Raindrop Valkyrie

Move to K12, Hold.

New business partnership? Rayne knew what was said was a joke of some kind, but she found it peculiar that someone had heard of the Marigolds as far away as Z'ark. Though... she supposed the fame that her family name held spanned much further than their homeland. Perhaps it was just due to her mother's reluctance to ever leave their home city that made her feel that way. Perhaps the guild's influence was much larger than she could've ever imagined. It made her all the more glad she left. Rayne never felt she was one that should hold the title. She wasn't really one with any acumen for business. She was always amazing at tailoring and all the skills that came with it thanks to her mother, butrunning a guild never felt like something she could do. "You've heard of my Mother's guild?" she asked somewhat surprised. She turned to Clarisse. For the moment she snapped out of her nerves. Which may or may not have been a good thing. "I'm guessing your family is a line of merchants as well, Clarisse? Your home does remind me a lot of my own. Though my mother always was talking about how her style was much more genuine and down to earth than most others. She was always really adamant about keeping her home modest."

Ye didn't see it coming either. As a note though Her staff causes enemies to not be able to counter attack from the turn apparently, and her B skill also makes it so she can't be countered. ((so she can more or less apply that debuff for free.)) Also do keep in Mind Spring Xander came out quite awhile before his regular version, so I imagine Charlotte will eventually come out in her fighter form as well. Besides more axes are definitely going to happen at some point.

Rayne was sorta spacing out again trying to not think about how weird this situation was for her. She was never a fan of meeting new people and certainly, not a fan of being in the spotlight. She did feel a tad more comfortable than usual however. Clarisse's family home reminded her a lot of her own. They were quite well off, like her own family. Her mother was quite a bit more modest in her styling though. Not that this was a gross display of wealth or anything, it was jsut a bit more noticable than it was in the Marigold household. Still it'd didn't help to ease her much. She nearly jumped out o her skin yet again when Clarisse's mother asked who she was. The attention being focused on her again all of a sudden sorta wigged her out. This was Clarisse's Mother. What would she say to her? She wasn't really sure of what to do in this situation. She silently cursed in her head wishing she'd have thought about this more and figured things out in her head before they had arrived. But, she was here now. "Hehheh..." she let out an Awkward giggle. "Nice start me..." "Hi! I'm Rayne. Rayne Marigold. I'm with the royal guard.~ Clarisse is a friend. Juuuuust a friend of mine. Well not just a friend..." Rayne paused for an uncomfortable amount of time here. It had seemed she'd lost her train of thought or... something as she just trailed off but never finished the thought.

I totally forgot that one was basically an entirely red team + some random unit as well. Which tended to be the issue with most of the teams. They were heavily biased on one or two colours. The only one that had like any variety was the fliers one. ((but not enough as Ursula could still pretty much ORKO all of them, just had to move her properly which was a tad awkward cause of the trees on that map.)) But ye team comp definitely super trivialized some of them. Due to it being pre-SI I think that's what lead to them being pretty easy. I'd love to see what stuff would be in SI'd maps. ((perhaps the next batch will be the Characters use are their basic forms and the hard mode is full of the SI'd version of the units.)) Despite the relative ease I still enjoyed it though tbh.

You really just needed to get him to split from the pack a bit more since Olivia will just stick to Effie if he goes a certain way. ((which is nice since Effie only can move as much as a normal unit with a dance boost. Basically it's a game of "can you kite the Effie?" at that point. Having your own dancer immensely helps I find since you can just pick at her really easy. Another note is Taco is super weak to mages so if you've got a good one ((or a good Raven Tome user.)) You can exploit his bad res super easy. It can be tricky though seeing as Dancer Ai is... super freaking unpredictable at times. The one with the flires can be difficult if you don't have the right set-up as well just cause they have WAY better capablity to move on that map. ((however and thankfully... they are pre-SI so they can't use Repos shenanigans to sling one of them forward and take out one of your units asap.)) I fucked up on that one once due to positioning. ((and lowkey disrepsecting Hinoka cause I carelessly moved Ursula into her range. LOL.)) and as I was trying to get the extra goodies from getting it without unit deaths welp. Restart for Hukuna. The Three Swords + Wrys one was kinda a joke. You needed like a single tanky blue to just clog a hole and they just sat there and eventually died. ((since Wrys would almost always split from the pack and leave them to die. Swear that old man's got a sadistic side.)) And for funsies. I rolled a Genny. and lemme say from the results Wrathful staff is great on her and she's not even fast enough to really abuse it. Serra, Lucius, Priscella and Elise will love the having it. They are probably all generally usable. Lucius probably the best for Infantry Staves. ((though Serra is pretty similar but has like 10 more defense? I dunno maybe there's a reason to use her over him. Maybe her tiny little extra speed will matter enough. Doubt it. Main reason might just be availability.)) with Elise being the best for the Cavs. ((with Pris probably being passable with the Cav buffs but basically discount Elise.)) Wrathful is interesting tech imo, and it can let your healer contribute to some damage if need be or just sit back in healy mode. It's just interesting imo and it feels like it gives staff users a new fun tool to play with that's not just WoM. Wish they had a bit broader selection of A skills... but eh... but Genny can soften super well and often with dance assist kill off the unit entirely if their res is spotty. ((which I find to be more common.)) dunno. I just like Wrathful a lot and kinda wish it was in the game earlier. personally I'll be keeping a Copy of Genny. Cause she's a writer like me apparently so... I think I'm obligated to. ((and I I sent Lucius home... I rolled one but that was back before Wrathful existed and I already had so many healers the feathers were more important at the time. Whoops?))

Ursula basically one shot everything and what she couldn't take care of Xander/Ike did. I beat pretty much all of them go 1. ((other the 3's hard cause I fucked up my positioning a little and that caused me to lose. to be fiar... I did it right when the map came out which was like 3 in the morning and I hadn't slept yet lol))

Her conversation with the speedy knight would have to be put on hold for a moment. an archer thought he was allowed to fire at Akane. She sighed loudly "I... did you... Hmmmm. I wasn't even moving..." She held the thought for just a moment, before angrily exploding. "IF YOU'RE GOING TO ATTACK ME WHEN YOU HAVE THE ADVANTAGE ACTUALLY HIT ME!!!" She charged forward towards the archer, offended by his terrible skill. "Pathetic...DIE!" Move to L6, angrily slash iron sword all up at Archer1's head.

"Handicap? I've never seen it as such. I only learned how to fight after losing my arm. The driving force behind why I fight. It only makes me that much stronger. I don't have as much room for error. I've always fought knowing that. It makes me a better fighter than most who'd dare call themselves warriors." She flourished her sword to clean off the blood, sending a spatter of crimson to the ground. A rather interesting maneuver with only one hand able to perform it. Akane spit in the corpse's direction. Just more hired scum... not worth the dirt on her boot. "If you can tell I'm missing an arm from just a glance... You have a good eye to match your speed. Qualities that compliment each other greatly."

"Hmmm, battle calls. Fight with us... or run. Your choice. But, if you run, I will hunt you down until the end of the World. That's a promise. And the Mother of the World knows... I never go back on my promises." and with those final words to the bard, she took off. Her sword already was drawn so she didn't need to waste time with that. She saw a heavily armoured man take off in front of her. She thought he may be a foe for a second until she realized he was headed towards her own target. Fast for one wearing armour. She'd not seen him before. Must've arrived after the Scholar starting talking to her. "You're fast for wearing a tin can." She remarked before she struck into the same fighter. Move to L5, attack Fighterwhatever with Iron Sword.

"It's the perfect time honestly. If you cut and run you're my enemy. And I'll cut you down faster than a leaf on the wind. And with the utmost pleasure, Beeeeeeeeeeeeeelieve me. However, if you really are one of the Queen's Guard, and prove yourself useful... maybe I won't have to gut you like a fish." She said not really lowering her sword any at all. "Besides... the way this is going I'm going to need this blade regardless."

"You disgust me." Akane spoke as soon as the bard was done running his mouth. His entire attitude had gone beyond the point of annoying her already but selling out the people he was supposed to be comrades with was a new low. A pitiful noble trying to save his stupid useless hide. and one clearly intent that the practice of treating people as property was just ordinary. She'd spit in his face if she could. She drew her sword and leveled it directly at him. "You're one of the Queen's Guard are you not? How about you act like one instead of a spineless coward... Otherwise I'll take your head for myself."

"Hmmm looks like this is under control. Guards can't handle a small brat. Amazing... even I'd given them more credit than that but these ones must be a special brand of shit at their jobs." Akane thought to herself. She had caught up to Marcus. Seeing as he was literally holding the source of the problem in his arms... Akane figured there wasn't much she needed to do. She kept her hand firmly on the grip of her sword and kept an eye (her only one.) peeled in case this was just a distraction.

"Told ya so... Marcus, was it? If there's anything I'd always bet on... it'd be guards being awful at their jobs." Akane laughed at the prospect. It had happened faster then she thought. She dumped the remaining contents of her pipe onto the floor and ground them out with her foot. She slipped the pipe into her upper half of her kimono, and placed her hand on the hilt of a strangely styled sword on her hip. She quickly followed the rest of those going to go check on the situation.

"Hmmm, another wanderer. Interesting. Hopefully you find the means to complete whatever this task of yours is. One going incomplete... has a tendency to eat at the back of one's mind." I know that mines does. Akane never really gave the man her name. She didn't intend to. She wasn't going to be here permanently why would she? Names were merely niceties. Sounds for which people would call you by. She supposed some of the others might think it rude that she never gave him hers in turn for his. However, she hardly cared for the societal norms of this country, or any of them for that matter. All of this.... really just got in the way of her mission. What her life was now dedicated to fulfilling. Being stuck here, having to play nice with a pack of those of questionable competency. It was quite harrowing. Luckily for them her rage boiled quietly. It had for nearly 20 years. She wasn't about to lose it anytime soon. The only time she did was on the battlefield. She wasn't known as the "One Armed Demon" for nothing.

"It's just a means to an end. A tool for a certain mission. A matter of convenience. Nothing more. The fact I'm still here is proof that nobles aren't very good at keeping up with their word. As soon as they finally do though... I'm gone. As the smoke from this pipe. I'll hang in the air until it is done. But once it is... I shall vanish. Blown away by the wind." she huffed out another puff of off-white smoke, as if to punctuate her statement.

"It's because of their position that they aren't. If you always delegate all the fighting to your body guards... how will you ever learn to do it for yourself? You never will is the answer. For every servant they have that does something for them... they never learn that skill. Their apparent "lesser" does. It's why talent can come from anywhere, not only from those the most well off in this world. Typically the most useless people are those that sit on their wealth or whatever they have and rot away while they do nothing. Inaction is the deadliest poison." more witticisms followed by a puff of off-white smoke. She crossed her leg over her other shifting to something more comfortable. "and it certainly is. If there's anything in this world one can be certain of... it's that people are incompetent. Competency is one of the rarest commodities in this world. If it wasn't... well, let's just say the metric by which the Queen's Guard were selected, would be a terrible one. Everyone would be in the Queen's Guard."

She placed the pipe back into her mouth. and with the same arm, retrieved something with which she lit it once more. She did it surprisingly quick so Marcus wasn't even sure what she had done. She took a another hit from it, breathing in the smoke. It was from a particular plant that her people knew about. She wondered if anyone here knew it existed. It was said to have healing properties... for the mind and the soul. Akane was never sure how true that was though. She breathed out more of the off-white smoke. "Talent can come from anywhere. Perhaps the only thing I can agree with the Queen's Guard on. How they are selected. As for your question. Highly. Nobles like him can't be expected to do anything. They are worthless outside of their cushy lives of politics. Further, if the city's own guard were actually competent... we'd not be here wasting our time. They are as much a puffed up facade as their noble masters. Pointless peons meant to give the illusion of protection. If they were good for anything... the Queen's Guard wouldn't be needed to protect some frivolous pastimes such as these."

"Waste of time. Fancy posturing only called battle in name, but not in spirit. They are just what the title implies. Games. Grown men and woman playing at children's games. It's pathetic really." She slid something over to this "Marcus". "If you're going to be here, make yourself useful." she was holding the pipe in front of him waiting for him to refill it for her.

"Hmmm, yes. It tells the story of a young woman who was minding her own business suddenly accosted by company she did not want." she took a another drag from her pipe blowing more heated air outward. She must've been at it for some time due to how smokey this corner was getting, though, the building seemed well enough ventilated that it didn't accumulate much more than what was hanging there. Her words in fairness didn't lie, they just alos happened to apply to the current situation. She looked over the man. He'd been the one inquiring earlier about libraries. Scholarly type it'd seem. The ones that meant well but were probably the worst kind of people when it came to her people. They tended to make a spectical out of their traditions, as if they were entertainment for the masses in the so called countries. The masses of land falsely claimed by overly ambitious lords, or whatever title, trying to own that which belonged to the Mother of the World. Pitiful really. She did not know his intent though. Perhaps it was unfair to judge... but the hesitance to do was what lead her down this path. Others poor judgement, their want to believe that not all of the Landsmen were like those of Gossmys... had cost her dearly. It cost them their lives. They deserved the fate they got.

"Was stupid thinking there'd be anything but the flexing of political theatre from these so called knights. Overly lavish halls... such niceties to hide what these people really are. Their souls black as tar. Their concerns much more focused on whatever it is their precious queen desires. Or perhaps the meaningless struggle for power. A human that believes they can hold dominion over others. What a disgusting thought. My fault for getting into this mess." a woman sat off by herself looking on the rest of this so called Queen's Guard. She certainly didn't look like she belonged in any way to this group. And yet, here she was. She took a long drag from her pipe, blowing smoke into the air. She wore a long flowing garment covered in intricate designs. Something not commonly seen in these lands... or any lands for that matter, for it was the dress of her native people. The kimono. Something that might've been copied by nobility trying to have a foreign or exotic appearance. However, she wore a true one. She shifted her position watching the people she was now stuck with, accessing what they were. Probably useless. They'd probably only serve to hold her back in her mission. It was inevitable.

"Hiyas! Rayne Marigold. I'm a friend of Clarisse's. She's my guard-guard~" she said trying to play off the awkwardness from before. Whether or not it was working... well... was hard to say. She shuffled around quite a bit nervously before extended her hand outward as to offer a handshake. She almost forgot to do so entirely.

Rayne watched as the two siblings hugged. It reminded her once again just how much she was missing home. She hadn't seen her sisters or her mother in years now. It felt like forever though. She didn't want to interrupt their reunion so she just hummed a familiar little tune to herself as she waited. Had she not been quite as homesick, she might've have been much more forward in this situation, but the feeling kept her grounded. She knew she'd not want such a moment like this to be ruined for her. Clarisse would've noted that at least from her perspective Rayne was being uncharacteristically quiet. Though this was more or less how Rayne was around other people. She never knew why she'd always been comfortable around Clarisse. So much so that she was never really aware of the fact. and theeeeeeeeen he asked about her. "Eep!" Rayne let out a shrill little scream. She'd been spacing out thinking about home after all, so the sudden shift of attention onto her scared her. She jumped behind Clarisse mostly out of reaction before realizing she was okay and stepping back out from behind her. She brushed herself off and puffed out her chest trying to appear as big as she could, and pretend like what just happened never happened. She didn't answer herself though.

Rayne turned around to follow Clarisse without much of a fuss. She just absentmindedly kept talking. "Oh yeah, I do have a lot. The youngest are all quadruplets though so it makes sense why I have so many. A lot of them are younger still so they are probably still at home with mom. Probably all still learning to be part of the family business as they grow older."