Fire Emblem: Soul of Heaven [IC/PG-16]

[Blake 312]

"I can do plenty! There's no reason to just stick to what people think you should do. With all this world has to offer there's no way I was going to just try and learn to be a pegasus knight."

Ada cocked a brow at this. She seemed to understand the point of not judging a book by its cover, yet...

"I see. I can get that. I can swing around an axe pretty well, myself, but that's mostly due to growing up on a farm. My siblings are probably better examples, though."

Before the shaman could finish speaking, Alexis had somehow managed to catch her flute on fire. With an incredulous look on her face, Ada walked away and shook her head, with a distant "Safe!" hitting her ears. It didn't seem like she had much to talk with Alexis about, and even with how nice the music sounded, the girl was like the other Aeorans. Instead, she wandered over to Raynor, leaning on Gojira's back, head nested on her arms, absentmindedly scratching the lizard's back.

"So, any luck since our talk the other day?"

 

[Skaia 578]

Leon couldn't help but sigh at the spectacle that Alexis had put on, nearly immolating her instrument by accident. Though it was the first time he had seen her do something like this, it still brought about a familiar feeling to him. One that he couldn't help but give a small chuckle to. All the same, the boy had looked over to see Ada leaving after the two had a small exchange, the feeling of friction that seemed to be present between the two being all too apparent. It wasn't as though Leon didn't think the two would have an issue. Even he took some getting used to with Ada's magic when they had first met, and Alexis was far and away more stubborn about these beliefs than he was. All the same, he wasn't entirely in a position to refuse her help, and that she came along with them instead of telling anyone else about their group was only a net positive. Leon, however, had no idea how to ease the situation between the two, knowing that trying to convince one or the other to compromise likely wouldn't end well. 

So, he simply left Ada to go speak with Raynor, who he himself also seemed to be studying the same dark tome he had been earlier. Raising an eyebrow at it again, Leon turned back to Alexis and said, "well, since you seem to be up to all of your usual tricks and stumbles, I take it everything's same old same old back home?" 

---

Though there were no bears in immediate eyesight to draw the attention, it had seemed as if the woods themselves were conspiring against Yue. As the Jouran had gone to inspect the bow, there was little to district the Yonan from the situation, as even the usual sounds of the insects in the woods seemed to have vanished. This created a silence only broken by either of the two Iron Falcons, and the occasional sounds of branches and bushes being stepped on in the distance, as if animals were still moving through it. 

[LordCowCow 840]

"well, since you seem to be up to all of your usual tricks and stumbles, I take it everything's same old same old back home?" 

"Tch, you know it is. Nothing much changes around there. Guess things are getting more tense but that happens all the time too. But enough about that what about you? You've had to have had plenty of adventures Mr Mercenary Captain."

"Well, I'd hardly say they're so grand to be called adventures. I've basically been up to doing everything you probably have been, between dealing with bandits and monsters. Though," Leon took a glance around the camp saying, "I guess I'm meeting a much more varied crew of people then I would've back home."

"Oh come on don't hold out on me I'm sure you've got a few crazy stories." She tapped the boy on the nose. "And speaking of varied crew. What's up with those two that left? They seem like an interesting couple of gals."

"Well, fine, I guess we did do something interesting last job." Giving the girl a skeptical eyebrow raise, as if assuming there was something sordid running through her mind, he said, "the Yonan's Yue and the Jouran's Rona. Both of them have been reliable allies in our 'adventuring,' though both of them have their own trouble they can cause."

Alexis let out a groan. "Sheesh you stick in the mud." Though what he said earlier caught her attention. "Last job?"

Raising a confused eyebrow at the girl, he then went back to a neutral expression as he said, "yeah. Had to go out to some remote island to get rid of monsters. Being on the water was different enough but, well, we ran into two Phantoms there too."

This gave the girl pause. Phantoms weren't common in the slightest. "Two of them? I hope you purified your group after that one. Lot of back luck, that."

"Well, I'm sure the archsage is quite happy with our work so we're probably safe." His tone was flat as he said this, but then sighed, "but well, we managed to kill them both, strong as they might've been. I just hope it settled down whatever caused them to appear."

Alexis was silent for a while. An uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. She didn't like the sounds of this at all. She knew that such beasts were ill omens. Whatever this portended she knew it couldn't be anything good. With a shake of her head the girl slapped her knees. "Well, whatever pops up I'll just have to take it down. Now if you'll excuse me, you've got a real big mystery hanging out all on her lonesome over there."

With that she strode over towards where Edda was brooding by the river. Hands clasped behind her back Alexis leaned over the girl's head. "Heya. Lost in thought? All alone?"

[Saikazo 241]

"So, any luck since our talk the other day?" Raynor looked up to see Ada leaning against Gojira, getting comfortable herself and scratching the lizard's back, something the reptile was enjoying.

"Well, I ain't gonna lie, this is the first time I've really had a chance to crack the book open since your lesson," Raynor admitted. "I'm tryin' to commit the words to memory before I start castin', ya know?" His eyes looked up at the newcomer before he looked back at the book and added. "I'm tryin' to be more careful like you suggested, but I don't see why we gotta hide the fact we can do magic. People do magic all the time and no one bats an eye, but give it a purple hue and slap the word dark in front of it and suddenly everyone loses their minds. I don't get it myself," In the end, it was just a name. Magic was just power in the end, and power was power. It wasn't good or evil, it was up to how the person who wielded it, and he already decided he would become a legend, and he rather become a legendary hero than a villain, so the way he was going to wield it was a no brainer. "Anyways, how's the trip treatin' ya? Any thoughts on the company we keep?"

[Blake 312]

"Well, I ain't gonna lie, this is the first time I've really had a chance to crack the book open since your lesson. I'm tryin' to commit the words to memory before I start castin', ya know? I'm tryin' to be more careful like you suggested, but I don't see why we gotta hide the fact we can do magic. People do magic all the time and no one bats an eye, but give it a purple hue and slap the word dark in front of it and suddenly everyone loses their minds. I don't get it myself."

The shaman nodded knowingly as she let Raynor continue. There was really nothing to add, other than droning anecdote.

"Anyways, how's the trip treatin' ya? Any thoughts on the company we keep?"

"Well..." Ada cast a glance to Alexis with a slight grimace on her face, "Can't say I'm too fond of her. She doesn't seem harmful, but I don't enjoy having a nut like that about. But, enough about that. Let's talk about the magic, right?" Reaching down to scratch the lizard's chin, Ada leaned into Gojira more, cocking her head slightly as she looked over his shoulder. "Why don't you try chanting them? Memorizing them won't do much good on its own, so it should be more like... ingraining them into your being. If that makes sense? You want it to be second nature to you, moreso than something you memorize for a short period and forget again."

[Sethera 290]

She was terrible. Because of her impure thoughts, because all she could think about was Rona, rather than hunting game for Leon and the others, Yue had not only failed at getting a good amount of game, but she also had made a fool of herself in front of the wyvern rider. It was sad and ridiculous, and she was just overall, a terrible person for even letting herself get distracted that way.

However, Rona, proving once more how kind and generous and understanding she was, shook her head. "No, don't worry at all! There must be something wrong with your bow, here, I'll take a look."

And then she moved closer. That would have been bad enough by itself, since Yue was not very good with people getting close to her. Leon was an exception. There was something about his presence that was just...calming. She felt like she could relax around him like she couldn't around most of the other Iron Falcons, especially Rona. But then the girl decided to reach around Yue's back and grab her bow. Not to take it from her, no, to examine it, but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was just how close she was, pressed directly against her back. It felt almost as if an electric shock had started at the contact, making the archer hyper-aware of her presence. The girl was surprisingly warm--Yue would have thought she'd be colder, considering the amount of clothing she normally wore. N-not that she ever thought about the temperature of Rona's skin. No. She had never thought of that in her life, but now she couldn't stop thinking about it. And then, if she touched her hand with her own bare fingers, would it feel nearly as warm?

Yue shook her head, blushing. No, bad Yue. I can't--I should concentrate. Yes. Concentrate. On uhh, birds. And bunnies. And cute little animals. And--

"I wonder if there are any bears around. I feel I could be much more useful bringing one of those down."

And bears. Wait, bears? "B-b-bears?" Yue stammered. "You can take down bears?" she gazed up at Rona admiringly, then remembered what else the wyvern rider had said. "W-w-well, maybe. I don't know. Probably. Bears are in all kinds of places, after all." She had never hunted one of those before, but she was almost forced to. Back when she lived with the tribe, she had wandered into the forest and disturbed a bear. It had been angry and loud, but it soon calmed down after Yue gave it some honeycomb she had found. She had visited the bear many times after that, and it had become a friend--a grumpy friend, but still a friend.

And then she froze.

Wait, why is it so quiet here?

There hadn't been very many animals here either. Which was kind of unusual, that there weren't really that many animals. Had there been this few the last time she went through? She couldn't remember.

The cracking of branches in the distance caused the archer to stiffen, but she forced herself to take deep, even breaths. M-maybe I'm just on edge from being around Rona, she thought. It's probably nothing. "W-we should probably head back," she said, eyes flitting around nervously. I'll probably calm down when I'm not standing right next to Rona.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Sethera

[Skaia 578]

Edda hadn't really noticed anything that had been going on. The music and the chatter of the group had fallen on deaf ears to her, simply sitting along the riverside, looking into the waters below. Her hood being up had obscured her face, though it was clear to see that she was in a more solemn state as her back was hunched over and her feet pressed against the edge of the river. As the girl seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, in complete silence around her, her eyes suddenly went wide as this was broken. "Meep!" Edda let out a startled yelp as jolted from her position, falling to her side and with one hand in the river only to jolt back to land. Looking around, the girl seemed to realize something about  what she just did, and thinking back to a prior conversation Edda simply muttered, "is that what that meant?" 

Her eyes then settled on the smiling visage of Alexis. Blushing in embarasement from what had just happened, the girl cleared her throat as she sat back up right. Not looking right at the girl, she said, "yes, I was thinking to myself. Alone. Don't you ever think...um, to yourself." Sighing and looking like she had only managed to defeat herself, the girl looked back to Alexis with somewhat of a pout on her face. "Well, what do you want?"

---

With his face in his palm watching what had just transpired between the two girls, Leon continued to sit back. As he pulled his hand back, a small smile formed on his face as he looked back to Layne. "Well, I suppose it's better than keeping things dull around here. So, how're you holding up from the trip so far?" 

Edited August 21, 2019 by Skaia

[LordCowCow 840]

"B-b-bears?" Yue stammered. "You can take down bears?"

"Of course, bears are no trouble at all! Just have to be sure to face them and not try and run. They aren't so tough. Just big and scary looking."

Unlike Yue, Rona didn't really notice how quiet and still the forest was. Perhaps it was due to not being used to forests such as this yet or perhaps it was because she was too focused on trying to not sound useless.

"W-we should probably head back,"

She did, however, notice how nervous the girl sounded now. Which made Rona wonder what was wrong. She couldn't see anything which caused her to think perhaps Yue felt bad about the amount of meat they had gotten. Truly, they would likely need more soon. "Ah, don't worry Yue, if you want to bring what we have back I'll head deeper and see if I can find something bigger to take down. Leave it to me." She said, hooking her thumb at her chest. "I won't stop until I've got something good."

With that the girl, regardless if Yue followed, headed farther into the woods.

After a while she finally found what she was searching for...sort of. There was a bear before her. However the creature was already dead. From the looks of the body it looked like the bear had been killed recently and had several bite marks on it.

"Odd, what could have done this?" She got closer to investigate more and noticed, nearby, several monster hounds. They were also dead, though the wounds looked like the bear was likely the culprit.

What was especially unusual about the bear was there was a set of bite marks that seemed to not only not be bloody but also looked cauterized. And a fair bit larger than the rest of the marks.

"This wasn't done by a natural beast." She muttered. "Something dangerous is out here." She hesitated. Should she try and find it? If it attacked the group...but, no, she needed to get this information back to Leon. Not to mention there was still plenty of bear meat here to bring back. "Well, I didn't hunt it myself, but no point letting this meat go to waste."

---

 

Alexis couldn't stop, nor did she care to stop, the smile creeping up on her face. What an interesting reaction!

"Well, what do you want?"

Alexis, without answering, moved over to the girl's side and sat down next to her. "Oh, you know. Mysterious and beautiful girl is discovered in need of help to go to a distant land. It's a rather romantic tale is it not? Full of intrigue and mystery." She turned her head towards Edda. "That's you. You're the mystery. Get what I'm saying?"

Edda looks confused at the girl and takes a moment to figure out what she’s saying. Then looking startled she asks, “that you’re complimenting me?”

"Well, I suppose I am aren't I?" Alexis said. "But I'm more referring to that you're mysterious. And I'd like to figure you out."

“I-I see.” The girl then averts her eyes saying. “Well, there’s not much I want to say. But...well...” The girl still doesn’t look at Alexis but seems fine for her to continue.

"You're going quite a long ways. There must be a good reason for it. What's waiting for you at your destination? A lover? A great treasure perhaps?"

The girl looks to the water, a frown across her face saying, "nothing like that. But well...I'm not sure what it'll look like but...I suppose I'm just looking for a way back home."

"Oho? Home? And where, fair maiden, is your home?"

Raising an eyebrow at Alexis, skeptical, Edda faces her saying, "isn't it obvious? I'm from Jouruun, up north."

Alexis had suspected as much, yet she had hoped otherwise, "Well, then why would you need to return through such a means? Would it not be easier to take a more direct route? And if you want to go home that means you had left it for some reason, correct?" Alexis was now leaning in closer, curiosity glittering in her eyes.

Getting a bit annoyed the girl simply says, "if it was so simple obviously I would've done it. But I can't. Because I- er - it's...." Grumbling to herself she simply says, "it's complicated. Lots of things are complicated and I don't understand them one bit. Turning out this way and having to walk through this land of savages just to find - find something? I don't even know. The nerve of them all having to - " realizing she was rambling the girl then blushes a bit, clearly embarrassed. Looking frustrated again and simply out bursting at Alexis she says, "you're being awfully rude don't you think. Asking me so much about myself without saying a thing about yourself."

Savages?  Turning out this way? Alexis wondered what this girl could possibly be talking about. She was mysterious before but now that has only grown more.

"So interesting." Alexis said quietly. "Well, what is there to say? I'm just plain Alexis is all. Nothing much of note."

Folding her arms the girl pouts and with an amount of frustrated imitation of Alexis's own voice in hers she's like, "oh? Well, you're plenty mysterious to me. So where are you from? Why are you traveling? Hmmmm?"

"Oh, are you teasing me? Well would you look at that." Alexis gave a short laugh. "Well, I'm from Faeus, not as far as your own home surely, and as for why I'm traveling." She gestured around. "This is it. To do new things. Meet new people." She smiled at Edda. "Have new experiences."

With a look of realization and but still pouting Edda simply says, "Faeus? No wonder you annoy me so much." Pointing at her she says, "we're basically rivals, enemies. Opposite in every way. After all, I've already had enough of this new experience crap." As the girl says the last word, she appears to have a sudden wave of guilt go across her face and seems to back pedal saying, "new experience uh, new uh- they've been bad."

Alexis had a sudden urge to hug the girl. She sounded so downtrodden. But she refrained, if barely. "Well, we're on the same side at the moment right? And anyway the way I see it life would be so boring if you only stuck to those like yourself. Personally I'd not want to talk to anyone else right now."

[Sethera 290]

Yue was hoping that Rona would agree, and then they could return to the camp and hopefully forget that Yue didn't really get much, that she had made a mess of things in front of the person she looked up to most here in the Iron Falcons, but no. Rona wanted to go deeper into the forest. Which sounded like a really, really bad idea.

"I-I don't think that's such a--" but the girl had already turned around and began to walk. Pausing, Yue thought about heading back. After all, the smell of freshly-spilled blood would no doubt attract predators if they lingered here, but the idea of leaving Rona to herself was...abhorrent. Or some other word for a terrible, no-good, and very bad idea. Or maybe that was what following Rona was. Still, she couldn't leave her alone in a forest she didn't know either. Rona was good at many things, but she didn't know woodcraft like Yue did. So, with a heavy heart, the archer followed.

And it turned out, Yue was right. There was something odd about this forest, this atmosphere. Because there was a dead bear in front of her. The girl frowned. Bears were apex predators, and not much could take them down aside from human beings or another bear. But as they approached it became apparent that neither had taken down the bear, but instead, monster hounds. Both hounds and bear were covered in bite marks. It looked to have been a bloody battle, but there was a particular set of teethmarks that was even more suspicious. It was larger, the wound cauterized.

"This wasn't done by a natural beast." Rona muttered. "Something dangerous is out here." She hesitated. "Well, I didn't hunt it myself, but no point letting this meat go to waste."

"I-is that safe?" Yue asked. Still, the blood looked clear and red. There probably wasn't any venom involved, but you never knew with monsters. Though...the one wound looked less venomous and more... "This isn't good," she murmured. "Why here...in a forest? That's the worst kind of place for..." she trailed off, shaking her head, before looking up at Rona pleadingly. "We're going back, right?"

[Saikazo 241]

"Well..." Ada looked over to the new girl. "Can't say I'm too fond of her. She doesn't seem harmful, but I don't enjoy having a nut like that about. But, enough about that. Let's talk about the magic, right?" Reaching down to scratch the lizard's chin, Ada leaned into Gojira more, cocking her head slightly as she looked over his shoulder. "Why don't you try chanting them? Memorizing them won't do much good on its own, so it should be more like... ingraining them into your being. If that makes sense? You want it to be second nature to you, moreso than something you memorize for a short period and forget again."

"Right, right, that makes sense," Raynor muttered as he nodded. He held out his hand, looking at the words for one more glance before he looked back at his appendage. He began to speak the foreign words, his speech a little clearer than his last attempt. He certainly was making some sort of progress, as instead of only featureless mist, he was making a tiny ball of darkness that had a lot of featureless mist pouring out of it. He had to admit, magic was a lot harder than he first gave credit to.

Gojira looked at the ball of darkness, at its swirling form, and how dangerous it seemed... and immediately leaned forward in an attempt to eat it. "Oy, oy, oy!" Raynor called out as he whipped his magic hand away from Gojira. "You just ate. Besides, you don't eat this!" He looked back at the ball before he looked at Gojira. "No. No eat," Gojira stared for a few seconds, processing what was said before he shifted in another attempt to eat the magic. "Oy, what did I just say!? Do you have no sense of self-preservation?!" Raynor closed the book, the magic evaporating, much to the disappointment of his mount. Gojira grumbled and laid back down, eyeing Raynor's hand, in case another ball appeared.

[Kay Faraday 23]

---

The quiet of the night was... Nice. After spending the day dealing with those bandits and then getting to know their new 'friend', it was nice to just sit down and close his eyes. The music going was a nice touch, though it ended before too long, leaving Layne to stare up at the sky once his eyes opened up again. The fact that the entire day felt like it was stretched out over the course of a couple was really causing fatigue to settle into his body, but he quietly pushed himself up to a sitting position either way as he let out a soft sigh.

He brought a hand up to his head to brush along the back of it gently, a low yawn escaping the cleric as he shook his head slightly to try and shake off the approaching sleep. As much as he wanted to just collapse and rest for the night, there were still things he would have to do. There was the need to get washed up in the river for the day ahead of them, if only for his own sanity. But then Leon seemed to address him, luckily enough he was actually conscious and not dozing off to sleep on the log like he had been.

"Well, I suppose it's better than keeping things dull around here. So, how're you holding up from the trip so far?" 

The cleric stretched for a moment as he yawned out, his hand rubbing along the back of his head again as he looked up at the sky, "The trip isn't the hard part of things. Though keeping clean is definitely a lot more annoying. It might be silly to say it, but I was really hoping we would have an easy job this time."

He clasped his hands together over his lap as he leaned forward a bit, a small mumble escaping him as he glanced aside, grumbling lightly, "I mean, it's partially my responsibility we're out here, you know? Bandits are nothing new, but what they were saying has me worried. If there's some kind of bounty and someone gets hurt..." He trailed off a bit, sighing gently as he shook his head, "We're already in it, so there's nothing to do and no reason to keep focusing on it, but it keeps on popping in my head now."

---

[Blake 312]

"Oy, oy, oy! You just ate. Besides, you don't eat this!" He looked back at the ball before he looked at Gojira. "No. No eat," Gojira stared for a few seconds, processing what was said before he shifted in another attempt to eat the magic. "Oy, what did I just say!? Do you have no sense of self-preservation?!" 

Ada couldn't help but laugh a bit as the lizard tried to eat the dark magic, enjoying the interaction between the beast and its rider. The small taste of home was appreciated as the scene continued. Clearing her throat quietly, she pat at Gojira's back as she continued.

"See, just like that! The more you practice, the more success you'll have. It's like... another language altogether. And reading is definitely much easier than reciting. The sooner you ingrain them into your mind, the easier it's going to be." Ada placed one of her hands forward, palm up, and began to quietly recite. In a much shorter time than Raynor, a perfected form of the same spell appeared above her palm, swirling fog seemingly contained inside, "Like that. Another example is probably... like learning to ride? Once you learn, you'll never really forget."

[Skaia 578]

Edda physically recoiled, stumbling back a bit even while sitting down, at Alexis's last comment. "W-what?" Stunned for a moment, the girl then folded her arms and pouted, turning to the side. "Well- well, you're the last person I want to talk to. Hmph." Continuing to look away  from the girl, her expression softened saying, "but, well, it's not like I hate meeting new people or anything. It's just...everyone I meet is either terrible, or pushy. And I don't think that's the kind of excitement I need." 

---

Leon nodded, his own expression becoming a bit solemn as he said, "well, your worries are not yours alone. This whole bounty thing has kept me on edge for awhile, and I can't say walking through the country side has made me feel any better. But well..." Leon trailed off for a moment. He didn't really place any responsibility on Layne for this pressure he was feeling. No, since he had found out about it, he had begun to believe this would be a matter of course, regardless of if they had met Edda or not. Of course, not saying that, the boy simply looked back to Layne. "But, I'm the leader, so there's no point in you worrying about if anyone gets hurt. That fault will be mine alone.  However," with a small smile on his face he said, "if they are, I'll be looking to you to make sure everyone's healed just fine." 

---

Rona would be taught a very important fact on this day; bears were heavy. Though the girl was strong, carrying the creature's corpse was not much of an option, though she would still be able to drag it along the ground with great effort. It mattered little, though, as both her and Yue would not find anything impeding their path back to the camp. This was not to say, however, that their trip was without incident. Every now and then, they would feel as though they were being watched by something, as if a strange gaze was peering at them through the woods. Added to this, were they ever to look back they would see what appeared to be a large shadow.  Though, this would only last for a second, as it would either dart away almost immediately, or were they to look away and look back it simply would no longer be in the same spot. And strangely, it wasn't as if this was accompanied by any noise, such as the rustling of branches or leaves. All the same, this did not happen frequently nor did it make their journey any more difficult. 

[LordCowCow 840]

"I-is that safe?"

"No worries, I've eaten much worse before! And it doesn't look like whatever killed this was venomous so it should be fine."

Even so she'd be sure to take the first bite out of the bear meat. To make certain it was safe. She was actually pretty excited to get back and see how happy the bear would make Cormag. He always seemed to prefer to eat predators if given the chance. Rona thought he secretly felt bad eating something that could barely defend itself in life.

"We're going back, right?"

Rona smiled at Yue, giving the nervous girl her most confident smile, and nodded. "Yes, let us be off. It will take some time to drag this beast into the camp. Make sure you don't drop what you got. I imagine it will take some time to clean up this one."

With that said she started to pick up the large animal. It was...rather heavy indeed. Forcing her to drag it most of the way. While they encountered no real issues on the way there was a near constant sense of something. Something nearby. Following them. It never attacked but it was just...there. She didn't know if it was simply following them because it was there or because it wanted the bear. But it made her nervous.

So she talked. Not about anything. Just idly talking about the forest and the bear and whatever came to mind. Anything to not show how nervous she was to Yue.

By the time they reached the camp she was glistening with sweat but, as she got into view of the rest, she grinned widely. "Look what I found!" She called out.

After depositing the bear she went to Leon to tell them what they had found and what had possibly followed them. "We'll have to be on the lookout that's for sure. Something's out here that shouldn't be."

---

"Well- well, you're the last person I want to talk to. Hmph. But, well, it's not like I hate meeting new people or anything. It's just...everyone I meet is either terrible, or pushy. And I don't think that's the kind of excitement I need." 

Alexis had heard of this before. Sunder? No, not quite. Something like that though. Whatever the case it was rather...amusing. Not a type of person Alexis normally got to deal with.

Which of course meant that she was looking forward to talking to her more. "So what kind of excitement do you need then?" She asked.

"Eh? Um..uh..." The girl was clearly confused by this question, putting a hand to her chin saying, "none? Um..." She then seemed to mull over the question in more depth internally.

Alexis smiled and leaned back, holding herself up by her arms, while she watched the girl think. "Is it really that tough of a question? Surely there must be something."

"Well, it's more of an...every day kind of..." The girl stopped herself as she realized something, seeming more defensive as she said, "well, there you have it."

"And the mystery grows evermore." Alexis said. Then she tilted her head back as she heard movement. Which was when Rona made her entrance...dragging a bear. Alexis whistled. "Well, that's not something you see every day right there."

[Sethera 290]

While Rona seemed confident about taking the bear back, Yue wasn't so sure. Not only were they already weighed down with dead animals, they would be dragging back a much larger dead animal as well. Which made them sitting ducks for predators like wolves or another bear. Still, she couldn't exactly leave Rona by herself either. Letting out a whimper, the girl joined the other, helping out when she could, but mostly keeping an eye out for any predators nearby, a wary grip on her bow.

Her nerves were at their stretching point. It felt as if there was something watching them, and there very well could be something watching them. Actually, looking back once, she thought she caught a glimpse of a shadow, but it disappeared almost as soon as she laid eyes on it. Rona didn't seem to sense anything, chattering away about any topic that came to mind. Or maybe she noticed and didn't care. That sounded more like Rona. The girl was confident, but for good reason. Yue felt herself slowly relaxing as she responded to the wyvern rider. Even if they were attacked, they had Rona here. Rona would take care of it if anything happened.

By the time they reached the camp both girls were covered with sweat. Rona from exertion and Yue from fear. "Look what I found!" the wyvern rider called out. After depositing the bear the redhead went to Leon to tell him about what had occurred in the forest. The archer, on the other hand, dropped her catch against the ground next to the campfire and then let herself fall to the ground, sagging against a nearby boulder. She gazed up at the stars and felt her breathing finally slow. "This day has been..." she shook her head. "Exhausting."

[Saikazo 241]

Raynor could hear Ada laughing at the antics of himself and Gojira, and Raynor had to admit, she had a pretty laugh. "See, just like that! The more you practice, the more success you'll have. It's like... another language altogether. And reading is definitely much easier than reciting. The sooner you ingrain them into your mind, the easier it's going to be." Ada placed one of her hands forward, palm up, and began to quietly recite. In a much shorter time than Raynor, a perfected form of the same spell appeared above her palm, swirling fog seemingly contained inside, "Like that. Another example is probably... like learning to ride? Once you learn, you'll never really forget."

"Yeah, that seems like a good comparison," Raynor said as he placed the book back into his bag. "I'll practice some more... when Gojira isn't going to try to eat my attempts," The rider added, causing his mount to snort.

"Look what I found!" Raynor turned to see Rona dragging a bear, and seemingly struggle with it. He could imagine such a beast would be heavy though, so he couldn't blame her. "

"Okay, I should help her," Raynor said as he stood up, dusting his pants off. "Feel free to snuggle with Gojira," He told Ada. "I'm sure he'll enjoy it," With that, he headed over to Rona, getting behind the bear. It took all he had, but he managed to slightly lift its backside off the ground, letting the two carry the beast over to an easy place to access it.

"This day has been..." Yue said. "Exhausting." Raynor looked over and nodded to himself. 

"Yeah, no kiddin'," Raynor admitted. "Still, did you hunt this bear? That's really impressive,"

[Kay Faraday 23]

---

Leon nodded, his own expression becoming a bit solemn as he said, "well, your worries are not yours alone. This whole bounty thing has kept me on edge for awhile, and I can't say walking through the country side has made me feel any better. But well..." 

The trailing off there caused Layne to let out a small sigh as he rubbed at his neck, "We'll figure it out, yeah? No point in obsessing over it right now, we need to rest for the night. And figure out why the bounty is up in the first place. Maybe we can learn a bit from Edda, if she'll talk to anyone." He smiled lightly as he shrugged his shoulders lightly as he said that, he knew it was a long shot. She wasn't very interested in talking to anyone, at least not for any extended amount of time. Whether they would get any information from her was... Uncertain.

"But, I'm the leader, so there's no point in you worrying about if anyone gets hurt. That fault will be mine alone.  However if they are, I'll be looking to you to make sure everyone's healed just fine." 

Layne let out a little snort as he shook his head, "Don't carry all the responsibility alone, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to do that. We'll be here to help you out with anything that crops up." He smiled in return, poking his tongue out slightly as he gave a brief wink, "Don't worry, I'll make sure everyone stays healthy to the best of my ability. Can't let anything happen on my watch."

---

[Skaia 578]

Leon looked to Edda as Layne mentioned getting information from her. The girl seemed to be in some kind of a huff as she was conversing with Alexis. Though the Jouran seemed to be quite annoyed, Leon was glad to see that Alexis had managed to get her at least talking. All the same, he knew these things took time, and she was more likely to talk the more comfortable she was. Which was something Leon hardly doubted he could do, especially given the circumstances. Looking back to Layne as he responded to his next comment, Leon simply nodded. "I'm counting on it."

Soon enough, Rona and Yue came back, with what looked like a large bear in tow. Standing up and going to their aid Leon smiled saying, "good work both of you. This'll be more than enough for tonight." Helping Rona drag the pair to where it needed to be, the boy then walked back starting to get the tools he needed to prepare their meal. As he did, Rona walked over to him, informing him of what she had seen in the forest. Furrowing his brow, the young male said, "I see." Putting a finger to his chin, Leon naturally figured that there might be some kind of monster left in the forest. It wasn't unthinkable. A hound would fit the bill for something that would stalk them all the way here, but it didn't quite match up with what she was talking about. Looking to the woods, wary about what was in them he turned back saying, "well, I'll be on the lookout for sure. Thanks for telling me about this. For now, though," placing a hand on here shoulder as he began to walk towards the bear he said, "let's eat." 

From there, the group prepared the bear and cooked it, having enough portions to go around for the group. Leon was content to eat quietly, slowly eating away at the meat though seeming to enjoy it as he watched the treeline. Edda, however, seemed to simply prodding at the piece of meat in front of her. She seemed to be wary of the meat, seeming to be offended by both the odor and appearance. Unfortunately, she was hungry, and thus had no choice. And so, reluctantly, she ate the bear meat, chewing on it with an unpleasant expression on her face. 

[Sethera 290]

Yue jerked slightly in place when she heard Raynor's voice. She hadn't expected anybody to be listening. "Y-yeah," she replied at first, and then realized what exactly he had said. "I-I mean, no. I didn't hunt the bear. Neither of us did," she explained. "It was already dead."

Later, the archer ate the bear meat with little conversation, exhaustion causing her eyes to droop. It had been a long day of travel, and now this failed hunting expedition. Still, the meat was fine, if a little strong in flavor compared to what she was used to. Glancing to the side, Edda seemed to barely tolerate it. If she had known the girl would react that strongly, she would have added her couple rabbits to the mix.

Every so often, the Yonan's eyes strayed to the surrounding trees. She still remembered that feeling of being watched, and could not help but shiver at the thought. Could somebody, or something, be watching them right now? It was a chilling thought, and one she'd rather not have while her bow wasn't at hand. Instead, she had a strip of meat in her grip. Desperate to get her mind off such things, the girl spoke up. "Um..." she stopped, realizing that she had nothing to say, before casting her eyes over the group. "Um...so...you don't like bear...Edda?"

[LordCowCow 840]

Rona couldn't focus. She had chosen, as usual, to sit near Leon. After making sure to eating the first piece of meat she relaxed slightly while watching to see if Leon was satisfied with the meal.

She noticed him glance into the woods and had an odd feeling of guilt. It shouldn't be up to the commander to be on watch for these things. He had to rest. But they didn't have a dedicated scout, either, and those that would best fit the bill...no longer were with them.

"Commander, would you feel better if I stood watch? I was the one who stirred up the beast after all."

Leon continued to chew on his bear, looking to the girl saying, "hmm, well, I don't feel like I've done much of anything today, so I figured give it a go. Of course, having you watch with me would probably be a relief."

Rona smiled as she felt a rush of warmth rise up in her. It felt nice to be of use. "Yes, commander." She said, perhaps too eagerly. "You can count on me."

---

Alexis tilted her head to the side as she examined the hunk of bear meat in her hands. With a shrug she dug in, tearing a huge chunk out of it in one go, and struggling to chew it due to her overzealous first bite.

After much effort and awkward chewing, of the head back, open mouthed, gnawing variety, she managed to swallow the bear meat down. With a cough she gave a thumbs up. "Not bad!" Noticing Edda's actions she gave a laugh. Before she could say anything a small voice spoke up.

"Um...so...you don't like bear...Edda?"

Grinning, she realized that the Yonan girl had noticed the same thing. She also noticed the girl shiver. An idea coming to mind she got up from her spot to sit down next to Yue. Still looking at Edda she waited for a response before nudging Yue. Her voice lowered she mentioned "You know, if you're cold, I'm sure you could convince Rona to sit near you. You know, the old 'share body heat and get close to the girl you like' trick? Worth a shot ain't it?"

[Kay Faraday 23]

---

"I'm counting on it."

That shouldn't have made Layne nervous, but it did. Keeping everyone alive was a stressful job, everyone was on different pages most of the time. And that wasn't even taking into account that Rona... Well, Rona didn't help matters. His face darkened for a moment as he nodded to Leon, before turning his attention to the fact that Yue and Rona had returned. The bear was going to take some time to prepare, but the sheer amount of meat meant that no one was going to go without some. Even if it wouldn't be the most amazing thing in the world.

The food prep took a better part of the evening to cook once they had gotten it set up, and Layne took a portion of it for himself, slowly breaking the meat down into smaller, thinner strips... It was definitely a slow process though, considering that the meat was tough to chew in the first place. A hazard of bear meat, what can one do? He hummed lightly to himself as he started to nibble on bits of the meat he had stripped off, watching the others for a moment. A little laugh escaped him as Alexis started to inch her way towards Yue, that was... Definitely going to end well.

But his thoughts were drifting back towards the fact that... Apparently, they hadn't been the ones to kill that bear. They had just stumbled on it. He wasn't entirely sure what that was going to mean for the group, but it was enough to make him a little antsy.

---

[Blake 312]

After Raynor left, Ada continued to rub the lizard's head and back a bit, enjoying the serene night. However, the prospect of a nice, fresh bear was too much for her to hold out on for too long, causing her to rush over for her serving. At least, that was what she would have said, were it not for the curious marks on the beast.

"I-I mean, no. I didn't hunt the bear. Neither of us did. It was already dead."

"I, uh... I'm not eating that," Ada pouted a bit, "I'm not taking chances. Bear can do some damage to you if it died in a frenzied state... And it makes the meat tougher, too. If Yue thinks it's safe, go for it, but I'm not taking my chances on it."

Sitting down next to Layne with a sigh, she shrugged as he nibbled, an incredulous, but disappointed, look on her face. She wasn't so sure the meat wasn't compromised due to whatever killed it, either, but... It couldn't be that bad, could it? Yeah, of course not. Right?

"What a waste of a perfectly good bear," the shaman puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms, "Though it's probably fine for the mounts..."

[Saikazo 241]

"Y-yeah," she replied at first, and then realized what exactly he had said. "I-I mean, no. I didn't hunt the bear. Neither of us did," she explained. "It was already dead." Raynor looked over at Yue, in a bit of silent confusion. So, something else killed this bear. That... that was a bit disturbing to say the least. Bears were tough, probably only under salamanders and wyverns in natural toughness (without being some mythical creature, anyways)

"Guess I'm taking watch duty tonight," he muttered. There was no way he was sleeping with the knowledge something like that was out there.

"I, uh... I'm not eating that," Ada pouted a bit, cuaing Raynor to look over. "I'm not taking chances. Bear can do some damage to you if it died in a frenzied state... And it makes the meat tougher, too. If Yue thinks it's safe, go for it, but I'm not taking my chances on it."

Now that was a fair point, but Raynor was a hungry boy, so he grabbed a chunk of the meat and eat it anyways. It was... passable. Not the best he had, but it was fine. He was quiet during meal time, alternating between stuffing his face and looking out into the woods. He was on edge... and he didn't like it. In fact, the only thing that kept distracting him from the nagging feeling that something dangerous might be nearby was the itchy feeling under his eyepatch. Yeah, it was something he had neglected for a bit, wasn't it? He stood up, tossing the rest of his meal to Gojira, who happily devoured it.

He then broke from the group, walking over to the river. The current was far too strong for swimming or the like, but it was fine for his own purposes. He undid his eye patch, exposing his missing eye to the open air as he bent down and began to scrub the dirty eye patch in the water. It was a bit annoying, as he wasn't going to return to the group until the eye patch itself was dry, but it was either that or get those looks of disgust, pity, or both when he explained why he only had one eye. He normally didn't mind but... he kinda liked this group, and he had to present himself the best he could. This wasn't some usual gig where he'd get a job done and move on, he was going to stay with these people for awhile. It was best to keep a good impression.

[Skaia 578]

Continuing to chew on the bear meat, Edda looked to the white haired girl, trying her best to answer once she had finished. Needless to say, it was an awkward moment of Edda just looking at Yue and a lot of chewing. Finally swallowing, her face seeming to have clear disgust on it from her meal, the girl cleared her throat. Ready to speak, the girl paused yet again, before finally just muttering, "not really." Taking another piece and examining it, bracing herself like a child would for taking medicine, the girl began to chew on her next piece saying, "I don't really eat it that often - actually, I try not to eat it whenever possible." The girl shivered as if remembering something, but simply kept quietly chewing as her sworn rival and eternal enemy had come to speak with Yue as well. 

The time continued to pass by as the group ate their meal, nothing note worthy seeming to take place as they all conversed amongst themselves or set out to take care of their own tasks. However, as the group's day began to draw to a close, it was then that something sought out to break the calm. Seeing it was rather difficult, its form blending in with the darkness provided by the night and canopy of leaves from the surrounding trees. Hearing it was near impossible as it seemed not to rustle even a blade of grass as it stepped forward. It lacked any grandiose upon its entrance, coming with neither ceremony nor ferocity about it. And yet once one laid their eyes on it, it was truly a sight one could not forget - one they could not take their eyes off of. Standing up immediately upon seeing it, Leon shouted to the group, "everyone, get yourself ready!" Drawing his own blade, the boy looked at the creature that had already managed to come dangerously close to them. 

At its simplest, the creature had the shape of yet another hound. Yet it was much, much larger than any hound any one had come across. Its body, though it had seemed solid and had some roughness to it as if to mimic hair, its body hardly seemed substantial; a creature made of solid black shadows, wisps of such darkness coming off of its body. And with its piercing red eyes it looked to the group. It looked to Rona. They Raynor. Then Edda. Then Cormag. Then Gojira. As it looked at the last, the creature seemed to grin, exposing its jet black teeth crackling with something similar to white and blue electricity. Letting out a snarling noise, the creature seemed ready to pounce before looking to the sky and letting out what could only be described as an ear piercing unearthly howl. Jumping back, the creature seemed to move back into the forest, though now that the group had seen it it was much easier to spot where it stood. 

While the path was simple enough, though, it had appeared that it had left company in its wake. As if answering its call, the sound of hounds barking could be heard coming from the distance. To make matters worse, bodies both humanoid and lupine had begun to break free from the ground, seeming ready to fight. 

Edda's breathing began to get heavier, and her eyes more panicked as she saw the horrid beast and all left in its wake. Her hand shakily gripping onto her sword she simply asked aloud, "what...what in the world is-"

"Falcons!" Leon shouted. "Let's go!" 

[LordCowCow 840]

Rona noticed first when the peaceful night took a turn. She was already on her feet when Leon called to get ready and was halfway to Cormag when the creature let out a howl. This beast was unlike the others. Not only for its size. It was, frankly, terrifying. What could her axe do to something that looked so insubstantial?

But Rona knew one thing. She had to kill it.

Cormag, as the monster roared, took off towards his rider and landed in front of her. Refocusing her on the present. "Thank you my friend." She muttered, climbing atop of him.

"Falcons!" Leon shouted. "Let's go!" 

"I'll clear a path, just stay behind me!" Rona followed up.

The battlefield was, thankfully, spacious enough for Cormag to accompany her. Though there were still patches of dense trees that would be impossible to travel through. There were foes directly in front of them. Walking corpses, zombies, wielding weapons in their rotting hands. One, a lance holder, was far too close to Leon for comfort.

Drawing her Bronze Axe, Rona urged Cormag straight forward and swung her axe, tearing into the monster's flesh, carving a path through its shoulder and partially into its chest. The softness of the bodies was disturbing. Had it been a regular human the blow would have slain them but the monster still seemed prepared to fight. With the number of these creatures in this area she imagined this fight could take some time. Could she hold out? If that...thing attacked her, would she be able to stave it off? Rona clenched her teeth as she fought the urge to tremble.

---

Alexis felt pretty good. True, things weren't necessarily going perfectly as planned, but she had a good feeling that there would be plenty of opportunities to see love blossom within this group.

Though it seemed that a strange and vicious beast wanted to make that more difficult. She noticed that the creature seemed to hone in on specific members of their group. Very specific. Mysteriously, suspiciously, specific. It only added to her concerns that these things were growing in frequency and strength.

Leon called for battle and, though she wasn't technically a member, she wasn't about to sit this out. "Tana!" She called out for her Pegasus. The girl took a few steps forward and noticed Edda, staring in fear. Putting a hand on the girl's shoulder she declared. "No worries. Whatever it is, it's not confident enough to take us alone. That means we can bring it down."

With that said she got up onto Tana's back and moved into position.

Given how the trees were laid out she couldn't get a perfect view of the field but it was enough to identify where the threats were. There was an easy target off to the left...but that would leave her open. The path to the right looked to be a more suitable path, yet she couldn't reach there right away.

Decision made the girl flew off towards the tree line. Using it as cover and watching through the gaps to see the enemy's movements. From here she could decide how to attack. She made sure to make room for one of the ranged fighters to reach the monsters on the other side, calling out "Use the trees to your advantage. They won't be able to easily cross and we can take em out as they try and maneuver around them."

These foes were many, and fierce, but if they were careful...they could win.

Spoiler

Rona moved up 4 and attacked Zombie 11 with Bronze Axe (Focused Strike)

Alexis moved up 4 and 1 right.