel with the man, pushing it down and rolling towards the open flame. All that came next was dumping it all out and it would be mission accomplished.  Bending down, the girl grabbed at the barrel along with Gunther and attempted to hoist it up, but after a few attempts at doing so, Tsetseg had to admit defeat against the second mightiest inanimate object she had met today. As Gunther called for the older princess to help, he seemed to be defeated by something as he poked a hole into the barrel. Hearing his comment, though, the girl said aloud, "a knight?" 

The girl had heard the term used every so often, but wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to mean. She had a rough idea that they were people in armor and had weapons, both of which the boy seemed to have down pat. Though he was definitely missing the horse. Was he upset about not having a horse? Tsetseg could understand that, thinking that people who were able to ride on horses - and peagsi too!  - and fight all the same were pretty cool. Though, she wasn't sure how that was any different from a regular hunter on horseback. Maybe it was the armor part? A pensive expression on her face as she tried to figure this out, she figured she was getting nowhere and looked to the armored man. "What's a knight?"

[Saikazo 241]

It seemed that Edrick was taking to ignoring him. Didn't even give him an answer before going to help the others. Well, if he was gonna leave town, then he would meet Shiro outside the town. Link also told him to hold still, but he believed they were pushing their luck as is. He needed to leave, before something bad happened. He sighed, standing up and heading over to Cat, getting on a knee to bow politely.

"I will be outside the village until you deem it time to move on," He told her. "If I run into Sienna or Licorice while there, I will do my best to redirect them towards you," He then stood up, turning around and heading outside. Their duty was done, the people were back to normal, and the animals didn't have to worry about being stuck in human form any more. Once he stepped outside the church, he transformed into his frog form, taking huge leaps away, heading to the edge of the town. Perhaps it would be less of a ruckus to walk, but he wanted out of there now, before something could happen.

Once he made his way out of town, he headed towards the forest they came from to get here, finding a tree at the edge of the forest to climb up in his human form, waiting for the others to finish their business. It was nice and quiet now... and he could finally, if only for a little bit.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Saikazo

[Otaku-sama 31]

As Abdul raised from his bow, he saw that another noblewoman had approached him, likely the elder sister.

"Master Abdul, was it? You have my gratitude for your assistance against the statue. It takes bravery to stand up to something so unnatural when you could have just walked away, I am Catriona Nabudis, princess of Galtea, and the one that just spoke is my sister, Penelope Nabudis."

Abdul’s stomach dropped as the young woman revealed herself to not only be nobility, but the daughter of a king. While he had spent much time around powerful people, this was the first time he had the chance to directly interact with a potential ruler of the land.

“Your Highness, you flatter me with your praise! It is a great honor for this humble merchant to be of service to you and the crown of Galtea,” Abdul replied, dipping into another deep bow.

"You know, truly humble merchants don't need to call themselves thusly. But it's as my sister says. If it troubles you then you may call me by name. I wonder what your own goal is. You are a merchant yes? What wares were you bringing to this city?"

Abdul had to put on a well-practiced grin to hide his surprise with Penelope’s quick wit and observant eye. Clearly, she had more of her days in a royal library than in dalliance and decadence.

“You are very astute, your highness. Indeed, I am currently acting more in my capacity as a traveling scholar, bringing no goods to trade other than my knowledge and tales of my travels across the many lands. I hope I did not cause any confusion or disappointment”

"Thank you for your help, Abdul, it's not everyone who would rush in to help others in such a way. Though I'm sure you can see, despite the injuries, that we are capable of protecting ourselves from...threats."

Penelope’s words of injuries were emphasized as one of the bruised and beaten warriors approached Catriona, clutching her broken arm and sucking on a portion of a vulnerary. Looking around the room,  Abdul noticed that most of the group had suffered some kind of injury, contrasting to his relatively untouched state.

“Indeed, you have chosen your retinue wisely. If it may please you, I can provide some assistance with the injured,” Abdul said, gesturing to Citron as he retrieved a vulnerary from one of his pouches, “I may not be formally trained, but my time along treacherous roads have taught me the basics."

[Sethera 290]

Abdul dipped into a deep bow. “Your Highness, you flatter me with your praise! It is a great honor for this humble merchant to be of service to you and the crown of Galtea.”

"My thanks for your gentle courtesy." Oddly enough, Catriona felt a little uncomfortable being greeted with such obeisance. Which was ridiculous, since as a princess, such was her natural right. But after fighting with the Garou, and then this group, she had grown adjusted to being treated like a commoner, save for the few who still treated her respectfully. Perhaps she should have been indignant at this realization, but instead, she felt numb.

After all, kings died just as easily as commoners. All were equal before death.

Abdul had moved on to talking with Penelope by then, who had taken over the conversation per her usual garrulity. Catriona didn't mind. She had other things to worry about. Such as the multiple injuries in the group, the problem of this village's secrets, and Licorice's absence. There was much to do.

"Catriona, er, would you mind lending a hand with this?" Gunther's voice pierced through the thoughts swirling about her mind. Lifting her head, the lord saw the knight struggling with a wooden barrel.

"Yes," the woman replied, ignoring her pounding temples as she approached where he and Tsetseg were. As she neared them, she overheard the knight say something quite curious.

"Some Knight I am."

"A knight? What's a knight?"

For a second, Catriona felt tempted to turn back around and leave them to it. Explaining the concept of knighthood to the girl would be...complicated. Unless she meant the class, which was also a bit complicated. Still, it would be preferable to leaving her ignorant. I will keep this as succinct as I can. Lifting up the barrel with the help of the others--careful to keep it upright--she began to explain.

"There are actually two different meanings to the term 'knight.' That of the title, and that of the class," she spoke. "In Galtea, it is traditional for noble children--typically sons not in the line of succession--to go into training as a page, then a squire, before they become a knight. Knighthood is a great honor." When her father had first told her he wanted her to get experience in the field, she had believed he had meant as a knight. She had been quite surprised when it had been decided for her to go into battle as a common soldier, but her father had been adamant about that.

The woman paused to set the barrel down halfway to their destination and catch her breath. Picking it up again, she resumed speaking. "Classes, which are what all combatants identify themselves as, include the 'knight' class. They used to be called armored knights," her history tutor had gone over this in great detail. "But eventually that was shortened to just 'knight.' Gunther is of the knight class, but not of the knight title." She paused, remembering what he had said earlier. Normally, if somebody had said "some knight I am" it would mean they were boasting about themselves, but the man's tone of voice had belied such a thing. In which case, was he being sarcastic? "Still, he is a knight all the same," she settled for, hoping it would sound neutral enough to work either way.

Catriona began to sweat more the closer they got to the fire until finally, they had gone so close they could almost feel the embers on their skin. "This is close enough." Setting the barrel down, the princess began to tip it onto its side with the others' help. The water came spilling out onto the floor then, slowly at first, and then picking up speed the further they tipped it. The flames dissipated into steam where it touched. Their skin reddened where the steam hit, and the lord knew that she and the others would probably have to get looked at by Ciela later for burns, though a vulnerary would work just as well. It would just take longer.

Even after emptying the large barrel, there was barely any water on the floor, most of it having turned to steam, but the fire had finally gone out, prompting Catriona to give a satisfied nod. "It is done." That was one less issue for them to worry about. She turned to the other two. "Tell me if you need my aid with anything else." Walking away, she could only hope that she had handled that situation in the correct manner. Perhaps I should ask Penelope about this, she thought. Her sister was better at such things than her.

Halfway back to the others, Shiro appeared in front of her on bended knee with a bow. He had been so quiet, she almost missed him. He and Link are alike that way, she thought, though there was an extra element of eeriness to the former soldier. Shiro, at least, did not seem like a dead man living.

She frowned. No, that's not right. Link's in the peak of health. Why had she thought differently? Shaking her head, she returned her attention to the frog Protean.

"I will be outside the village until you deem it time to move on," He told her. "If I run into Sienna or Licorice while there, I will do my best to redirect them towards you." 

"That is fine," Catriona nodded as the man stood up to leave. The frog still seemed unused to dealing with people. From what she had seen, he seemed more comfortable with the company of animals, if his behavior around Rohns were any indication, back when the wolf cub was leading them toward the fox village. As the leader, perhaps she should be looking into that and getting him to know the others better, but that smacked of unnecessary meddling too. Sighing, she glanced around the room.

To the side, she could see Cora breaking out into laughter. Is aught amiss with her? the lord wondered, but before she could do or say anything, the woman regained control over herself. Perhaps it was just a side effect of the recent situation. She had seen such cases in the Garou after difficult battles, after all.

The militia woman then straightened up and cleared her throat. "Um, right, thanks to you all for helping. I wish I had been a bit more helpful..."

"You are welcome... It was our duty to help, and it aligned with our goals as well." They couldn't very well get information on the Great Dragon from animals, after all.

Cora's eyes widened. "I should go check on the others!" She turned to the mayor. "Sir, where should I start?"

It took the man a second to respond, deep in his plans as he was. "And then...pumpkin pasties maybe? No, pumpkin bread! And we can't forget the honey roasted chestnuts. Yes...and of course, we need to make sure that there's entertainment too. Perhaps I'll give a speech! Yes...oh!" he looked up. "Cora, yes. What was it you needed?" he thought for a bit. "Oh, you asked where to start checking on the villagers? Good, very good," he nodded, pleased. "I would start with the militia. And if they're fine, you can have them help you check on the others." He clapped a hand on her shoulder briefly. "Oh, and, ahem," he coughed, looking a little uncomfortable. "Thank you for your help." Coughing again, he said, "Now, go on then. There's much to do, and not enough hours left in the day for it. I should be leaving too. Acantha," he waved over at the woman. "Cora and I will be leaving to check on the other villagers. Could you stay with the group here?"

"What?! You're leaving me to deal with these lamebrains?" When the mayor ignored her, she grumbled, "Fine, but the two of you owe me for this!" Before she could say much more, Edrick had slipped up alongside her.

“Move over,” he said nonchalantly. “Hmm… not much muscle tearing. You’re very lucky, Peaches. You know that?”

"W-What?! How dare you just move on in like this! Do you even know anything about treating a wyvern, or are you just guessing?!" Acantha quieted down, however, at seeing the confident way he approached her wounds. "Well...I suppose an extra hand doesn't hurt. Just don't mess up!" she grumbled, continuing to treat the wyvern on her side.

“That’s a good girl, Peaches.” Edrick cooed. "We're probably gonna have to wash you off after this..."

"I can handle that," the militia woman said, crossing her arms. "You, on the other hand, need to get seen, or you'll die from losing too much blood...like an idiot." She stared at his chest pointedly, where red liquid still burbled up from the gouges. His shirt was soaked through. "It's none of my business whether you guys decide to topple over, but the mayor tasked me with looking after you all," she grumped, omitting the fact that he had said nothing of the sort, only asking her to stay with them.

As if summoned by her words, Link approached Edrick then, clamping a heavy hand down on his shoulder. “Sit down,” the soldier said. “You can let me bandage those up now, or it can wait until all that blood loss catches up to you and you pass out, but either way it’s gettin’ done. So sit down.”

"That's what I told him," Acantha complained. "At least one of you has some sense around here."

Catriona rubbed her head again. It was obvious that Acantha did not like them. Though why does she care so much about our injuries then? Still, that didn't matter. What did matter was getting everything sorted out.

“Your Highness,” a voice called out. Turning, the lord saw Citron waving an arm as she slowly approached her. “Um, I don’t mean to impose or, anything like that,” she stumbled through her words. “But Mister… Er... Sir? Lincoln,” she paused.

"He would be referred to as Mister, Master, or Goodman Lincoln. He usually goes by Link, however," the princess corrected. She paused, and then amended her earlier words. "You may use Sir if you prefer, but it would only be as a term of respect. He is not an official knight." It was oddly coincidental how she ended up discussing knighthood in not one, but two conversations within the span of a few minutes.

But they quickly moved on from that to the real reason Citron had approached her. “Just finished assessing my wounds, and he said that my shoulder was… The bone wasn’t… Where it should be?” She gestured at the swollen shoulder. “And my arm, I… Can’t move it, but he said you might be able to put it back in place?” the girl cleared her throat, coughing a bit. “So, if… It’s not too much to ask, when you’re not busy, if it wouldn’t be overstepping my status or anything like that, I would appreciate it if you would be able to find the time to help me?” the Isaurian asked, rubbing at her limp arm.

"Yes, I have the time now," Catriona replied, stepping closer to the girl. She heard Abdul saying something about helping out with the injured, but she ignored him to focus on Citron. "Pardon me," she murmured, before grabbing the other's arm gently and examining the shoulder. "Yes, he was right. It is not aligned properly." She thought for a second. "You should lie down for this." Guiding the wyvern rider over to one of the pews, the lord bade her lie down supine before glancing over her critically. "Before I begin, I must warn you that this isn't safe to do if you're not trained in it." She had never been known for her bedside manner. If I had a vulnerary, I would rub it on the shoulder to help reduce the swelling, she thought, shaking her head.

"I see you're chewing on something...good. That will help distract you from this," the woman said at the same time as she grabbed the arm, positioning it so that, from the elbow onwards, it pointed toward the sky, ending with her fingers. It would hurt, but it would hurt much worse when the lord began to make the arm go flat again, but this time, in an outstretched position, perpendicular to the rest of her body, holding her upper arm at the same time and limiting how much it moved. After the arm was almost perfectly flat from the elbow outwards, the lord pushed against the shoulder. Citron would hear a quiet "clunk" then and felt something move in that area, but it wasn't until Catriona brought the girl's forearm back to rest on top of her stomach that she could really feel the difference. It still hurt, but the pain had lessened by a significant amount.

"It is now back in place, but it is necessary to make a sling, so remain in position." The former medic took out an old, ragged shirt from her pack before tearing it into strips of cloth without hesitation. With practiced ease, she formed it into a sling that held Citron's arm in place. Satisfied with her work, the princess stepped back. "Keep it in the sling for a tennight," she said. "Depending on how you move it, it may need longer, but that is unlikely." Especially considering they had Ciela in the group as well, knocked out though she was. "Now, you may rise."

Catriona remembered what Abdul had said then, and approached the man. "Citron is good for now, but there is inflammation around her shoulder," she said. "I don't have a vulnerary myself, or I would have seen to it already."

By now, Dresogon and Cora had already left through the front door. While passing Alois, the mayor had snorted disdainfully. "How a boy like you got mixed up with them, I'll never know. Just dumb luck, I suppose. That's one thing you always had in spades." He shook his head, face purpling with anger if Alois responded, before moving on. Outside, they neared Sienna, who had already seen Shiro go by before. The mayor paused briefly in front of the fox, the earlier surliness subsiding from his expression. "Again, thank you so much for helping us out earlier. I will tell the villagers to keep a lookout for this...Licorice, was it?" he nodded. "Yes, do not worry. I'm sure we shall find her."

Unfortunately, Shiro would not find Licorice while leaving the village, and neither would Sienna from her position outside the town hall. What they would see were various human beings walking around the village with lost expressions. Many of them would try to walk on all fours before suddenly standing upright with flushed faces. Many more would attempt to speak, but the words would come out as odd animalistic noises before they cleared their throats and began speaking more normally. The sight would be nostalgic for both of the Proteans, who had seen such things in their own home villages.

---

OOC

Spoiler

Lots of interaction this round! Especially from Catriona lol. The fire in the back room has finally been put out. Also, Mayor Dresogon and Cora have just left, but Acantha is still here. This next round is mainly for more interaction and post-battle recovery, since we still have plenty of injured people. Let me or Cow know if you need any information for your post.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

[LordCowCow 839]

Penelope had to admit that she was pleased at the compliment the stranger gave her. Yet even so she was used to people responding to her, when they knew who she was, in such a way. She would remember this, his current attitude towards them, his flowery manner, and keep an eye on future interactions. That is if there were to be such. He hadn't expressed a desire to join them yet but, depending on how things went, it might be a good idea to consider it. He seemed a magic user and given Sienna's nature and her own lack of power it could be good to convince him to come with.

On the other hand she didn't want to cause too much strife in the group. So she decided that from here on she would passively observe him. A test of sorts. Smiling to herself at the idea she nodded in answer to his suggestion. "Go ahead, though I think the others are handling that as well." It seemed that she wouldn't get information from the mayor until after everything was settled. Though it was clear they weren't about to be kicked out so she should be safe to wait until later. He wouldn't squirm out of answers even if he tried.

She followed Abdul as he went about to help out. "Do you happen to have a goal in mind? Surely you aren't planning on indefinite travel."

The princess noticed Alois standing around and, getting his attention, gestured with a finger for him to approach. "So what do you think, Alois, how much more is this town hiding? Is that how the mayor usually acts or is he trying to distract us?" She paused. "Also, good work today."

---

"What's a knight?"

Gunther was startled at Tsetseg's question and blushed when he realized it meant he had spoken his thought out loud. He thought over and over how to explain what he meant as Catriona approached and, with ease he noticed, lifted up the barrel. He made sure to stay on the other side to help her yet couldn't help but wonder if she actually needed any help. She was incredibly strong despite having just fought. Between her strength, Penelope's intellect, and both the princess's will he was understanding more and more the gap between them.

She even was the first to answer the girl. Her answer was basic, but honest, and factual. It wasn't entirely what he had in mind when he had said those words but it was a good answer anyway.

"Still, he is a knight all the same,"

He wasn't sure what to make of that. Was she complimenting him or merely stating what his designation was? It brought a smile to his face either way. She could have easily admonished him for his actions and words yet she didn't.

"Tell me if you need my aid with anything else."

"Ah, yes, of course. Thank you Cat...riona." Gunther said, nodding as she left.

He then turned back to Tsetseg. "It's as she said. But also...A knight, in either definition, is someone who protects others. At least, that's how I see it." He gave an embarrassed chuckle. Which was where the problem came in. He hadn't protected anyone.

The knight noticed Sienna had left the town hall and felt a rush of guilt. "I'll be right back" he said to no one in particular as he made his way outside where the girl had gone. He saw her fretting about near the entrance, clearly looking for where the older Protean had gone, and coughed. "Erm, Miss Sienna." He began uncomfortably. "I wanted to...That is, I'm sorry. I was at the door but I didn't stop her from leaving. I do not know where she had gone, only that she was in an almost...frenzy to leave." He gave a bow. "I should have tried to keep her in my sight. It's my fault she's missing now." Standing upright he looked across the town that he could see. Watching as people looked to be trying to remember how to move like humans. "However I'm sure she'll be fine once she's...calmed down."

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

"You, on the other hand, need to get seen, or you'll die from losing too much blood...like an idiot." Had this woman never seen an injury before? Edrick had been hurt worse by better than that statue before, and he was abundantly certain he'd be fine. Not... that his clothes were going to be.

“Sit down. You can let me bandage those up now, or it can wait until all that blood loss catches up to you and you pass out, but either way it’s gettin’ done. So sit down.” And now Link was coming along and trying to handle this? He knew the soldier had seen him worse than this before, why did this matter now? Yeah he hurt like hell, and a casual look down showed he was losing... actually quite a lot of blood, but he was going to be fine!

"Not you too, Link!" He protested, turning away from Peaches now that he was sure the Wyvern was going to be alright. "Look, this isn't even close to the worst I've been hurt." At least he thought it wasn't. Though now he bothered to think he couldn't actually think of a worse time. Why was the room spinning? He was probably just dehydrated. "I mean hey, my ribs aren't even cracked!" They probably were if someone bothered to look close enough. "Just... I just need to get something to drink, and I'll be-" and as soon as he tried to walk off he lost his balance and fell straight down onto his back, where he remained. With an obviously irritated expression on his face. "This proves nothing!" He wasn't going to admit that the room was spinning.

[Skaia 578]

As the mayor passed by Alois, the boy turned towards the man jokingly saying, "please, jealousy doesn't look good on a charmless man like yourself." As the Mayor seemed infuriated by Alois's comment, the boy snickered to himself before muttering bluntly, "asshole."  The boy looked over to Penelope as he was being gestured to and walked over. A smile spread across his face as the girl congratulated him saying, "well, even if my own hometown can't, I'm glad the royal family is able to understand how great I am." Her compliment naturally was a boost to his own ego. But beyond that, he had to admit there was something nice about being complimented by the younger princess for a job well done. As a result, his smile was a bit more genuine then if he was just regularly boasting, but he looked out the door as he got to her other topic. 

"As for the mayor and the town, can't say I know much about what they're hiding. Before today I thought this was a town hall and didn't have the first clue about his wine selling business or the Caller cult thing. Sky's the limit when it comes to secrecy here it seems." Putting a hand on his chin, thinking on the next part he said, "as for the mayor himself, well, thinking about a party before the rest of his fellow townsfolk definitely seems inline with his greedy ass nature. I mean you've seen the place he lives in. But, well, I'd keep your wiles about you. After all, the man seemed pretty grateful to you and Cat, but only you two." With a grin, he said, "of course, I probably didn't need to tell you that." 

As Catriona had begun her explanation on the concept of knights, Tsetseg couldn't help but have a clear look of confusion on her face. There were, apparently, two different kinds of knights. The second kind, the one that just meant that they were wearing armor and stuff, was something the girl could follow easily enough. The first one, however, the girl couldn't make heads or tails of what she was saying. All she knew was that Gunther wasn't that kind of knight. So maybe he was sad about that? He was certainly the second one, for sure. After all, he was wearing armor even now! However, Gunther's explanation of a knight only served to further confuse Tsetseg about the whole debacle. 

To Gunther, a knight was someone who was supposed to protect others. So, Tsetseg didn't see where the issue was. Scratching her head in confusion, Tsetseg simply said, "knights sure are complicated stuff." Walking back into the main room, Tsetseg loudly announced to everyone, "the fire's out everyone!" 

[Tiamat's Circus 116]

“Ah, alright,” Citron nodded, smiling as she followed Catriona’s instructions, placing the vulnerary root back between her teeth. “Mishter Lincoln it ish,” she paused, wincing as Catriona checked her shoulder. Even the slightest touch felt not only painful, but wrong as the lord led her towards a pew and suggested she lie down. Without a word, Citron followed the - clearly more experienced than her - lord’s instruction, laying down on the pew. Then, came the truly awful part of it, as the Lord began to place the arm back in it’s place. It was strange, really; it hurt, like agony, yet Citron couldn’t really tell just how much it hurt. The intensity was there, blindingly, but it was just that; blinding. She felt the echoes of pain, yet in each moment she couldn’t process what she was feeling in that moment. It was probably only a combination of that, and the root in her mouth that kept her from screaming as Catriona began to move the arm.

The worst part was still to come, though, as after a quiet ‘click’, feeling returned to her arm. Citron couldn’t move it still, but she could feel it properly again, something she wasn’t sure was really a good thing. “You... Uh... You really weren’t kidding when you said this would hurt…” Citron groaned as the vulnerary root fell from her mouth, the echoes of pain from before coming back with a vengeance, if only for a moment, before beginning to fade once again into a dull, numbness. By the time it had faded fully, the lord had already put Citron’s arm into a make-shift sling, and gave her permission to rise. “Thank you,” Citron smiled as she rose, her smile only dampened by the dull ache as her arm was jostled; the rider coming to her feet. “It would have been really hard to care for Peaches if…” She glanced at her arm, nodding. “Thank you so much.” She gave her best bow to the princess, before rising.

"Now… What do we do now?” Citron murmured, glancing around the room, and doing her best to listen in, as everyone went about their business. She couldn’t really help with any clean-up, so… Citron figured it was best if she just stayed out of the way, for now at least... Though, to the others, she would probably just look more lost than anything.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Feral Pistol

[Wind Rider 10]

Sienna looked around frantically from the entrance, looking for any sign of where Licorice might have run off to, but to no avail. Wherever her fellow fox went, she was long gone. Her ears flattened out of sadness and confusion, why would Licorice just run away like that? She crouched to the ground and just thought things over about what she was going on about before she ran off, before snapping back to reality as the mayor was addressing her.

"Again, thank you so much for helping us out earlier. I will tell the villagers to keep a lookout for this...Licorice, was it?" he nodded. "Yes, do not worry. I'm sure we shall find her."

She just sighed and nodded her head as the mayor walked off. The clanking of armor behind her made her turn to see Gunther approaching her too.

"Erm, Miss Sienna. I wanted to...That is, I'm sorry. I was at the door but I didn't stop her from leaving. I do not know where she had gone, only that she was in an almost...frenzy to leave." He gave a bow. "I should have tried to keep her in my sight. It's my fault she's missing now."

Sienna looked at the Knight and then back to the ground. "It... It's fine Gunther... I'm not sure anyone was prepared for how she reacted to that living statue... I certainly wasn't..." She said quietly.

"However I'm sure she'll be fine once she's...calmed down."

Maybe... Maybe things would be fine, but Sienna couldn't help but worry. What if Licorice had run away for good? What if she just abandoned everyone and had run back all the way to the village? The sight of the villagers here wasn't helping the thought, their attempts of getting back to their human ways, it reminded Sienna of those lazy days in the village. Sitting in the shade, reading a book, watching the villagers go about their day in peace. Maybe... Maybe this whole quest was too much for even Licorice. But what did that mean for Sienna? The outside world was clearly no place for her kind, a people who have not seen the outside of their forest before.

Looking back on it all, Sienna thought about what would have happened if she had just stayed home. Maybe she could've stopped that whole feud with the frogs. Maybe... Things would have been different... But then, she wouldn't have made these nice travel companions. These thoughts continued to run through her head as she remained crouched on the ground, her tail swaying curiously as she watched the villagers fumble around.

[Otaku-sama 31]

"My thanks for your gentle courtesy."

Abdul could not help but notice that the young heiress was not wearing the typical smile he associated with quiet superiority and the sense of entitlement. He could have sworn the look in her eye was one of a warrior returning from a lost battle, but he dismissed the thought as she turned to address some of her other subjects.

"Go ahead, though I think the others are handling that as well."

“Of course your highness, your retinue appears to be well equipped to handle their own injuries,” Abdul replied before he heard a commotion nearby. A warrior who was attempting to treat the wounds of the wyvern had suddenly collapsed in a bloody heap, with dark ichor soaking his side.

“Excuse me, I will begin my work immediately.”

Abdul gave one final bow before quickly making his way to the bloodied warrior, who was already being attended to by another. He knelt down next to the growing pool of blood, pulling out a brown vulnerary satchel and retrieving the rags within. Wiping off the blood from Edrick’s side, he saw a deep gash that had not finished clotting. Luckily, there was little organ damage and the muscle damage was manageable. With a liberal application of binding powders, the wound was of little concern.

“Brother, please apply pressure to his wound as I prepare the poultice,” Abdul said curtly to Link as he retrieved the remaining contents of the vulnerary, laying them down away from the bloody pool.

Carefully and precisely, he measured out the various powders from their pouches into the flattened vulnerary sack and soaked them in the distilled spirits. Once the dressing was prepared, Abdul gingerly turned back towards Edrick to apply it on the wound. The application would be painful, enough to make a seasoned warrior gnash his teeth, and Abdul was glad that the boy was unconscious for the procedure. With a nod, Abdul applied the dressing once Link removed the bloody rag, binding it with a length of twine. With the application complete, Abdul rose back to his feet, cleaning his hands with the remaining spirits.

"Do you happen to have a goal in mind? Surely you aren't planning on indefinite travel."

“I do indeed have a goal in my travels, although traveling is a rewarding endeavor in itself,” Abdul said as he turned to face Penelope, “My currently focus of my travels is to collect the tales and prose of the common folk across the land, so that I may bring new insights to my fellow scholars in Isauria. Indeed, a scholar should not overlook the seasoned wisdom of an experienced farmer, nor the hushed whispers of tavern talk, since there is knowledge to be found in the most unlikely of places.”

 

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Link resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Had he been this annoying as a teenager? No one could walk off a wound like that; it wasn’t a measure of toughness, so he had no idea why Edrick was refusing treatment. Maybe it was a Pontic thing. And now there was another Isaurian, probably in his early-forties, who didn’t so much as introduce himself before insisting that he would begin his work.

The soldier was unable to suppress his sigh that time. When had the man arrived? Who was he? What in the world made him qualified to administer care? Had literally anyone else bothered to ask him about any of these things? All questions he probably wasn’t going to get answered anytime soon. “Pleasure. M’name’s Lincoln, but most call me Link.” Not that the merchant had even bothered to ask. “If you know how to bandage up a wound, I’ll hold him down. He’s actin’ crazy right now.” 

The plan was agreed on easily enough. Link gently lifted Edrick’s upper half off the ground and then, in a single fluid motion, locked both his arms up behind his head in a full-nelson. He wasn’t really comfortable with trusting a stranger, but he watched the medicine the man used intently (ignoring Edrick’s ramblings in his ear), and it was all legitimate. Throughout the entire process, one thought echoed through his head repeatedly, his personal mantra.

Today has been entirely too long.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Cheshire Toon

[Sethera 290]

It was at times like these, surrounded by the wounded, that Catriona wished for a vulnerary.

While not--spirits forbid it--a practitioner of the holy arts of Pontus, she knew more of healing than most soldiers, having spent a great deal of her initial time in the Garou as a medic. While she had taken up such duties with a stoic mindset, it had been made clear to her later on that with her abilities, she should have been put to use on the battlefield as soon as possible. That she had not was most likely attributed to her unusual status.

The Garou was unique among the military in that it prized merit above one's birth. While the Kingsguard was mostly comprised of nobility, and other divisions would separate the commoners from the nobles, the Garou was one of the few places where a baseborn man could command a noble and not be hanged for it. Thus, it was viewed with a mixture of skepticism and admiration.

But even the Garou had had issues with sending an untried crown princess to the frontlines. Thus, her experience in the medical field. And her own annoyances at being unprepared.

She had used up her stock of vulneraries during the fight against the Awakened and had not been able to restock. This was not only a blunder as a commander but a shameful failure as a medic. Didn't she know that medical supplies were commonly used up before their expected time? Hadn't it been drilled in her head to keep a steady supply of cloth, ointments, and vulneraries? She had grown complacent after Ciela had joined the group, but with the troubadour out cold, it was apparent just how much they had relied on her, and how helpless they were without her.

She had asked Abdul to help Citron, but the man had ignored her, distracted by Edrick's collapse. Which made sense, as the lancer was in far more need of aid than the wyvern rider, but still, Citron would be in pain until the swelling went down. Though likely, that root she was chewing on would help.

Currently, the fruit merchant was glancing around with a lost expression. The girl had thanked her earlier, to which Catriona had given little more than a nod. It was common to get words of appreciation from those she helped, and while she did derive some feelings of satisfaction from it, in the end, it was nothing more than a job.

Though, it had helped to engender herself more to the Garou in the beginning. Many of the soldiers had gotten friendlier with her after that--inviting her out to drink and such. Oddly enough, there were a couple of them who had become even more distant than before, blushing, refusing to meet her eye, and tripping over their words whenever they were forced to speak to her. They would still frequently approach her, most likely aware they needed to put forth a token effort for the sake of politeness, but Catriona was not one to make others suffer unduly, and so, for their sake, she had made excuses to end those conversations as soon as possible.

Though for some reason, when she had mentioned these experiences to Anaïs as part of a conversation involving her lack of social forays, the girl had shot her a troubled look. "That..." she had muttered. Link and Rohns had also been nearby, though their reactions had been decidedly more amused until Anaïs had quieted the two of them with a glare. It was kind of her, but Catriona was well aware of her difficulties in befriending others. And to an outsider, such troubles might very well be seen as cause for hilarity.

It was while taking a stroll through her mind down what could be referred to as "memory lane," that Catriona spotted an unusual occurrence--a human head sticking up from the ground.

Indeed, what could be the cause of that? she wondered. Human heads don't just appear out of nowhere, and I do not recognize this head, though I suppose I should be glad of that.

And then the head turned into a head and a neck; and then a head, a neck, and a torso; and then she realized that they were not just body parts, but a living person...and that said person was exiting out of the square-shaped hole in the ground where the statue once stood over, and from whence they had first entered this building themselves.

In which case, she thought, I must needs be wary of this person who is also aware of the secret entrance and came here through it.

Despite her suspicious method of arrival, the woman herself did not seem that suspicious. Dressed in a homespun gown with a short over-tunic and a respectable veil covering brown hair in a long braid, she seemed every inch a normal peasant woman, though a fair bit older than Cora or Acantha. She glanced around the room, eyes settling on Peaches with some surprise before moving on, and then freezing in place as she saw Alois.

And then she charged forward, sandaled feet making slight clopping noises on the ground. Passing by Peaches, her smell would be familiar to the wyvern, much as Dresogon and Acantha's scents were. Catriona moved to stop the woman, taking out her sword with a sching, but it was too late. Alois was closer, and before the lord could do anything, the other had reached him and began to...hug him?

Halting in her charge, sword still in hand, the princess looked at the scene with some confusion, ignoring the sounds of struggling from the side as Link held Edrick down. The man really didn't want to get treated for some reason.

"Alois, you're back! Dresogon told me you wouldn't return, but I knew you would!" the woman's voice came out garbled and animalistic, but still understandable. She started to sob. "Oh Alois...my boy. My dear boy." Eventually, she released him and held him apart to look him over, tsking at what she saw. "But look at you! You're just filthy! All covered in dust, I bet you haven't even been washing right. Did you forget to pack extra smallclothes when you left?"

"Gads, Goodwife Mene, you're acting as if he's been gone for years. It's only been a couple of tennights," Acantha complained, though she started to snicker soon afterward. "So his...pfft, smallclothes, are probably fine, hehe."

Catriona took a few cautious steps forward. "Alois...do you know her?" This woman treated the fighter with more familiarity than even Cora or Acantha had, and Cora, at least, had seemed to be a good friend of his.

--

Outside, the sight of Gunther and Sienna seemed to draw more and more interest from the passerby villagers. Most of them stayed well away, though their eyes lingered on the duo. While many appeared hostile at first, their expressions cleared up as they seemed to recognize the two, and the pair were left alone.

---

OOC

Spoiler

ITT:

• Catriona reminisces
• People get treated...mostly Edrick by Link and Abdul, and Peaches by Acantha. Citron's mostly fine but she still has some inflammation. Also, Ciela and Adel are knocked out. Most everybody else has minor wounds.
• Also, a strange person has appeared! She seems familiar with Alois, though.
• Gunther and Sienna are drawing some looks, but nothing more than that.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

[LordCowCow 839]

"After all, the man seemed pretty grateful to you and Cat, but only you two."

It was true. He had mostly directed his thanks towards the two of them. Penelope hadn't thought much of it, it was something she was used to, but she did wonder what it meant for how he would treat the others later. Perhaps after the excitement faded he'd start being wary of the number of strangers here.

Well, she would have to just put her foot down if it came down to it. She wouldn't take no for an answer nor would she allow him to push out her allies. "I suppose we'll see how his attitude changes after this...feast." She frowned. Such a thing would be unthinkable in many towns after such a disastrous time but with how much earnings the mayor seemed to be getting she supposed it wasn't too farfetched. Just one more bit of evidence to show that the mayor was living beyond what his means should have been.

“My currently focus of my travels is to collect the tales and prose of the common folk across the land, so that I may bring new insights to my fellow scholars in Isauria. Indeed, a scholar should not overlook the seasoned wisdom of an experienced farmer, nor the hushed whispers of tavern talk, since there is knowledge to be found in the most unlikely of places.”

She smiled politely at the man, nodding along in understanding, though inside she was slowly beginning to dismiss the idea. Sure, sometimes she gains new information from others, but most of it she could find written down in various documents and texts. From common tasks to weather patterns and historical significance of every part of the land. Those scholars of the past had gone through so much trouble to write down their knowledge it would be a shame not to use it.

But, she supposed, people without the position that she did had to get said information in less practical ways. She shouldn't judge him for not having access to what she had.

"Such a breadth of knowledge is to be commended, good sir." Penelope said with a short nod of her head.

She then noticed the woman who had clung onto Alois. Her initial reaction was a tinge of annoyance but, upon further inspection, she realized who it must have been. So this was Alois's mother? Internally smirking Penelope casually made her way to the two of them. "Why, hello there. Alois, could this be your sister?" Penelope said cheerfully.

Penelope gave the older woman a short curtsy. "My name is Penelope, I'm Alois's.....employer, I suppose you could say." She smiled warmly at her. "It's very nice to meet you. And I must say I see that you must have taken the charm of your family; poor Alois struggles in that regard doesn't he?" Her eyes twinkled as she teased the boy.

---

"It... It's fine Gunther... I'm not sure anyone was prepared for how she reacted to that living statue... I certainly wasn't..."

Gunther barely caught the Protean's words. She was so quiet. Now that he thought about it so was Shiro. Was it a common trait among their people to be antisocial? Unless it was due to the difference in race. The idea caught Gunther off guard and he wondered if it had been rude to have approached her. Given how Sienna didn't follow up he was starting to wonder if that was true.

"Ah, I suppose you are correct." Gunther responded carefully. "Either way it isn't like she can't look after herself even if she did decide to leave right?" He tried to keep his tone light but even as he spoke he wondered if he was saying the wrong thing. Penelope would be much better at this. Gunther wasn't exactly the type to speak first in most situations. He had learned, living with the princesses to act in response more often than not.

So he was silent as he awkwardly stood around and watched the villagers. They seemed to recognize him and he blushed as he recalled how he had acted before when he thought they were animals. It was much easier to deal with them then. He was still unsure how he should respond to the villagers now that they were back to being humans. He could only hope he didn't make a fool of himself while they were watching.

Still, they weren't doing much good here. With a hesitation he cleared his throat to get Sienna's attention. "Should we...head back in? And see if everyone has decided what to do next?"

[Skaia 578]

After the princess moved on to go discuss something with someone else, Alois didn't have much time to think as someone new had entered the building. Looking over to the woman, Alois's eyes went wide with shock as the woman hugged onto him. He had certainly been meaning to see her before leaving, but the suddenness of the whole situation had definitely caught him off guard. As the woman backed off and immediately started chiding him, Alois looked away with an uncharacteristically embarrassed expression on his face. Shooting a small glare to Acantha as she laughed at the woman's comment. Looking back to the woman, putting up his hands and saying, "just - I've been fine Mom, really fine. And I'm not nearly the worst of us when it comes to being clean. It's just you know, I uh, I fought a dragon. Things get dusty like that." The boy still didn't look the woman in the eyes, though snapped back to Penelope with a low groan as she made her comments towards the woman.

Putting a palm to his face, as the boy tried to sort himself out he said, "right. Cat," he looked back towards the princess to answer her question. "This is my mom. Mom," the boy gestured to the two princesses. "It's like the short one said, they're my employers. I'm like a mercenary now or something. And I'm kind of amazing at my job." Despite what he said, it didn't have the boy's usual cockiness in the tone, more so seeming like he was just trying to regain his composure. 

Tsetseg continued to walk through the building, seeing everyone else was held up with something. Some more literally then others. Tsetseg looked towards Citron, then towards Peaches the wyvern. The girl frowned, already knowing that it wasn't the case but still wishing that Peaches was actually a person and not a real animal like all of the others. Though, since they were a wyvern, then they might've been an Isaurian too, and that would've meant that there were three here now. The girl mulled over this, but as the Isaurian girl asked what to do, Tsetseg said, "well, when all fighting is done and days are saved, make sure everyone is alright!" She spoke with a deeper tone, as if imitating someone, though were she it was likely paraphrasing. "And since all of us are all good, we should go make sure the other people of the town are good too!" With that, the girl left the building, marching off to see both the folks of the town and also hopefully a fluffy animal of some kind. 

[Tiamat's Circus 116]

Peaches would raise her head as a new, yet familiar scent entered the scene; eyes scanning the room for… Deer? No, the lizard lowered her head. That was absurd. There’s no deer; only a new human, that seems to have burrowed up from the ground, or something like that. Humans were capable of so many weird things. So then, why did… “Screeeeee.” The lizard let out a quiet trill, followed by a heavy sigh. That fight must have really taken a toll on her, more than she knew, if she had mistaken a strange human for deer. 

---

Citron smiled as everyone bustled about; so many different things happening at once. Yet, despite everything, everyone seemed to be… Getting along? More or else. A new woman ran up to Alois, who he introduced as his mother; after everyone had gotten defensive, of course. Meanwhile, everyone else did things like tend to Edrick or leave the temple… Town Hall… Thing. The only person to actually answer her question of what to do from moments ago however, was the rude girl, Tsetseg, who’s urging to leave the building managed to actually spur some thought…

The stall. She needed to check on the stall, the one that Peaches and her broke; she needed to see if the person who ran that, had… “Hey,” Citron raised a hand as she approached Acantha and Peaches, raising a hand to wave. “Thank you again for tending to Peaches while I got…” Citron gestured at her arm in the sling, letting out a quiet sigh. “This, taken care of. But, um… Could I leave her in your care for just a bit longer, while I went out into the town to tend to some... business?” She asked, scratching at her neck. “She seems to really like you, or… At least feel safe around you, and I really, really need to go apologize to someone as quickly as possible, so…” Citron trailed off, visible worry on her face.

[Wind Rider 10]

Watching the villagers reorient themselves back to living as humans was interesting and quite honestly funny to watch. It seemed like they were so used to being animals that they had almost forgotten how to act human.

"Should we...head back in? And see if everyone has decided what to do next?"

She sighed as she stood up from her crouching position. As much as she wanted to learn how this truly happened, everyone needed to regroup and recover from this. "Yeah... Let's head back." She said as she walked back to the church. Maybe she could study this whole situation with the princesses? She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about all this, humans turning into animals. She needed to get her mind off things anyway.