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

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Citron couldn’t help but let her tense, adrenaline-pumped demeanor soften a little bit as Acantha lectured the princess… Only for everything that had been there moments before, to return as the princess’ gaze seemed to hyperfocus on the poor fruit-saleswoman; the entire world around them seemingly to stop existing, as far as either of them were concerned. Swallowing nervously, Citron brought her good hand to scratch the side of her neck, eyes drifting from the Princess as she focused on the words being said, over anything else.

“...I don’t know.” Was the first of Citron’s reply, which hung in the air as Citron closed her eyes. “You’re right. I don’t know what your journey entails, so… It should be madness for me to ask to join it, shouldn’t it?” She laughed a bit, her fidgeted scratching turning to a light grip on her neck. “But… No matter where my journey takes me, there’s no guarantee that it won’t be just as dangerous, even if I don’t go with you, is there?” She paused, taking in a deep breath.

“When I set out on this journey… My Grandpa’s journal, was all I really had to guide me. And in it, he talked about how beautiful the world is. The way the sun would set in different places. How mountains framed it, how it shone through tree-tops. This led me to believe the world was a wonderful place, you know? That… There was good, no matter where you go in the world. But…” She trailed off, opening her eyes finally. “But there’s a lot of pages missing. Pages that have scraps torn from them, or that have even been removed completely,” She paused, once again allowing her gaze to wander; this time towards Peaches, who was still playfully trying to ‘hit’ Rohns with their head. “And, until now, I wondered what those pages had on them. Something even more beautiful? Something not worth mentioning?” She asked aloud, before laughing at herself just a bit; a hollow laugh, as she turned her gaze back towards the Princess.

“But we both know, by this point, that that’s not what was there, don’t we?” Citron winced, before nodding. “He was a soldier, in a time of war. It’s not hard to figure out what was on those pages when you think about that, or what kind of world we really live in. So, unless I turn around, and go right back home, there’s no guarantee I won’t experience any number of those things he decided to omit from his journal... And yet, I still…” She finally allowed her grip on the side of her neck to release, bringing her free hand to pull at her chest. “I still want to see the best of what the world has to offer, y’know? Even if it means seeing the worst along the way, I…” She trailed off, as if cutting herself off, before finally returning her gaze to face Catriona’s. 

“I guess what I’m getting at, even in this horribly, rambled manner, is,” Citron paused, eyes narrowing on Catriona. “I’m already in way over my head. What’s a few more feet of water?”

------

As Peaches continued to swing her head playfully at Rohns, it would be the loud bay of a large dog, not dissimilar to the sounds she had heard from wild-hounds, that would cause her to pause. Raising her head curiously, she seemed to pause, flicking her tongue at Rohns curious, as if to say ‘time out’, as she listened to the sound. As the noise approached the building, she would begin to look around as she did her best to hone in on the sound, with her gaze proceeding to steadily follow the sound as it passed the building; only stopping as the noise itself finally disappeared. The wyvern’s gaze lingered in the direction of the noise for only a moment, before returning to look back down at Rohnsand resume their playing; that is, if the wolf-cub was even still there by the time she looked.

Edited by Feral Pistol

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Penelope mentally acknowledged Abdul's response. It seemed he knew some of what he was handling. But was quick to make sure they knew it wasn't something of his own creation. It was the expected, merchant-like, response. So far everything she saw of him pointed to being a traveler as he said being the truth. Which was one of many questions more or less answered.

Interestingly Gunther's unexpected question brought with it a crucial piece of information that brought a smile to Penelope's lips. It would appear her theory was growing more solid with every passing moment. Truly the mayor had many things that he had to answer for once they get him into the right position for it.

As if summoned by the woman's slip up the mayor appeared. He appeared to be in quite the state. Evidentially organizing on such a short notice wasn't going as well as he had hoped. He mentioned that there would be something set up the next day. His words about being allowed to stay there the night made Penelope think perhaps tomorrow would be the last day they would, without persuasion, let them remain here. Which meant that tomorrow is when she would for certain have to pry the information out of him. Though for now she could...

"Oh? I think that was your fox friend just now. Wherever could she be going? And in such a hurry too."

Penelope glanced out as the blur ran passed. Chasing something? That might be important as well... "Gunther, could you go follow her. Make sure everything is alright. Sienna is usually so quiet and inactive after all."

She then turned to the mayor. "I thank you for the hospitality. I surely will be there tomorrow. I wonder...will there be anything special served? I've heard that villages often have some sort of specialty that you can't get elsewhere and I would be ever so curious what sort of unique dish a place as impressively ran as this town could have."


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Gunther raised an eyebrow at the mention of Dragon Wine. Yes, that was it, that was the recipe he had seen wasn't it? What sort of thing could it possibly be? He looked to Penelope to see if she noticed and, of course, she had. The smile on her face caused the Knight to relax. If Penelope was on the case then he didn't have to worry about it all too much. He knew to leave this sort of thing to the others.

He was intrigued how the mayor and Mene interacted. He had known that the mayor dislikes Alois so part of him had wondered if Mene may have been shunned by him by association. It seemed that was far from the case. Other than that from Gunther's point of view the conversation was rather simple and, to be blunt, unimportant. Apparently they were to have some sort of town-wide meal the next day. He wondered how different it would be from a banquet. He couldn't imagine this town would be able to put something quite so...

"Gunther, could you go follow her. Make sure everything is alright. Sienna is usually so quiet and inactive after all."

Gunther looked around in surprise at being addressed. It took him a moment to take in the situation and realize that Sienna was running after something...was that a dog?

He nodded. "Er, yeah, sure." Clearing his throat he took a more alert tone. "I will do so. If you will excuse me." He gave a short bow to Penelope and then Mene and the mayor. After which he made his way out of the house and started in the direction he saw the fox running.

They were faster than him, for sure, and running in this armor, even at a job, was rather taxing. But he was able to just barely keep up with them. Having had to chase dogs before he knew something of how they moved which made it slightly easier to keep track of them.

Still by the time that he made it to the pond where it seemed Tsetseg was with some other villager he was rather out of breath. He approached them and then stopped. Crouching over with his hands on his knees he took a few deep breaths. He noticed Sienna was there as well and gasped out a "What....is....going...on here?"

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Oh, yer too kind. They're just a little old thing I whip up every now and then. I'm just glad they go with yer tea and all."

Abdul sipped his tea with a grin as Mene’s bashful reaction yielded the desired reaction. Unlike the royalty, a few honeyed words can easily win over the humble folk not used to admiration. He took another bite of the pasteli as the secrets slowly slipped from her lips.

"It's the mayor's famous wine. The Dragon's Breath wine, nobody knows what's in it, though some can hazard a guess from the name. Which would make sense, after all, since we're the Dragon--Oh, but I've said too much. Listen to me, gossipin' away like an old biddy, pay no mind to me. I can really get to natterin' away if I gets the mind fer it.

Abdul stroked his beard thoughtfully as the woman busied herself caring to the boy on the bed. She had cut herself off suddenly upon speaking of dragons, but what would associate or idolize the ancient creatures? A dragon cult? Quite possibly. It is quite common for a charlatan or a false prophet to travel through a town, winning the hearts of its inhabitants for their cause with a grand show of magnanimity, leaving their mark on the village ethos for several generations. However, the grand cathedral and its stone guardian with the face of a dragon, suggested something more recent and powerful, and very possibly sinister, running in the village. Whatever religious movement that had taken root here was much larger and influential than just this village.

"Yes, yes, I know. Regardless, I thought it best to drop by and let you all know that you're welcome to stay the night here at the village. We'll also be holding a fete tomorrow around lunchtime, which you'll be invited to. I was planning for tonight, but there was more to get done than I thought.”

The arrival of the mayor interrupted Abdul’s rumination. As if summoned by name, the priest had presented himself, arms held open to visitors, or perhaps potential recruits...or victims. With the village potentially under the sway of a malignant cult, their warm offers of hospitality now had a dark undertone, a shadow lurking just beneath the surface of the river. He made a mental note to examine the villagers’ offerings more carefully in the future as he watched Penelope address the mayor.

“I thank you for the hospitality. I surely will be there tomorrow. I wonder...will there be anything special served? I've heard that villages often have some sort of specialty that you can't get elsewhere and I would be ever so curious what sort of unique dish a place as impressively ran as this town could have."

“I also thank you for your village’s warm hospitality, lord mayor,” Abdul said as he rose from his seat, making sure to respectfully position himself behind Penelope, “Indeed, it would be a delight to be able to sample the local delicacies, if I am not being too presumptuous."

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Alois continued to silently eat as his mother started to rattle off about the village's wine. The boy  raised an eyebrow curiously at his mother as she began mentioning the village and its relation to dragons, though didn't press her any further. Instead, he let out a sigh and said, "well, thankfully the ground and me have gotten pretty familiar with each other these past few weeks." Alois looked to the ground and jokingly said, "ain't that right buddy?" 

This joke was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the mayor. The boy didn't care for the feast that the man was planning at all, and as such rolled his eyes at the man when the two of their gazes locked briefly. With the conversation briefly turning to the passing Sienna and dog, Alois briefly wondered what was going on but figured it was best to let running dogs run. Instead, as the other seemed to comment on the mayor's hospitality, Alois looked back to the man. With a wide smile on his face and a tone clearly mockingly cordial he said, "oh yes, I too thank you oh so very much for your generous display of hospitality Mr. Mayor. I can't wait to see what great cuisine waits at this week's feast." 

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Tsetseg pouted as her fishing efforts had seemed to result in nothing. As she looked at Phai as the girl went to explain how timing was important, she carefully examined hook. The girl felt a sort of twitch reaction go through her as she saw the cork bob down, but Phai didn't seem to pull it up. Again. And again. And then she snapped it out of the water, fish on the line. Tsetseg was in awe and clapped at the display of fishing skill. With that out of the way, the girl went back to her own fishing. Still, in spite of what she had just seen, she had been snapping her line out of the water too quickly and too abruptly, just barely not getting the fish. 

It was then that Phai had given her the advice to get in the fish's head. Be like the fish. She was the fish. Tsetseg nodded as she tried to use this advice. She was the fish! Though fishes didn't like it out of water, so was she also supposed to flail violently. For that matter, did fish fish? Other animals hunted each other all time, so that a fish would fish other fish didn't seem so far fetched. With that in mind, the girl imagined a fish under the sea - fishing rod in hand. Being like the fishing fish she cast her line out and waited. And waited. As she felt a tug, Tsetseg kept herself still. Until the cork bobbed down into the water once - twice more! And then, like the fisherman fish that she was supposed to be, she pulled the line out from the water, fish on the hook. 

With her expression bright as it could be, she said, "look, look Phai! I did it, I caught - " The girl was interrupted as Sienna and Gunther had appeared, alongside a dog. Smiling brightly at Gunther, the girl waved the fishing rod around, showing the knight her catching saying, "we're fishing. And see, I caught one!"

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Edrick had, up to the point of the Mayor's arrival, passed the time in a daze between the pain and the chemicals slowly seeping into his bloodstream. Somewhere along the line he reached out and took the bar of honey and sesame seeds into his hand and deposited it into his mouth where he allowed his body heat to soften it before he began slowly chewing on it. The soft sweetness of the progressively melting honey contrasted by the sharp crunch of pistachio whelmed his senses pleasantly. If only he was more awake to appreciate it. At least it kept him from babbling along some form of nonsense or other, not that he wasn't trying. Though in his weakened state his little burbles here and there were quiet enough to be easily ignored or shushed if someone cared to pay attention to them. Honestly he was hardly sure what of what was happening around him was real at this point while he faded between states of consciousness.

Occasionally he would open his eyes to see the scene before him of his friends, and they were his friends, gathered around and discussing something he couldn't quite hear. Other times it seemed he was back home. Laying in his bed in his parents' house, looking up while his mother treated a fever, or laying in his own bed dog tired after working the fields. Which inevitably brought his mind back to the reason he was there in the first place. That stubborn mare that had somehow been convinced to run off on him.

"Dragon what?" He said blearily as he, against his better judgement and likely the wishes of the woman tending to him, forced himself to sit up. Which immediately rewarded him with pain lancing through the entirety of his chest. So it took him a little while longer to get to where he could comment on the others, at which point the mayor had entered and was commenting on a feast being thrown in their honor. At least that was how it sounded. The others seemed interested, except for Alois. That didn't surprise him. Alois seemed pretty uncomfortable with his home situation.

"Um, Mene, right?" Edrick managed to ask, turning to look at Alois's mother. Once she assured him he had her name right, he nodded. "I'll honestly be fine on the floor. I've got a good bedroll that's seen me through worse than this. Can't be worse than being buried in snow anyways!" He let himself laugh, much more quietly since that didn't hurt his chest as much, at his own misfortunes. And when it seemed no one else was laughing, he stopped and looked around. "But um... alright this is a weird time to ask but have any of you seen a rider come through on a red roan mare with a strawberry mane recently? Would've been riding up out of the Southeast?" He looked around at the assembled villagers, hoping they would answer in the affirmative.

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Link obediently rose to his feet at Catriona’s behest. He was unsure how to interpret the princess insisting that for the time being she was not nobility; as Acantha was quick to point out, she could no more forget her royal upbringing than he could his rural one. He finally settled on a short, clipped, “yes, your majesty.” and dipped his head respectfully again. Then Citron saved him from any further embarrassment, stepping forward and explaining that she wished to learn more of the world, both the good parts as well as all the cruel parts her grandfather had sheltered her from. 

The soldier directed his attention toward Princess Catriona after Citron finished. She was as impossible as ever to try and read, but he was curious what her reaction would be. An inexperienced Wyvern Rider who wished to throw herself headfirst into danger? A small town merchant who WANTED to join a battle with a company she had seen charge headfirst into a stone dragon? It wasn’t your normal teenager, that was for sure, but her unique abilities could prove to be useful. A wyvern in the party… the utility they brought was undeniable. Unlike some pets. His gaze wandered to Rohns.

The wolf cub pounced away from a light swat from Peaches the Wyvern. Then it jumped forward and with a high-pitched snarl bit the scaly creature on the side, but his little teeth could not come close to breaking through her armor-like scales. Then both creatures paused at the sound of a baying hound in the distance. Rohns tilted his head curiously, looking in the direction of the noise, one ear pressed down against his head and the other ear twitching wildly. The cub was distracted when the baying ended and Peaches swatted it in the rear, causing them to resume their game of cat-and-mouse.

Even Link wondered what the hound was hunting. What kind of game was a dog used to track around here? Bear? Badger? Deer? Rusl had once told him that hunting with hounds was more often than not something a noble did, so maybe it had something to do with the wordy ass from before. Regardless of who the owner of the hound was he had no way of finding any information out, so like most things not immediately relevant to the soldier, he pushed it out of his mind and stopped thinking about it.
 

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"Aye, and I think I know what ye want t'be tracked as well," he set down the stick. "It's that other fox, ain't it? I saw her meself, gone toward the eastern gate. Icleias here actually started chasing her fer a bit afore I stopped him."

Sienna sighed and bowed her head. "Please, sir... I promise to bring back your dog. I just... Need to find my friend." She said as she looked back up at the man. Amas allowed her and they went outside to where Icleias had last caught Licorice's scent, and it didn't take long for him to get it back. The pup started making a strange bark and took off.

"Best follow him if ye don't want to be left behind," Amas said as he returned to his woodcarving. Sienna didn't waste a second and went after the dog. Eventually they made it past the village gate, where Sienna caught a quick glance of the mayor before running past him. No time to talk unfortunately.

Running out of the village, Sienna was impressed at how focused this pup was. No wonder humans have gotten along with hunting so we'll, despite not having the same senses as a fox. She even started to see signs of Licorice as they ran, this pup, Icleias, was like a professional hunter. They soon made it to a pond where two people were wishing, one who looked like a guard from the village and... Tsetseg?

"Oh! Who are you?" She flushed slightly. "I mean, uhh, that was rude, sorry. But I don't know you are. Unless..." she brightened. "Are you one of Tsetseg's friends? I think I remember seeing you at the battle earlier!"

The guard girl seemed exceptionally surprised and flustered at the event, Sienna looked at Icleias and could tell that he had lost the scent. She gave a big sigh and rubbed her head. "Sorry for the commotion... I'm just trying to find my friend..." She said as she watched the beagle wander around with his nose to the ground. She then heard the clanking of armor behind her and turned around. "Gunther?"

"What....is....going...on here?"

The knight seemed exhausted, as if he had been chasing after them the whole time. That couldn't have been easy considering the weight of his armor. "I... I was borrowing this dog from a person I helped... I'm trying to find out where Licorice went. But at this point... I'm starting to wonder if she just ran completely away..." She said as she just sat down quietly.

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Alois, Penelope, Edrick, and Abdul

"Dragon what?"

"Oh, er...nothing. Don't mind it, young man," Mene replied in a shaky voice, though she straightened somewhat at hearing Alois's remark.

"Well, thankfully the ground and me have gotten pretty familiar with each other these past few weeks." The boy looked to the ground and jokingly said, "ain't that right buddy?"

The woman shook her head at that. "Well, it'll only be for a night or two methinks. Or, well, as long as yer friend there needs it." She turned to look at Mayor Dresogon questioningly, but he was busy in reply to the others, having recovered from his earlier shock at seeing Sienna run by, and then Gunther run past him.

"It is no problem, of course," the mayor said, a small, grudging smile on his face. It was a face that wasn't made for such things, and so the few smiles that found their way there usually vanished just as quickly. "And there won't be anything there that'll impress royalty, but I think you'll find our village fare has a charm of its own. The wine, in particular, is my specialty," his chest ballooned with pride, though it quickly deflated upon hearing Alois speak, the smile morphing to a more natural frown. "I see your tongue works as well as ever," he said, lifting a pudgy finger to jab it angrily toward the boy. "Rest assured, we're not holding this fete for you or your return."

"An' why not?" Mene put her hands on her hips, a move that caused Mayor Dresogon to sigh and hold his head. "Alois here did just as much to help the village as his friends did. He's a hero is what he is, an' I'll not have ye tryin' to say as he isn't."

"Yes, I know, but a hero or not, it doesn't change the fact the boy's a menace! And look!" he pointed at the stack of books Mene had moved earlier. "Those are my books! He's a thief to boot! And you're trying to defend him?"

"I already talked t'him about that," Alois's mother scowled, picking up the books and handing them back to him. "An' I'd think ye'd be happy to know there's another person in this village who likes books as much as ye." By her words, it was hard to believe she herself had been scolding Alois for taking the books not more than fifteen minutes ago.

"No amount of book reading can make up for his attitude," the mayor snorted, before waving his hand. "Anyway, this isn't what I came to talk to you all about."

"Then what did ye--"

"Um, Mene, right?" Edrick's raspy voice caused all eyes to turn toward him, abruptly silencing the argument.

"Aye, that's me," the woman approached, fussing with the covers. "Are ye too cold?"

"I'll honestly be fine on the floor. I've got a good bedroll that's seen me through worse than this. Can't be worse than being buried in snow anyways!" the boy laughed quietly, eventually trailing off. "But um... alright this is a weird time to ask but have any of you seen a rider come through on a red roan mare with a strawberry mane recently? Would've been riding up out of the Southeast?"

"A rider on a mare? Can't say that I have. What about you, Mene?" the mayor turned toward the woman, whose eyes were squinted in thought.

"Aye, I thinks I might've, though I can't says fer sure it was red. It was on the month o' August, the night of that storm. When we had to go out the next day an' chop up that tree that fell down."

"Oh, that night! Yes, I remember you saying something about seeing someone then, now that you mention it," the mayor nodded. Alois would recall that night as well, though he would mainly remember the next day when he had to help out with the chopping. That was one of the few times the mayor hadn't found a reason to yell at him, as his woodcutting skills were more than passable.

"I'd been called out to help settle the sheep down. Poor Paulos was laid up with a broken leg then, and Timotheos ain't that experienced yet. My house is the closest to the east gate an' the sheep, so's I went out t'see if'n I could do aught. The sheep were all up in a right fuss, more so than usual, an' then they got worse alls of a sudden. An' I'm not sure why, but I turned to look behind me, I couldn't see nothin', but I felt like I was bein' watched. An' then the night lit up in a flash of lightning, an' there 'twas. A rider covered head to toe in a hooded cloak--'cause of the storm, no doubt--atop a horse. Though I couldn't see much more than that. See, the lightning made it so's I could see them, but I couldn't see's much more than that with the light behind 'em like that. Like they were naught more than a shadow, or summat."

"Their silhouette," the mayor corrected.

"Aye, sorry I'm not one fer book learning or nothin'," the woman replied with some embarrassment. "But I knows what I saw, an' I don't know if'n that was the mare yer talkin' about or no, but could be. Can't say more 'cause when the next flash lit up the sky, they were gone. But they were in the east, all right."

"But that was a month ago. They're probably long gone," Dresogon shook his head, before turning to Penelope. "Does this horse have anything to do with what you said earlier then?" he glanced at Abdul warily.

--

Catriona, Link and Citron

Catriona had not expected the words that had left her own mouth. To throw away her title, something that defined who she was, went against her very being. But it was true. She was a princess, yes, but right now, she was a traveler. As they all were. It was a strange thought, and not one she had ever dreamed she'd have. But I will die soon enough anyway, and what will titles matter then? I have heard that Isaurians believe differently, but I am Galtean, and when I am gone, I shall become naught more than ash on the wind. She frowned slightly. Would that my remains could be thrown into the Galtean Sea, like my forefathers before me. At the end, I shall ask Penelope to carry them there.

But as Acantha had pointed out, casting off her royal bearing was easier said than done, a sentiment Link seemed to agree with if his reply of, "yes, your majesty" meant anything. The princess fought the urge to sigh. It appears there is a long road ahead of me yet. I shall need to practice at speaking more like a commoner. I shall have to observe how the others speak--those that are commoners, that is, and imitate them. She thought for a second. Mayhap Alois will be willing to teach me. He seemed interested in my swordplay when last we sparred, so I could frame it as an exchange of sorts. It will be less embarrassing than asking him outright, anyway.

And then Link brought up Citron, and Catriona snapped her attention back to the present, and what the merchant was saying. The lord took her time to think over what the girl had said afterward, though her attention was shortly diverted by the baying of a hound. One hound, not multiple, like she was used to the few times she had accompanied her father on his hunts. "How odd," she said, though she turned her focus back to Citron without much more thought put into it. "It is good that you have an idea of what you're getting into. More so than I had expected, I will admit." But not enough. It wouldn't ever be enough. No amount of foreknowledge could ever prepare one for the realities of battle. She knew that firsthand and had seen that with her sister as well. Did she want to drag this unassuming merchant girl into fighting, from which there would be no return?

She was young. Far too young for this. She had the calluses of a hard worker, but she stood like the civilian she was. Out of everybody in the room barring Ciela, hers was the only back in a relaxed slope, though it was slightly stiff from nervousness. Even Acantha, who wasn't a soldier but part of the town militia, had the hard look of one who had seen battle. Though she sat, her back was as straight as an arrow, her chin raised defiantly. But it was her eyes that gave away the most, for they flitted between the three of them in a watchfulness mirrored thrice over in Link, who kept his attention on the exits in an almost paranoid manner.

But Citron had seen battle already. She had helped them fight against the statue, had not let the fear of the unknown and unnatural hold her back from helping out. She had nerve, that was for sure. Most ordinary people would have fled the town hall at the first flap of the monolith's wings, but she had not. And, loathe though Catriona was to admit it, they needed people with that kind of courage. For their journey would take them ever further into the realm of the unnatural.

"You may regret diving further into this," Catriona warned. "But if you are sure..." Once Citron gave a reply, she nodded. "Very well. Citron..." she paused to remember the name, "Paradisi. If you are willing, you are welcome to join us. You showed courage back there, and we will have need of such courage in the future."

"Well, now that that's over with," Acantha rose to her feet. "What's the plan now? Are you three, or four," she glanced at Ciela, "going to stick around here forever like bumps on a log? Your friends all left you behind." She looked at Peaches. "I think your wyvern's good enough to move if she has to, though I wouldn't have her fly around just yet if you know what's good for her."

--

Gunther, Sienna, and Tsetseg

Sienna gave a sigh, rubbing her head. "Sorry for the commotion... I'm just trying to find my friend...Gunther?"

For once, the knight's entrance had been quieter than Sienna's, though that was only because the Protean had been accompanied by a loudly barking dog. His armor was still loud enough to draw attention as he gasped out a question.

Tsetseg waved her fishing rod proudly, "we're fishing. And see, I caught one!"

"Oh, okay," Phai nodded in reply to Sienna, expression brightening. "Well she's right here!" she pointed to Tsetseg, then looked at Gunther to reply to his question, echoing the archer a little nervously. "We're fishing, and--" she cut herself off at seeing the fish, eyes going round, "WOW! Nice one, Tsetseg!" she complimented, voice going back to its prior chirpy tones. "See, I knew you could do it! You'll be a master fisherman yet!"

"I... I was borrowing this dog from a person I helped... I'm trying to find out where Licorice went. But at this point... I'm starting to wonder if she just ran completely away..." Sienna sat down quietly.

"She ran away, huh?" Phai tilted her head. "That's no good. Er, if you don't mind me saying so," she squeaked. "But, well, that's usually a bad thing anyway. Ahem," she cleared her throat. "I'm, uhh, sorry to say this, but you're probably right. There's not much past here. Well, there is a river, but beyond that, it's just a bunch of swampland, or so Acantha's told me. And she's told me to never go there either."

This would sound familiar to all three of the group, as they had crossed that river just that morning. At that moment, however, Icleias lifted his head and bayed, immediately capturing everybody's attention. And then, he resumed his run.

"It sounds like he found something!" Phai shouted, following behind. "Let's go!" In the heat of the moment, her nervousness had vanished.

The puppy took them past the pond and through the forest. Here and there the group would see signs of a large animal having come through previously, though after some time following behind the dog, the obvious ones disappeared. Only Tsetseg, with her experience in hunting, would catch any after that. Small signs, like spots of mud on rocks, or twigs sticking up at unnatural angles. It seemed that Licorice had transformed into her humanoid form at some point, as her fox form would've left behind far more signs of her passing through.

Eventually, the group made it to a river, the same one they had crossed earlier, though it was far wider here than when they had crossed, splitting into two branches. One ran north, the other east, and it was here that Icleias finally stopped, circling the ground in confusion.

"Uhh, it looks like we won't be able to go any farther," Phai said timidly. "I think that uhh, your friend might have crossed the river. Or something like that. And I don't think we should try and follow her. Not here, anyway. There is a place to cross south of here, but..." she looked up at the darkening late afternoon sky, "I think it might be better to just head back for now. Unless, you want to keep going?" She looked at the group with a nervous smile.


OOC

Spoiler

Finally, seems like somebody's spotted Elba! And Catriona is the same as always. Also, Team GunSieTse has a choice to make. Try to cross the river, or head back. Though if you want you can have your character have stayed behind at the pond too. So yeah.

Let Cow or I know if you need any information. I'd ask Cow. He's online more often, and he knows more than he thinks he does. If he doesn't, then just ask me, and I'll reply as soon as I get online.

Edited by Waluigi

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"we're fishing. And see, I caught one!"

Despite his trouble breathing Gunther still managed to smile at the girl's antics. She was rather proud of her catch so he had to assume she had been at it for a while. "Good...good work, Tsetseg." He said as he tried to catch his breath.

Sienna gave more the answer he had been looking for. Explaining that the girl was trying to track down where Licorice had gone. He didn't realize how important it was for Sienna to reconnect with her fellow Protean. Which made him feel all the more the fool for his inept attempts to calm her down earlier.

Gunther straightened out and took in a few more deep breaths to settle himself down and relax a bit after his ill-advised run. "Well...I suppose that makes sense. Hunting dogs are trained for this sort of thing." He looked at said dog and it made his smile grow. The animal seemed to be a good and happy sort which meant their owner must be kind.

The town girl's mention of the swamp made Gunther curious. Why would she have to avoid it?

Before he could ask the dog barked, causing him to startle, and his words vanished before he could say them.

"Let's go!"

"Oh spirits not again." Gunther groaned as they took off after the dog once more. He tried his best to keep up but found himself trailing quite a bit behind due to the terrain. When he caught up it was because they had stopped.

"I think it might be better to just head back for now. Unless, you want to keep going?"

He caught the tail-end of what the girl was saying and it made him sigh in relief at the out. He certainly didn't think he could continue much farther like this. Though he couldn't really give his opinion right away in the state he was in.

Once he caught his breath, again, he finally could respond. Had he been able to respond right away he would have said they should leave it be. However the time he took caused him to rethink such a response. Thinking on how Sienna must feel he simply said "It's up...to you two. I'll keep going if...if you wish it."


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Penelope was silent as the other two chimed in. Though she did cast Alois a quick narrow-eyed glare. "Time and place, Alois, time and place." She was trying to glean a bit more information from the man she couldn't let him be distracted by Alois's sass.

Though it was amusing how much they disliked each other.

The only real information that she managed to get was, yes, the wine would be there. Which at least showed that he was proud of it and willing to share it with them. Perhaps she could get some knowledge on how it was made. Especially if they manage to make sure he drinks enough...

The following talks distracted her from this idea as she listened to Mene scolding the mayor about his treatment of Alois. She was glad that she had done it so that Penelope didn't have to risk weakening their position.

From there it went a rather unusual direction. When Edrick asked about the horse it reminded her of his main purpose for journeying, a purpose that grew more farfetched the more they saw, and she couldn't help but smile sadly. The poor boy never got any information and it was unlikely that...

Except it turned out that they actually did have some information. Though the story they told seemed rather ominous and raised more questions. She had to assume that if Edrick lost a horse it was to bandits yet a lone rider out in the storm...did not seem to fit that. Perhaps it was a different horse or perhaps there was something rather...unorthodox about the people who stole Edrick's horse.

Or maybe it was just the wild imagination of a small town who weren't as learned as her.

"Does this horse have anything to do with what you said earlier then?"

Either way she had to respond. "No, I doubt it. That's a rather personal matter for Edrick." She thought about returning to the topic of the wine but decided it wouldn't do to seem too interested. "As to what you said before, don't worry, I can certainly already see the charms of this place. Why, this young woman has plenty of it herself." She smiled at Mene.

"Though...I do wonder about that man, Pylauses I believe? And his companion. They don't seem to, ah, match the charm of this town much."

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Alois had caught the glare that Penelope gave towards him as he made his mocking comment towards him, looking away and letting out a sigh as if to say, "fine, fine." All the same, when his mother went to defend him, Alois nodded along with her comments. It was true that Alois had helped saved the town - he could even brag to the mayor about how he had even been the one to solve his scavenger hunt riddle. His own contributions didn't actually matter that much in the end to solving the curse, but he could certainly use that and act as if he had been the most important person on the scene. Nodding at her comment about the books as well, Alois said, "I don't see the problem myself. I'm just enriching myself like any good mayor would like me to." As he said this, the boy shot a look back to Penelope as if to immediately apologize. 

The conversation took a turn away from him, however, as Edrick had seemed to wonder more about his horse. Alois had completely forgotten he was looking for the equestrian creature and he still didn't particularly care about it. Though, that his mother seemed to have a say on this kind of topic was certainly surprising. Alois wasn't quite sure if the strange cloaked rider in the middle of a storm was quite the horse thief that Edrick was looking for. It was also a very strange thing in general to view. Which, thinking more on it meant that it was almost definitely related to Edrick and contrary to Penelope's comment was almost definitely going to be their problem. He would cross that bridge when they got there, though. 

For now, he was intrigued by Penelope's question to the mayor. A question he had never thought about himself until just recently. Looking at the mayor, Alois scratched his head saying, "yeah. He seems to hate pretty much everyone and every house in this town that isn't his, so why did he even come here in the first place?" 

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Tsetseg smiled more brightly as both Phai and Gunther had congratulated on her catch. The girl felt inclined to ask the others to join, also giving a wave to Sienna as it seemed that she had been looking for a friend herself. Tsetseg waved as Phai seemed to think it was her, saying, "hi hello Sienna! I'm right here. And with a fish!" The girl waved her fishing rod with the fish attached. It had turned out, though, that Tsetseg had not been the girl that Sienna was looking for. She hadn't paid it much mind up until now, but Licorice had been gone for a real long time and it was worrying if they were just gone and on their own here. Resolving to go help Sienna out in her quest to find her elusive fluffy tailed friend, Tsetseg was getting ready to track the protean down! 

Of course her own skills weren't entirely necessary. They had a dog after all! When it came to navigation and hunting animals were certainly handy and had a set of skills that humans just couldn't match up to. The young hunter sure was envious of them at times, and wished for the day in which she was even more talented then such creatures and didn't need their help. Naturally, though, if she had the choice between having a fluffy adorable canine companion to help her hunt and not she would take the companion every single time. Like right now! 

As the dog seemed to pick up on something, the girl excitedly bounded in place pointing. "Come on guys, let's keep going!" The girl ran alongside Phai and the dog, looking down at the ground as she picked up on the trail it was following. When they got to the end of the trail, the girl bent down and pet the small dog. "Good boy, good boy! Good job bringing us this far." The girl let out a happy giggle as she continued to pet them. Seemingly put back on topic by Gunther's comment, the girl looked up saying. "well, it's important to find your friends and family right? And you really want to find her right Sienna? So we gotta keep looking! After all, she's all by herself right now and the longer we wait the harder it'll be to follow her!" 

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Truth be told, Citron was expecting Lincoln to be the first to question her willingness to throw herself into danger or insist that a civiliian shouldn't get involved, yet as she glanced back to gauge the soldier’s reaction, his reaction was much more subdued, focusing on the playing of their pets instead. The surprise on her face would be evident to anyone who looked; she had honestly pegged him as a more serious, no-nonsense person, ever since the group’s facade had been dropped, yet here they were. It was when the princess first spoke that she turned back to face their group-leader, and she was met with something a lot more… Predictable.

Citron did her best to relax as she watched the woman in front of her analyze every piece of her, likely judging whether or not to let her join. That’s what made sense, wasn’t it? Taking in a deep breath, Citron couldn’t help but fidget with her dress a bit more as the woman stared, the silence spanning much longer than it felt like it should, before it was eventually broken… And she wa,s seemingly welcomed into the group. “Th… Thank you, Your Majesty. I’ll do my best to help contribute in any way I can.” Citron gave a small bow, before rising back to her full height. “Oh, and um… Also… If you don’t mind me saying,” she paused, smiling. “Nice word-play there. The um, ‘diving’ part. Y’know, after I used an anecdote involving water.” She giggled, bringing a hand to rub the side of her neck.

Her attempt at lightening the mood was interrupted as Acantha spoke up, bringing her attention towards her and the wyvern; who continued to playfully swat at Rohns. “Ah, you’re right!” Citron brought her good hand to her chin, walking towards Acantha and the wyvern. “I wanted to thank you again for taking care of Peaches. She seems to be doing much better!” She smiled, watching the wyvern ‘attack’ the wolf-pup lazily. “You also raise a pretty good question,” Citron moved to stand at the side of her wyvern, adjusting the harness to let Peaches have a bit more freedom with her movements. “Where should we go? Is there anywhere to stay, like an Inn, or somewhere to procure a tent? Or… Do you have any ideas, Your Majesty?” Citron asked, glancing between Acantha and the Princess as she idly pet the wyvern’s scales.

---

With a practiced screech, the wyvern ‘pounced’ towards Rohns, which mostly consisted of stepping forwards and opening her mouth, before letting the cub attack one of her haunches, or her snout. It was only when her rider approached her neck that she lowered it, pausing her playtime long enough for Rohns to gnaw on her if he so chose. Wiggling a bit, the harness around her neck that Citron placed bags on was loosened as she nuzzled against the rider’s touch, a quiet, lizard-like chirp coming from the lizard.

Edited by Feral Pistol

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As soon as the question left his mouth, Edrick had been bracing himself for disappointment. He hadn't heard any word back in Ithome, or anywhere else for that matter, and this place was so small and out of the way that-

"Aye, I thinks I might've, though I can't says fer sure it was red. It was on the month o' August, the night of that storm. When we had to go out the next day an' chop up that tree that fell down." The boy was so stunned to hear news that he damn near fell out of the bed and onto the floor. But he managed to keep himself balanced, thanks to a quick grab on the edge of it, and stay sat up through the entire story. Which... brought a thoughtful scowl to his face as he went through what he knew about it. The direction and the location matched up, but not the time. If they'd come this way on horseback, especially riding Elba, they should have reached this place around February... if they'd come straight here anyways. So what did it mean if they had been here as recent as a month ago? Well... if they were lucky, it meant that they were still close by! After all, there weren't too many places someone could go in this little corner of Histia!

"That... yeah that sounds like who I'm lookin' for." He looked over at Alois because he thought he heard the boy groaning at that revelation, but then again maybe he was just hearing things. His head was starting to pound with quite the headache again. Was there a drummer in the room? Because it felt like they were using his skull as a cymbal. And that was all that he really needed to feel in order to let himself lay back down, even if he was making a much firmer effort to stay conscious enough to be aware of what people were saying around him. "I chase that bastard all the way across Locris and it turns out if I'd just turned North at the first real road I found I would've been closer..." he grumbled, mostly to himself, but then stopped as he remembered probably the most important question that he could ask. "Wait, what else is in this part of Histia? Where would someone be going if they passed this village by?"

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Link continued to watch in relative silence. So Princess Catriona had accepted the Wyvern Rider into their group; he agreed with her decision on a logical level. Flight was an unrivaled utility, and though they had Adel, a wyvern in the sky gave a certain amount of bulk and power that could not be denied. Still… Citron was not all that old, and she had lived a sheltered life from the sounds of it, so she doubted she had seen the cruelty the world would soon heap onto her shoulders in excess. 

The militia women urged them to find somewhere to go, pulling him from his thoughts. “. . .” That wasn’t really his place to decide. Citron voiced her curiosity about where they would stay, but somewhere to rest was also far from the forefront of his mind. He thought it wise to regroup with Princess Penelope and the others. 

Regardless, it was a decision he would leave to Princess Catriona.

Rohns on the other hand was enjoying himself. He took the momentary lapse in Peaches concentration to jump at her throat and sink his teeth into the scales, though he lacked the power to do any damage, and it was clear the cub was simply playing.
 

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Abdul returned to his seat as the mayor started to bicker with Alois and Mene over some ‘borrowed’ books. The mayor appeared to be a bit of a busybody who refused to tolerate such a slight, but the sly, smug grin on the boy’s face suggested a long history of mischief. The scene reminded him of something that might have happened during his halcyon days of youth, when the worst thing he had to worry about was being caught stealing oranges from the bazaar. Before he could reminisce on his childhood, Edrick had managed to muster the strength to talk.

Abdul reached the bottom of his cup as Mene recounted a prosey tale of a hooded rider. The build up to the great reveal of the hooded rider made Abdul half expect for the rider to be brandishing a scythe and proclaiming prophecies of doom. Such tales sounded very much like the tall tales conjured by the vivid imaginations of shepherds during dull moments in the fields, and Mene was merely repeating it as the truth. However, the brief, accusatory glance from the mayor suggested that he also believed such a wild tale and immediately pointed out the outsider. Preferring not to make a scene, Abdul pretended not to notice, topping off any unattended cups with fresh tea, and waited until he was addressed.

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Alois, Penelope, Edrick, and Abdul

Alois could be considered fortunate that his comment about "enrichment" had gone without any commentary of its own. Though the mayor's frown deepened, he kept his mouth shut while Edrick spoke. To the side, Mene shook her head in exasperation.

On the bed, Edrick was scowling thoughtfully. "That... yeah that sounds like who I'm lookin' for." He lay back down then, face pale, though he seemed to be fighting to stay conscious still.

While the lancer seemed lost in thought, Penelope replied to the mayor's question. "No, I doubt it. That's a rather personal matter for Edrick. As to what you said before, don't worry, I can certainly already see the charms of this place. Why, this young woman has plenty of it herself." She smiled at Mene, drawing a flattered smile from the woman.

"I'm glad you do," Mayor Dresogon nodded, pleased. "We may not be as flashy as Ithome, but unlike the capital, we are completely self-sufficient, save for a few specialty goods. That in itself is something to be proud of."

"Though...I do wonder about that man, Pylauses I believe? And his companion. They don't seem to, ah, match the charm of this town much."

"Yeah. He seems to hate pretty much everyone and every house in this town that isn't his, so why did he even come here in the first place?"

"Oh, him," the mayor groaned. "He came here a while back, claiming this land as his fief or some such nonsense. Despite all that, he hasn't actually done anything harmful, so I decided to let him stay. And I've regretted it ever since," he mumbled the last bit under his breath.

"It's best if'n ye just ignore him," Mene suggested.

"That might not be such a good idea--" the mayor cut himself off at hearing Edrick's question.

"Wait, what else is in this part of Histia? Where would someone be going if they passed this village by?"

Mene shifted her weight from foot to foot, humming nervously as she wrung her hands together. "Oh, 'ere? Er, well, nothin'. Nothin' at all. Though if'n yous mean westward, err, well, then that's, uhh..."

"That's Galtea," the mayor chipped in. "Though there's not much in that part of the kingdom, or so I've heard. Most people don't come through here if they're trying to go there--they'd head to Ithome, or Trikka even. Both of those cities are connected to the main roads." He thought for a moment. "I suppose they could've headed north though, or south even. North of here are the mountains, but south of here's Sochen."

"That's our mayor for ya," Mene nodded. "Knows the most outta anybody in the village, savin' my smart boy 'ere," she patted Alois's shoulder.

"Erhem, that's a matter of opinion," the mayor scowled at the fighter for a second before turning back toward Edrick with a shake of his head. "But that's all I know. I'm not so sure what sort of destination that strange rider would have if they headed through here though." He paused, noticing the tea that Abdul was serving everybody. "Is that tea? And masala chai, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh, ye know it, mayor?"

"Know it?! Course. Tea is a fine drink indeed, and I consider myself an expert of sorts in those," the mayor puffed out his chest.

--

Catriona, Link and Citron

“Th… Thank you, Your Majesty. I’ll do my best to help contribute in any way I can.” Citron gave a small bow.

Catriona fought back a sigh. Right after she had just told them not to call her "Your Majesty." It seemed either Link was rubbing off on this girl already, or Catriona was just deficit in acting the commoner. She would need to improve herself there if she did not want to look suspicious.

“Oh, and um… Also… If you don’t mind me saying. Nice word-play there. The um, ‘diving’ part. Y’know, after I used an anecdote involving water.” The wyvern rider giggled, rubbing the side of her neck.

Catriona stared at her, nonplussed. "I did not use word-play," she stated flatly. "I merely spoke what came to mind."

The two were saved from the inevitable awkwardness that would follow that by Acantha's interruption.

“Ah, you’re right!” the Isaurian walked toward Peaches. “I wanted to thank you again for taking care of Peaches. She seems to be doing much better! You also raise a pretty good question,” she adjusted the wyvern's harness. “Where should we go? Is there anywhere to stay, like an Inn, or somewhere to procure a tent? Or… Do you have any ideas, Your Majesty?”

"It was no big deal," Acantha turned her head to the side. "Just make sure not to let that happen again. Your mounts are almost as important as your life." She stretched. "And unless I'm off my mark, the mayor should have taken care of such things on his end, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. He'll probably contact us soon. You might as well try and group up with the others."

The princess nodded. "A sound plan. The sooner we reunite with the others, the sooner we can see about making preparations for the night." She also disliked the idea of staying separated for too long, especially in a strange village. Though she knew that with Gunther there, she wouldn't have to worry too much, and Alois seemed trustworthy enough as well. She glanced at Ciela, and then at Citron. "Citron, would Peaches allow somebody other than you on her back?" She was able to carry Ciela herself, but doing so would mean she wouldn't have any hands free to defend herself or the others should danger arise.

The longer she's unconscious, the more dangerous it is for her, the woman thought. I thought her wounds nothing serious since Adel seemed fine, but I forgot that Ciela is much more fragile. They would have to figure something out if she still didn't wake up by the time they were ready to leave the village.

Whether Peaches was able to carry Ciela or not, the group would soon exit the town hall from the main doorway, though the door itself had fallen off of its hinges, a large wyvern-shaped hole in the wood. Crossing the threshold, it almost seemed as if they stepped into a different world, the hushed atmosphere of the town hall falling from around them like a shroud, replaced instead by the cacophony of tools knocking against stone and timber, and voices shouting out instructions. The scent of velvet, dust, and varnished wood was gone, in its place, a barrage of smells found only in areas where people gather and bathing is a privilege rather than a necessity. Catriona blinked, shading her eyes against the bright sun above. A far cry from yesterday, she thought. Would it had been so nice on the road. She expected such weather in Garon or Sethis, not Ramesoth. Still, she shouldn't have been that surprised. The rain came no matter the month.

"Will you lead us then, Link?" the woman asked, turning toward the mercenary. He had gone with the main group, after all, so she assumed he knew the way.

--

Gunther, Sienna, and Tsetseg

Icleias lapped up the attention he was receiving joyfully, giving a happy bark as his tail wagged so hard it seemed it would fall off. Phai, however, did not seem as happy as she listened to the responses.

"It's up...to you two. I'll keep going if...if you wish it."

"Well, it's important to find your friends and family right? And you really want to find her right Sienna? So we gotta keep looking! After all, she's all by herself right now and the longer we wait the harder it'll be to follow her!"

"Ehhh?! W-Well, I suppose, that's, err, true, I guess," Phai said, twiddling her fingers together. "Umm...in that case, there's a place to cross not far from here, if you all are, uhh, fine with that." Unless anybody voiced any objections, she would lead the way, heading south along the riverbank. There, the ground sloped up, a gradual incline that became steeper and firmer, mud replaced by pale white stone like the statue they had fought earlier. Eventually they reached a point where the rock hung over the river like the talon of some large bird of prey. At the very tip, an oak tree clung to the edge with grasping, finger-like roots.

"You should be able to just jump down from here, but it'll be harder to make the return trip," the girl said, and it was apparent that she was correct. The cliff hung far enough over the river that one could easily jump across from there, but getting back up was another story. "I hid a rope on the other side though, and I'm a good thrower," she knocked a fist against her chest with a confidence that seemed at odds with her earlier behavior, "so we should be able to make it back from here too." She glanced at Gunther for a second before nodding, some of the nervousness returning to her expression, "Even you, I think."

The girl took a deep breath then, stepping back a bit before running forward and leaping over the edge, landing on the other side with a soft splash. "Come on, it should be a soft landing!" she called out to the trio above. "The ground's all muddy and stuff here, so there shouldn't be any problems. I, uhh, think so anyway."

With a bark, Icleias followed, splashing into the water in a belly flop, though he seemed none the worse the wear for it, quickly exiting the river and lowering his nose as he sniffed around on the opposite bank.


OOC

Spoiler

Good evening, everyone! Not much to say here, really. Except, well, I've never had masala chai tea myself, but all this talking about it really makes me want to try it sometime. I suppose this doesn't really qualify as OOC talk, does it? Oh, but I did find out that there is a Japanese word used to describe Phaidra's specific personality type! I won't reveal it though since I think it's more fun to slowly discover a character's personality through posts. Speaking of posts, I've been trying to be less lazy *cough* half-assing *cough when I post lately, but especially in this RP. I hope it shows. It's hard to fight my natural laziness, though.

Well then, Isabelle--I mean, Sethera, signing off!

I've been playing too much Animal Crossing lately.

Edited by Waluigi

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"well, it's important to find your friends and family right? And you really want to find her right Sienna? So we gotta keep looking! After all, she's all by herself right now and the longer we wait the harder it'll be to follow her!" 

He was afraid she'd say that. "Right, yes, I suppose there's our answer then." Gunther said reluctantly. He wasn't sure how much farther he could go at this rate. This worry grew stronger as he dragged his armored self up an incline that got steeper and steeper until he was starting to grow concerned that he would end up falling backwards and rolling down like a wagon wheel down a hill. Thankfully he managed to make it to the top.

Only to discover that the girl intended for them to jump down into the muddy bank below. The girl's reassurance that she would be able to get him back up didn't do anything to soothe his concerns.

The Knight stared down at where he would have to jump and then looked back at his two companions. "I, erm...I don''t know if this is such a good idea after all." He hesitated. Not wanting to seem a coward but even more so not wanting to break something or get stuck after jumping.

"I'm not sure I can keep going from here..."


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Penelope had a finger on her chin and her eyes darted back and forth as her mind worked over the information she was presented with. So the man seemed just a fool, and it looked as though the villagers simply let him be, but there was something that the mayor had been about to say. Why would it be bad to ignore him?

She very much doubted that he was any manner of lord as he claimed and yet...the man was so ludicrous she couldn't help but wonder what his angle was. Why would he come here specifically? It could simply be because he had some money and believed that he could use that to live out his fantasy among "common folk".

And yet...

The rest of the conversation she didn't care much about. Edrick's mysterious horse thief was interesting, for sure, but it didn't really have much to do with them. Of course if they ran across them she'd help but other than that it was his quest.

She wasn't surprised to find out the mayor knew about tea. From what she could tell he lived much more opulently than one would expect. Which made her even more curious what his relation with Pylauses. "Sir mayor." She began. "Do you ever think this Pylauses is attempting to pull a ruse over you? After all, you live quite...well for a village such as this. I wouldn't doubt you have the occasional con-man attempting to take advantage."

The princess decided to tackle the issue as though she was concerned about him. It was true the mayor was also full of suspicious activity so perhaps he would let something slip if she came to him as someone concerned rather than someone suspicious.

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 "Though...I do wonder about that man, Pylauses I believe? And his companion. They don't seem to, ah, match the charm of this town much."

"Yeah. He seems to hate pretty much everyone and every house in this town that isn't his, so why did he even come here in the first place?"

"Oh, him. He came here a while back, claiming this land as his fief or some such nonsense. Despite all that, he hasn't actually done anything harmful, so I decided to let him stay. And I've regretted it ever since."

Abdul chuckled politely under his breath. The tale explained much of why a noble of such a countenance would be found in humble surroundings, and why he lacked the etiquette and refinement of a more traditional noble. However, if the town was indeed under the sway of a hidden cult, perhaps it was too much of a coincidence for an outsider not to be involved in someway.

"Wait, what else is in this part of Histia? Where would someone be going if they passed this village by?"

Mene’s cagey response to an otherwise innocuous question gave Abdul pause once again. Was it simply a ruse to come off as bumbling or good natured, or was there something truly sinister lurking beneath the veneer of a humble forest hamlet?

 "Is that tea? And masala chai, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh, ye know it, mayor?"

"Know it?! Course. Tea is a fine drink indeed, and I consider myself an expert of sorts in those.”

“Ah, I had a good feeling you were a man of culture and good taste lord mayor!” Abdul replied enthusiastically as he retrieved another cup from his tea set, “Perhaps if you are not too occupied with your duties, you may stay a little while and enjoy a cup? I still have a few cups of tea left, if you do not mind it a little strong.”

"Sir mayor. Do you ever think this Pylauses is attempting to pull a ruse over you? After all, you live quite...well for a village such as this. I wouldn't doubt you have the occasional con-man attempting to take advantage."

“I agree. My brief interaction with Sir Pylauses did not inspire confidence in his character, nor his competency with language. Has he done much for the village, beyond constructing his manor of...questionable...taste?”

 

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Before Sienna could say anything on the matter of Licorice's disappearance, Icleias seemed to catch her scent yet again and took off. She chased after the little dog, followed by Phai, Tsetseg, and Gunther. As they followed, Sienna could still tell that Licorice went through the area, only her tracks were becoming more and more absent. She must have changed back to her humanoid form as she was running, so as to hide her trail.

It wasn't long until the group finally made it back to the river they had crossed to get to the village. Only it was much wider this time and branched off in two directions, a different part of the river entirely.

"Uhh, it looks like we won't be able to go any farther," Phai said timidly. "I think that uhh, your friend might have crossed the river. Or something like that. And I don't think we should try and follow her. Not here, anyway. There is a place to cross south of here, but..." she looked up at the darkening late afternoon sky, "I think it might be better to just head back for now. Unless, you want to keep going?" She looked at the group with a nervous smile.

Sienna let out a sigh, it was getting late, and with Gunther with them it would be too exhausting to keep going. It seemed like this was all for naught, Licorice had just completely left.

"well, it's important to find your friends and family right? And you really want to find her right Sienna? So we gotta keep looking! After all, she's all by herself right now and the longer we wait the harder it'll be to follow her!"

"Ehhh?! W-Well, I suppose, that's, err, true, I guess," Phai said, twiddling her fingers together. "Umm...in that case, there's a place to cross not far from here, if you all are, uhh, fine with that."

Sienna was surprised by how Tsetseg was so willing to help her, it was moving to say the least. Phai lead the group up a steep hill, eventually pointing out a lone oak tree. She explained that she used a rope on the other side of the river as a means of getting back and quickly made the jump herself, Icleias right after her.

"I'm not sure I can keep going from here..."

Sienna was about to jump too when she heard Gunther's worried voice. She looked over to the knight and turned to him. "Well... You don't have to if you don't want to... This whole chase must be taking its toll on you more than anyone. You can head back if you want, but Gunther... I appreciate that you were willing to go this far just to help." She said with a small smile before turning back to the cliff and making her jump, landing beside Phai with ease.

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The Princess’ deflection of Citron’s compliment didn’t exactly catch the merchant off guard, but it was a tad disappointing. After all, that was a really good play on words! However, Citron didn’t have time to dwell on it for too long, as she found herself nodding in response to Acantha’s comment. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” she paused, her grin growing ever wide as she did her best to scritch under Peaches’ chin as the wyvern continued to let the wolf gnaw on her scales. “She’s famiy to me at this point. I’m just glad you were able to patch her up, y’know?” She explained, before pausing as the Princess posed a question of her own.

“Huh? Oh, I getcha,” Citron nodded, before turning to Peaches. “She should. Let me see if she’s feeling up to it right now.” Citron cleared her throat, taking her good hand and tapping the side of Peaches face, slowly trailing from her neck towards the wyvern’s back. After a curious look, the wyvern let out a quiet chirp, not dissimilar to the kind of sound she made moments ago after being reunited with her rider. “Okay, yeah, she’s good for it. Can you help me get her up there?”

With more than a little trouble on Citron’s part, given Link or Catriona didn’t completely take the job from her, Citron would attempt to load Ciela onto Peaches’ back, slumping the woman onto the lizard’s back. “So, um, as you can see, I don’t have any sorta saddle to tie her down on, so I’ll just guide Peaches from back here to make sure she doesn’t fall off, ‘kay?” Citron explained, patting the wyvern’s side as they began to make their way out of the church; the both of them being extra careful as they went through the wyvern sized hole in the door.

The city streets were just as busy as they had been moments before, yet Citron couldn’t help but smile at the familiar hustle and bustle of a busy town. It was certainly preferred to the silence from before, at least. “Oh, that’s a good point, isn’t it?” Citron asked, peering around the wyvern towards Lincoln, tilting her head curious. “Do you know where the others went, Mister Lincoln?”

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It seemed like the princess' intent was to reunite with the others after all. Link busied himself with helping load Ciela onto the back of the wyvern with Citron, shoving Rohns away with his heel as the cub pounced around playfully, trying to catch the attention of one of them. “I did not accompany them all the way out to their destination, your majest--er, Catriona, but I can guide us as far as I know in the right direction. I believe the villagers will help us from there.”

With that said, that was just what he did, scooping Rohns up by the scruff and briskly departing from the town hall. He was more than eager to return to Princess Penelope. It was easier to watch over and protect both the princesses when they were in the same place. Rohns squirmed in his grip, hoping to escape from his grasp, but the soldier held him tight, instead taking a strip of jerky out of his pocket and handing it to the wolf cub to placate him for the moment.

Ideally it would be an uneventful trip. He planned to stop and ask for directions as soon as he was unsure of where next to go.
 

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Alois had to not once, but twice resist chortling at the mayor. The first was his assertion that he was indeed smarter than Alois - a false claim to begin with but he couldn't help but also get a smile at how much offense he took to it. The second was when Penelope had made the comment about the faux nobleman attempting to pull a ruse on the townsfolk. Alois had a pretty  good idea already of why the Mayor had at least let him stay and get away with his general demeanor. He still didn't particularly know what Pylauses did for the town outside of being a general nuisance, but he could tell why the mayor put up with him. Though, thinking on it, he was certainly suspicious. Nodding as the two of his companions made their points he said, "after all, the two of them seem the type to snoop around and snick their nose where it doesn't belong." 

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Tsetseg smiled as Phai and Gunther seemed ready to go and help find Licorice. And so, the quartet continued their journey until they were met with a steep incline that went into the mud and water below. Tsetseg herself was to fine to take the plunge into the mud below to go and start their trek back up. However, it seemed that Gunther wasn't able to go down and come back up himself. The girl furrowed her brow at this. On the one hand, she wanted to go and find Licorice and she wanted to help Sienna with her problem. On the other hand, she didn't want to go and leave behind Gunther as Phai and Sienna were already on their way too. So, she came to a conclusion. Grabbing one of her bows, she said, "Phai! Catch!" Tossing her bow with a few arrows with it she said, "I'm going to stay here with Gunther. But if you need me or anything just fire and I'll come riiiiight away!" Smiling towards Gunther she said, "after all, it's no good to leave your friends by themselves. So I'll be right here with you!"

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Alois, Penelope, Edrick, and Abdul

“Ah, I had a good feeling you were a man of culture and good taste lord mayor!” Abdul replied enthusiastically as he retrieved another cup from his tea set, “Perhaps if you are not too occupied with your duties, you may stay a little while and enjoy a cup? I still have a few cups of tea left, if you do not mind it a little strong.”

"Not at all, not at all," the man chortled. "I much prefer strength of flavor over the alternative." He took the cup gladly, his mouth quirking upward, eyes crinkling slightly as he began to drink from it.

"Sir mayor. Do you ever think this Pylauses is attempting to pull a ruse over you? After all, you live quite...well for a village such as this. I wouldn't doubt you have the occasional con-man attempting to take advantage."

The mayor paused to think for a second as he took in her words, during which time both Abdul and Alois added their agreement. He sighed. "Well, I do believe that there is that possibility... Of late I find myself questioning his actions, and my own for taking him in," he muttered the last part. "But they are only suspicions, nothing more. He has not done anything openly to suggest that there is more to him than he seems, so there's really nothing I can do about it," he shook his head, before turning to Alois with an almost reflexive sneer. "You caught him snooping around then? Are you sure you weren't the one snooping around, boy?"

"Mayor..." Mene started.

"Yes, yes, all right. Well, regardless, there's nothing that can be done without solid evidence. Not to say that I couldn't just throw him out anyway--heavens know the other villagers wouldn't mind--but unless I get actual proof of any sort of doings on his end, it wouldn't feel right to do so," he paused to drink the tea, the tense lines on his face smoothing out slightly. Swallowing, he let out a sigh. "This is good tea. It's not often I get to taste this," he nodded at Abdul approvingly, much of the earlier wariness melting from his demeanor.

Some minutes passed as the man took the time to enjoy the drink, eyes closed. Upon finishing, he did nothing but sit for a minute, before suddenly opening his eyes with a flinch, as if thunderstruck. "Actually, Pylauses is actually part of the reason I came here. You see, I wasn't just figuring out the details of the fete these past hours. I was also trying to make housing arrangements for you all." He huffed. "I know Alois has his own, but I highly doubt Goodwife Mene has room enough in her house. Er, no offense, Mene."

"No worries. I knows meself that there's not much space 'ere," the woman looked around the interior with a slightly abashed smile.

"Anyway, I've cleared out that old house down the road. You know, the one that's been empty for a while now. However, it's rather small, so it might not comfortably fit all of you." While the others wouldn't know what he was talking about, Alois would. There was a house--about the size of Mene's--that had been abandoned after its owner had died of old age. "And, err," the mayor paused, grimacing, "Pylauses has offered to let you all stay at his...manor. He says he has more than enough room."

Mene sighed. "Aye, he might have the right of it there. It's certainly big enough for everyone."

"Unfortunately," he coughed as he turned to the others, "I mean, fortunately, there is room enough for you all if you stay at his place. And since you all seem so suspicious of the man, and I don't blame you," he muttered the last bit, "this could be seen as an opportunity, though it comes with the unfortunate side effect of having to put up with his spirits-forsaken personality."

"What think ye?" Mene asked, turning to the group. "Not that ye have to make yer decision now, mind. There's still some time left afore ye need to bed down fer the night."

--

Catriona, Link and Citron

Acantha nodded. "Good, that's how it should be." Watching Catriona assist Citron in loading the troubadour atop the wyvern, she said, "If you're fine, then I'm gonna head out myself. If all goes well, I won't have to deal with you again." With that, she exited as well, though she stopped for a second before saying, "Don't forget about that girl's mount," while pointing at Ciela. "Humph, it's always up to me to remember things, isn't it," the redhead muttered as she left. "Now where are those two brats? I hope they haven't caused any trouble while I was gone..."

"Ah," Catriona replied, at a loss for words. She, indeed, had forgotten all about the horse, not being one to worry about animals herself. "In that case, perhaps we should stop by the mayor's first," she suggested, leading the group toward the house. It was just across the street from the town hall, so it was little more than a quick jaunt. The horse in question, Remy, was standing obediently, though his ears twitched as the trio approached, head raising and giving a warning neigh. Nostrils flaring, he seemed to relax as he recognized their scents, and let them approach without incident.

Transferring Ciela from Peaches to Remy was a quick but careful process with Catriona's help. The reins were long enough that she was even able to perform a makeshift tie to keep the girl from falling off. The horse whickered softly, seeming a little nervous, but was obedient enough at the familiar weight of his owner atop his back. He would not let anybody guide him, however, but followed from behind of his own volition.

While Link had not accompanied the main group the entire way, he did at least seem to know the general direction, leading the group with a brisk pace that Catriona matched easily, though Citron would perhaps have more trouble with it. Upon reaching where Link had separated from the group, Catriona paused to take in the garish manor nearby once more. At that moment, she felt a strange shiver down her spine, before turning suddenly and locking eyes with green.

The man chuckled, expression unreadable beneath the hood he wore. "Like what you see? Enjoy it while it lasts. Not too long now and your eyes will be closed...forever."

She took a step back, the color draining from her face. No, no, get away-- She blinked, and the vision was gone. No, not a vision. A memory. The woman sighed. It's the wrong shade, besides. That man's eyes were like acid. These eyes are a muddier hue, almost brown in comparison. It was pathetic, how she had overreacted just now. I can only hope that nobody saw that.

The man's eyes glinted as he stared at her, unblinking. "My most forthright apologies if I agitated you, my lady." He gave a brief bow, taking her hand and kissing it. "My name is Pylauses Gaston, at your pleasurement."

Pleasurement? I did not realize that was a word. Still slightly off-balance from earlier, it took Catriona a second to reply. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Goodman Gaston."

The man wrinkled his nose before coughing. "Er...yes, well, I am, in all actualization, the lord of this demesne."

"Oh?" Catriona had not heard that Histia still retained its nobility. Many of the noble houses had intermarried with the merchant or peasant classes, and the land was now owned either by the state, lesser municipalities, or individuals. A village, even one of this size, would either be managed by the mayor or divided up by the villagers. At least, that was what she had learned from her tutor.

"Indubitably," the man nodded. "So the properific form of addressitude would be Lord Gaston."

"Then, my apologies Lord Gaston," Catriona replied. While she had her doubts as to the veracity of his claim, it was not worth an argument, especially since she was not a Histian native herself. For all she knew, he could be the literal lord of this place, and she would be committing a grave faux pas by refusing to acknowledge his title.

"Be not aggrieved, it is how things go," the man waved a hand airily. "I am sure there was no transgression in your cerebrations."

"...Indeed," the woman nodded. "There was not."

"Fabulousness! In that case, is there any method that I may be of servillitude?" he turned his gaze from Catriona to look at all three of the group. "Perforce, are you inquiring as to where you shall be residing after hours? In which circumstance," he spread his arms wide, "My domain is well equipped to accommodate the entirety of you."

--

Gunther, Sienna, and Tsetseg

Phai looked relieved upon hearing Gunther's words. "W-Well if you can't keep going, then that's fine. We can just, uhh, head back--"

"Well... You don't have to if you don't want to... This whole chase must be taking its toll on you more than anyone. You can head back if you want, but Gunther... I appreciate that you were willing to go this far just to help." Sienna jumped down beside the militia girl soon afterward.

"Er, well, I guess we can uhh, get moving then if you really think that's best."

"I'm going to stay here with Gunther. But if you need me or anything just fire and I'll come riiiiight away! After all, it's no good to leave your friends by themselves. So I'll be right here with you!"

"Ehhh?! You're not coming either Tsetseg?!" the girl looked up at the other pleadingly for a moment, before sighing and turning to the Protean. "Er, in that case, maybe we should just return to the--"

But Icleias had already gone running down the bank, back northward to where they had originally come across the river. Without much choice in the matter, Phai followed. She turned back once, "We'll come back! Er...don't get lost or anything!"

Following the dog, both Sienna and Phai would eventually reach the spot where Licorice should have crossed. The dog sniffed around the area for a second before lifting his head and letting out a loud bay, tearing off into the wilderness.

"He's caught the scent! Let's follow him!" Phai shouted excitedly as she ran after him. She seemed rather light on her feet, easily keeping up with the dog. Without Gunther, the two would more ground more quickly than they had before.

Following the dog through the underbrush, batting away weeds and branches in the process, the two would feel the earth turn to mud beneath their feet. Eventually, they would come across either another river or more likely, part of the same river, doubled back. Fortunately, there was a bridge there. While it looked as if it had seen better days, with wooden slats a dark gray, almost green color, it still seemed serviceable enough, taking their weight without issue. However, Phai's expression had morphed from uneasy to pale at seeing the bridge.

"That's...no, it can't be," she muttered before she set her face and turned to Sienna. "I don't think we should go any farther," she said. "After this is--" but she was cut off when Icleias started to run again. The girl stood still for a moment before continuing, though her limbs had started to tremble.

It wasn't much longer before they would be forced to stop, even the dog. The already muddy ground had softened further, and they could feel themselves sinking into the ground. Just ahead lay cattails and reeds for as far as the eye could see. In the distance, they could hear the raspy croak of a heron.

"This is the Great Marsh," Phai said softly as she stepped back to firmer footing. "We won't be able to go any farther. It's said that those who wander into this place and don't know the way find themselves swallowed up by the place." She gulped. "And I, uhh, don't know the path. There's said to be one, but I wasn't ever taught it."

Icleias whined as he sniffed around the reeds before giving up and heading back toward Phai, tail dragging in the mud.

Meanwhile, Gunther and Tsetseg would find there wasn't much to do. The forest was quiet, but not unnaturally so. Time passed, and the silence was broken by the faint cry of a dog, though the direction and sound was wrong for it to be Icleias.


OOC

Spoiler

Group 1, you have a decision to make. Also it's fine if you want different things too, like some people staying in the abandoned house and others staying at the manor.

Group 2, you get to talk with Pylauses, fun fun. While he seems to be talking about you all staying at his house, you can also bring up other matters with him.

Group 3 - Sienna, you can react and stuff but it looks like Phai won't be able to help you go any further. Also it may not seem like it since it was done within the span of one post, but you have covered quite a lot of ground.
Group 3 - Gunther and Tsetseg, you can chat if you want and also react to what you hear. Also, if either one of you decide to follow the noise and want information on what you find for your post, let me know and I'll send you the info. Or you can leave it to me to describe in a post. Either way.

Edited by Waluigi

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Penelope wasn't sure how she felt about the strange merchant following up her questions so often. Thankfully it didn't seem like the mayor felt pressured by the questions. His answer shed little light on the situation but she could at least tell that the mayor didn't fully trust the man either. She was shocked that the man needed "proof" to kick anyone out. She had been under the impression that the mayor had enough control over the place to throw out whoever he wanted. Perhaps she was mistaken.

He proceeded to bring up a question that had Penelope's mind start to race again. She grew silent and pensive as she rest her chin in her hand and her eyes flicked back and forth. A clear sign she was thinking over the possibilities.

She would prefer, personally, staying here. But it was true there wasn't much room and she would much rather their injured stay here if anyone. Though it would be amusing to tease Alois about spending the night at his home more. The abandoned house was intriguing. She certainly was interested in checking the place out and it would be good to have some sort of neutral area to make plans in.

But she did want to learn more about that fake-noble and this would be the prime opportunity. The best case would be if she could be in all three places but that was impossible for even her. It was harder to work out a strategy without Catriona and Gunther here but she couldn't help but think over the most strategic way to place each of her piec....for everyone to split up.

She caught herself and a smirk appeared on her lips. She supposed it wasn't actually up to her where people stayed. And thus the best tactic would be...

"Well, I don't truly mind where I end up as long as there is a roof over my head. But what of you all?" She looked to the, frustratingly few, others in the room. She couldn't make a decision until she knew where everyone else stood. She glanced over towards Alois. "I'm sure Alois doesn't want to share his bed with all of us."


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Gunther was honestly surprised that Tsetseg had decided to stay with. Instead of chasing after the "fluffy tail" with the others. He couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for him being the reason she couldn't continue the chase that she had started.

"after all, it's no good to leave your friends by themselves. So I'll be right here with you!"

He gave her a small smile. "Thank you...I apologize, I shouldn't have followed this far if I couldn't do this to the finish." He looked back towards where the others went. "I hope they will be okay. I don't trust this place not to pull another strange trick." Especially after all he saw. He knew how people going off on their own turned out very well by now.

A bit of a silence fell and he glanced over at the bow-user. It was only then that he realized. He was alone. In the forest. With a girl he only barely knew. A blush crept to his face and he wondered how she could be so casual about it. Many of the ladies back home would be scandalized in such a situation.

He didn't know how to make this feel less awkward but he thought it only polite to try and make conversation. "So...strange day, yes?" He cringed at his own words. "Erm..." Actually come to think about it he was somewhat curious. "If you don't mind me asking, where is it you came from? Before joining the Patrol I mean. I....we don't know all too much about you now that I think about it. There hasn't been much time to learn..."

A few moments later he heard noise, a dog, from a direction away from where the others had gone. He thought perhaps it was just a wild hound but...He glanced nervously at Tsetseg. She was going to give chase again, wasn't she?

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Alois looked at the mayor as he implicated that he was snooping around his house. The boy snorted, muttering, "if that's what you call figuring out your amazing riddle." He didn't say anything more on the matter, though, figuring it wouldn't do to just start throwing blame Hanikap without anything solid - as the mayor was looking for hard evidence now. Instead, he just kept quiet for the moment until the time came to decide where the group would be staying for the night. Shrugging as Penelope said her piece Alois said, "well, much as I would like to tear up his place looking for evidence I already have a place here so it doesn't make much sense for me to go." He looked over to his bed saying, "though, Eddy's already got my bed covered in...himself, so I wouldn't crowd with all of you in there anyway." The boy thought about it for a moment saying, "I'll just take the floor here." 

Looking towards Abdul he said, "I think he likes you so why don't you go over to his place?" Thinking on it for a moment he looked over to Penelope, saying, "oh, right. Whatever happens, we can't let Cat stay at Pylauses place. With how she is and how he is I can only imagine that would be...bad." 

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With the group splitting up yet again, Tsetseg sat down and looked into the distance attentively. Looking to the air, waiting for any sort of signal that may come. She looked over towards Gunther, her attention clearly split though, as he started speaking to her. Smiling she said, "it's alright. Sometimes you don't know what you can't do until you can't do it! And like I said, friends shouldn't leave each other friends behind. So here I am! And there they are!" She pointed in the direction Phai and Sienna left. Thinking more on it, the girl pouted as she said, "but this all started because Licorice also left her friends behind and went on her own! I'm going to have to teach her a lesson when she gets back." The girl nodded to herself, thinking of Licorice's punishment - the thousand tail pet. 

As she finished this, she settled back down and looked to the sky yet again. As Gunther brought up his question, the girl thought  about it for a moment. The pointing to herself she said, "well, if you need to know all about me  I'd love to explain. I like talking and I don't mind talking about me at all. Like for instance." Standing up and throwing her hands to the side she said, "my name is Tsetseg Altansarnai! I'm a hunter who specializes in archery and my horse riding skills are really bad. Even if I like horses a lot, they're really nice and fun to pet too. Especially the ones that fly those are also really nice too." Realizing she was going off topic the girl backtracked saying, "oh, right, right. I am from Locris and a member of the Hati, tribe. We like people, and hunting, and traveling and alllll kinds of stuff. We're the best!" The girl smiled and nodded proudly at this.  Putting a hand to chin, thinking more the girl let out a, "hmmmmmmmm..." Shaking her head she said, "I don't know what else to say about me - Oh! Oh!" She pointed excitedly at Gunther, "I don't know much about you either! And even if I like talking about myself I also like other people talking about themselves too. So, how about it?"

As she was rambling the girl stopped, ears perking up and eyes darting in the direction of the dog whine. She looked back to Gunther, being sure to look at him still as she began to slowly back walk towards the source of the sound.   

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Over her life, Citron thought she had gathered a fairly large vocabulary; it wasn’t by any means all encompassing, of course, but it was at least large for her line of work. After all, her mother had been quite adamant about her learning to read, and further about her learning what the words she read meant. Because of this, it was always exciting for her when she ran into words that she didn’t know; a novelty of sorts, even, to an extent. It was always good to learn new things, and words were no exception to this little adage. 

So why did the words this guy speak sound so… Fake and unimportant?

Staring at the man, Citron couldn’t help but let her skepticism about his claims - those that she could understand - permeate her expression. Any man who found it so important to talk about their nobility, and who cared for titles so dearly was… Probably not worth the trouble. It showed a lot to her, that the Princesses had either hidden their nobility, or even suggested they speak more casually; a far cry from the image of nobles she had been painted by her parents, which she was beginning to realize, this man fit almost too well, like some form of stereotype, or strawman argument. 

So, with this conclusion, it made the most sense to her to allow Catriona to handle the situation; as she seemed most capable of either dealing with him, or exposing him for the fraud he might be. In the meantime, Citron found herself raising her good hand to scratch Peaches' neck as she turned around, finding some way to pass the time as the conversation turned to little more than useless rambling from the nobleman. She always found it calming to scratch the lizard's scales whenever she got too stressed, and this was no acception. Smiling, she couldn't help but slowly zone the conversation out from her mind, allowing her a few key seconds of peace, before she once again caught a word or two that seemed important. Like, actually important, as they weren't semantic nit-picking over titles, rather they were questions regarding their sleeping arrangements. Turning around to face the man again, Citron would glance between Lincoln and the Princess, as the 'nobility' before them's question hung in the air, the merchant unwilling to answer herself.

---

The wyvern had been a bit disgruntled earlier when they removed her pseudo-rider, but it seemed that she had gotten over it by now. It isn't to say that she was annoyed to no longer be carrying the weight, simply that it was annoying to have things placed upon her, and removed, and placed upon, and removed, and so one and so forth. Consistency was important with all creatures, and Peaches was no different in this regard. So, for Citron to so quickly go from giving her affection to seemingly ignoring her, the wyvern couldn't help but let out a quiet coo, a bit more like a screech, in confusion, lowering her head towads the inattentive merchant in the process. When that failed to garner any special response, she instead lowered her head towards Lincoln, this time, letting out another, more expectant coo.

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    • By LordCowCow
      It, like every night, was dark. However it wasn't stormy. Instead it was cold and somewhat clammy. The time was 10 PM and, unlike some larger cities, the streets were mostly barren. The moon in the sky, and the streetlights on the ground, made the dark night possible to traverse without being blind.
      They, in this case being Brian James Trantor and Carmen O'Conner, had gotten a message not long ago. It was from their mysterious savior/employer, Shiki. This was unusual, the first of several unusual moments, as the girl hardly ever used text messages to contact them. Though it was only a couple words, "Dagen Park" which was why they both had made their way towards said park.
      Park might be something of an exaggeration. it was rather large, it would only take a couple minutes to cross it, and only had a singular bench, under an old gazebo, to sit in. Some trees were scattered around, mostly around the edge to the left facing from the street, but not many and only one or two that were truly large. A playground sat in the center of the small grassy field which consisted of a couple slides, monkey bars, and a bit of a distance from that a pair of seesaws and a swing set that creaked with the slight breeze. Off to the side of said playground, at the right edge of the park, was a concrete area for parking. And there sat a singular vehicle.
      They each would recognize it as belonging to Shiki. A large van, practically a camper, that looked like it shouldn't be able to run. Yet they knew it did. Usually, yet another unusual thing tonight, this van was parked outside of their houses, or wherever they happened to be when Shiki wanted to contact them, and they'd use it to get to whatever Shiki needed them to do.
      However this time it was in another location. The reason why was clear to them soon.
      The third unusual thing of the night. Whenever they found said van they were the only ones who ever paid it any mind. However today there was another. For Brian this was Carmen. And for Carmen this was Brian.
      Without any warning it seemed that Shiki had decided that the two of them would meet tonight. In this park. On this cold and clammy night.

       
    • By LordCowCow
      Premise
      Premise (Expanded)
      Rules
      Setting
      Mysterious Person
      Applications
      Accepted Apps
       
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