RedMageCole

A little nod from Arthur. "Thank you. I will be no longer than an hour, I promise. I greatly appreciate this, Ferdiad... and I am sorry about my earlier treatment of you yesterday. I'll be back soon." Arthur puts on his coat and leaves without another word.

Arthur gently shakes his head. "Thank you, and I greatly appreciate your offer and generosity, but I'd rather my journey be undergone alone. I'll wear my coat to conceal myself from prying eyes, and I hopefully won't be on the road too long." "I'll make damn sure I get back. You have a good group here, with Mim and Justine... I won't let myself be taken away again."

Kane looks rather amused at Ferdiad's blush; he can somewhat see something going on. "That'll be our newest member, Ferdiad; his name is Lysander Hale Darby, the Marvel Thief. He's quite talented and I hope you can give him a warm welcome." After Kane finishes, Arthur approaches Ferdiad, quietly clearing his throat. "Erhem... Ferdiad, was it? I was wondering if I could borrow your horse for just an hour." Arthur paused, dropping his voice to a quiet whisper. "I have a friend in Ceda I want to let know that I'm fine. I won't do anything rash, I just want to show and tell them that I'm safe."

Mercia tried to keep her calm as the enemy approached, and she felt every hair on her head stand on her head, her body prickling all over with anxiety as for the first time, she was faced with their enemies. There he was; that man that people for some reason think would be a fit ruler for the kingdom, despite his warmongering strategies. Mercia didn't know him personally... but she wanted to take him down. She couldn't believe in someone who wanted the throne for himself so badly as to stage an uprising with the mask of wanting what was best for the people... he has no evidence to prove his worth of the throne besides a sword Rosanne already had after proving herself worthy of the throne. It was a bunch of bullshit; how can he barely even give Rosanne a chance? He definitely did not have good intentions... it was time for her to prove herself after her blunder. ...Her heart stopped as she looked over the enemies. That person in the green cloak... It was the same person she talked to, there was no doubt about it; same shade of green and everything. Mercia's blood ran cold; had she tipped her off to the enemies? Had she really been that stupid as to make them wonder if there was something wrong all on her own? No... No, it couldn't be right! They had no proof that she worked with Rosanne; she didn't say a word about herself as Rosanne, she just was asking an innocent question! She grit her teeth. How dare that person say they wanted everything over soon when they were the ones causing it to go on in the first place? How dare they toy with her sentiments and make her start questioning herself? She wasn't going to question herself anymore; this was the path she was leading and nothing could change her mind! "Lady Rosanne, I... I may not be a match for Nicolos quite like you, but... but please rate my prowess fairly! I won't let you down, no matter what!"

As Arthur came inside with Justine, he tried to look as casual as humanly possible, as if he wasn't just sleeping next to a girl, and walked into the dining hall as if there was absolutely nothing going on. He almost spoke up, but then eyed his coat, then looked at Lysander, looking to and from them before shaking angrily. "Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck makes you think you can lay a hand on my-" Arthur nearly gets set off, before he suddenly digs the side of his hand into his leg, breathing in deeply, and breathing out. Trying not to say anything, he walks up and snatches his coat back, and doesn't do much else but do a growl whisper. "I don't know who you are, but consider it a warning, do not lay a hand on my coat..." A pause as Arthur looked over everyone, then a small sigh as he turned back to Lysander. "...sorry for getting angry with you, it's a bad habit." Arthur looked back to everyone. "Good morning, everyone, I ended up sleeping outside on accident... has anyone seen that man, Ferdiad? I needed to speak with him..."

After a while of listening, Mercia sighed; it seemed she wasn't going to be getting anywhere, then. She returns to Rosanne after a while, just staying completely silent and trying to hide her crestfallen face as she tried to get her mojo back.

"O-Off we go, then!" Aidan to J24, toast Swordman A.

Kane clears his throat as he finishes setting the table. "None of you need to worry; once he submitted his... 'resume' to me and explained his motivations, I believed him fit for the job. It may have been a sudden recruitment, but I hope you can all trust my decision. He's quite an excellent mage, as you might all have guessed. I believe good will come from him being in Virtuous." Kane sighs just a tad as he straightens out the tablecloth a little. "But damn me for not noticing him..." Kane muttered to no one in particular. --- Arthur briefly watches for Justine to come down, and is immediately thrown off guard when Justine throws the blankets that he neglected to fold over the edge. "Ah-!" Arthur gasps slightly as he goes to catch the blankets; he thankfully catches them with ease, brushing them out a little bit to try and get some of the wrinkles out. He looks somewhat amused yet, of course, a bit embarrassed from his display of surprise. "N... no problem." Arthur said as he handed the blankets over. "I'm... very grateful myself."

Arthur looked noticeably rather nervous once Justine woke up, though he calmed down rather fast. He noticed her bedhead, but was pretty sure his was just as bad, and it pretty much was. Pulling the blanket that he finally noticed was there off of him, quietly wondering where it came from, he gave Justine his full attention. "Good morning... yes, it seems I did the same. I suppose we'd better head down, then." For a brief moment, Arthur almost missed the motion to take Justine's hand, almost looking somewhat confused before faintly blushing and taking her hand to head down the ladder.

Up on the roof, Arthur awakens with a short gasp, clutching his blanket as he looks somewhat pale. He blinks a few times, looking at his surroundings... did he really fall asleep on the roof?... Next to Justine?... Good god, he hopes nobody saw the two of them or he'd have a lot of explaining to do, especially to her sister. That comment Justine made last night about taking his first time is even less funny now. He sighs as he lays back down for a bit, trying to collect himself. "Why... I thought they'd stop, why..."

Before long, Kane calls everyone to bed (after a short and somewhat anxious search for Justine and Arthur, deciding to just shrug and come back later and put a set of blankets over them... one for each of them, of course, no co-ed sharing even when on the roof), and the embrace of sleep envelops everyone, the prisoners especially as they feel the warmth of the soft mattresses and blankets Kane put out for all of them in their rooms... ... ...The next morning, you are woken up in turn by someone knocking on the door. From behind the doors is Kane's voice, sounding... oddly a bit more amused than usual, especially considering the mornings; Kane is known among the less recent Virtuous members to not get very much sleep. He wakes all of you up with the same sentence for each of you... "Up and at 'em, it's morning. Breakfast is ready in the kitchen, and please try not to get too angry with what you see." Usually with a small chuckle he'll leave, but for a couple rooms he says a little more: For Baldur, "And after breakfast, I'd like you to wait for me in your room." For Shin, "And after breakfast, I'd like to quickly speak with you privately. Nothing bad, just wanted to suggest something." For Mim and Lizaveta, "Oh, and Mim, was it? If you could, I'd like you to come a little quickly before Arthur wakes up, please." He says with a humorous tone. Some of you with keen eyes might notice something... a little off with your rooms. Like something's... missing. It might especially be obvious for some of you... like Fey might notice quickly that her bandana is missing. ... As you all head down, you see Simeon is sleeping in a little bit; he looks a bit dirty, presumably from working that night. As you all enter the dining room, you see Kane dishing up food for everyone, with some more organization on the chairs... wait, that's not the most notable thing. There's someone new sitting in the chairs, someone none of you have seen before; a tall, slender man with black hair that contains a single white streak of hair, in a black outfit with a blue cape. Strewn around him are some various objects; a currently in-progress makeshift guitar, a faberge egg, a ribbon, a set of two belts with knives in them... hang on, speaking of that, where are Kane's belts?... And wait, is that painting of what looks to be a younger Baldur with a lady in front of a mansion...? And that is definitely Fey's bandana, and... oh god, that's Arthur's coat. He's not going to be happy. Kane looks as if he wants to laugh, but manages to keep calm and just have a smile to anyone who comes in. "Don't worry, everything's all good. Hope you ex-prisoners weren't coveting the title of newest members of Virtuous, because we have a new contender for that title."

Mercia gave just a slow nod as the figure spoke and left. "...Thanks... you too." Mercia gave a quiet sigh as she walked away too. Talking was already way more emotionally draining than she anticipated... she figured she'd look around for a little while before trying to ask questions. She kept an ear out to listen for any notable discussions between people.

Just as Arthur was about to get comfortable, Justine's comment almost makes him leap up in shock, though he manages to keep himself steady as he looked toward her suddenly. "E-excuse me!?" Arthur said, his heart practically pounding at the force of a hundred hooves with his face heavily flushed, before he remembered who he was talking to, trying to settle himself back down to laying down, though his flushed look remained as he looked at the stars with her. "...So the stars search for each other as well..." Arthur mused to himself, while the comment still was fresh in his head, he managed to calm down and listen. The story seemed to strike a chord in him, but not necessarily one that made him sad or angry, just put him deep in thought.

Kane gently shook his head in response to Cecily. "It's alright; I should have been there to take responsibility first and foremost as leader. I will try to do a better job of keeping everyone separated... I'm going to be having a lengthy talk with Baldur to make sure he stops this behavior, it's unacceptable. But you're right, it seems the new members are doing a good job of keeping everything stable. Arthur's a bit of a ticking time bomb, but Mim seems to help him keep his cool, and he seems to have calmed things down with Justine, thankfully. I think they'll be great... just Baldur needs some work to avoid this from happening again in the future."

With a slightly curious tilt of the head, Arthur gave a nod as he followed Justine at a brisk pace, looking curious as to what she was going for when she took him up to the roof. He slowly ascended to take care not to mess up the ladder or his own grip as he got on the roof, laying in the spot she patted, looking at the stars. "I've never done this... This is nice." Arthur spoke in a very soft tone.

Arthur slowly nodded as the two broke apart and Justine spoke, him looking at the ground with his cheeks still tinged red. He gave a little chuckle when she brought up not throwing things at Baldur when she came back in. "I'm not doing anything besides going to bed soon... I wouldn't mind staying out for a little while." Any sort of meditation to keep Arthur calmed down was good for his mind, he thought to himself. Really, thinking about it... it beats just staring at the ceiling until he dozed off to sleep. Just in general, being with a friend... was nice.

To be honest, Arthur had a hard time wanting to let go at all, but he figured he would try to loosen up and break away eventually, just before it got too awkward between the two of them; he was happy to experience so many hugs in one day, but he... wasn't ready for so much of it too fast. He did look significantly calmer, if not a horribly blushing mess. "I... appreciate that. I hope that both of us can reach satisfying conclusions... and if you ever need me, I'm here for you as well, even if I'm not the best of help all the time..."

"It's no problem. Just do yer best goin' onward, and try to avoid diggin' that hole ye were talkin' about... I don't wanna see ye hurt anyone or yerself, and I know ye feel the same way." --- Kane patiently listened to Cecily, but the sudden comment about Cecily cheerily talking about having Myrdwyn eat Baldur was a bit much; Kane couldn't help but let out a bit of a snort of laughter, before shaking his head at himself. "Well, let's try to avoid that, even if the temptation is great. Just leave him to me, I'll talk it out with him." Kane's smirk passed into a small sigh. "...yeah, I figured things might get tense, but never to this degree-" As Baldur walked past, Kane immediately shot Baldur a glance that wasn't as icy as either of theirs, but certainly one that looked disappointed. He waited until they passed before Kane continued, giving a sigh. "Never to this degree..."

It seemed not only improbable, but impossible to Arthur that he would feel the soft touch of a hug ever again. But to feel one twice in one day...? The very thought nearly put Arthur off balance, but it certainly stopped his tears from flowing as he felt Justine's warm embrace. His eyes closed as he, still somewhat shaking yet trying to not be afraid to reciprocate, hugged Justine back, trying to take deep breaths and not cry as much. "Thank you, Justine..." --- Kane felt a slight sense of relief knowing he just had two more rooms to go; he had gotten mattresses, sheets, pillows and blankets for almost every room that required them, and now just two more... though it did seem very far off. Taking a bit to stretch, Kane geared himself up to continue, but was then stopped by surprise by Cecily. "Ah, Cecily... Perfect timing. If you didn't mind helping me carry just one last mattress and a set of bedding upstairs, I'd be really grateful, thank you..." Kane began to head downstairs, and as he did, he started to slow a little bit as he thought about Cecily's situation for a moment. "...Justine's been going through a lot, it seems... I'm hoping she'll be alright, I don't know where she is, though... how have you been on the whole situation? If you need to talk, I'll listen."

Simeon nods solemnly, patiently listening to all that Baldur said. "Mmm... ye, bein' brought up like that, it's understandable ye'd wanna teach similarly to the ones ye care about... but ultimately she is an adult, and she's forged 'er own path in life, and knows the consequences of it. Either way... ye're all criminals, ain'tcha? What's wrong with havin' a little fun with yer personality? We're all gonna be goin' to jail if we get caught, why not live it up a little?" Simeon gives himself a chuckle. "That's just one way of seein' it. But don't say anythin' about diggin' yer own grave; havin' some shame is good, but diggin' yer own grave before ye're even dead is a silly proposition. Nah... Instead, find somethin' to try to make up for it. Self-searchin', cookin' breakfast, whatever ye find best. Myself... I've upset my fair share of people I care about, and I'd always build somethin' nice. Somethin' that takes me a while to make, to show I am genuine and serious about makin' up for what I did. As for ye... maybe ye don't wanna make up for anythin', which for now is fine, but somewhere down the line ye might wanna consider it... and try to avoid repeating the mistakes of the present." --- Arthur gave a slow nod to Justine, then whispered a bit of thanks when she slowly approached and offer her own ears. He stood in silence for a little until Justine's question hit him; he immediately recoiled just a tad, but he didn't go into any fits of anger, but rather looked nervous. "P... perhaps I should get it out. It's only fair that you know..." "...There was... a girl... who..." Arthur started to shake all over, similarly to how his rage built up before, but rather than angry, he just seemed frustrated. Anxious, even. Even somewhat terrified as he looked at the ground, his fists balling up. "We... could have had... everything... but then that bastard... I... Rose, I'm so sorry... I'm sorry, I'm such a..." Arthur let out a short gasp, as if he was just being brought back to reality, being pulled up for a breath of air after being on the verge of drowning to death. A small pool of tears start to form around the bottoms of his eyes. "I can't... I can't, I'm sorry..." Though his words were as quiet as before, it was clear he was addressing Justine this time as he briefly looked up at her before looking back down.

Arthur patiently listened to Justine's words. He never acted like it, but he could be a very patient and understanding listener when he was able to. He wasn't always able to listen, of course... but in this case, he felt able to listen and understand. "...And you should be able to be who you want to be. It doesn't bring others great harm, so why should it be any concern to anyone what you act like? You have a good aura around you, one that helps others to be motivated... so what if things you say bother him? That should be something he needs to work out." Arthur paused, thinking to Baldur's kindness to him, despite everything that happened. "...and for everyone's sake, including his own sake, I hope he does. Such anger is damaging to everyone and oneself... I should know that better than anyone as the-" A sudden stop to Arthur's words, as he awkwardly looks away for a brief moment to collect himself and continue. "...one of the angriest people of this group. And now that I was able to open my eyes to you and the rest of this group... I..." Another awkward pause from Arthur. "I like having... people who are willing to talk to me, and I don't want to see any of you get hurt." --- Simeon mumbled to himself awkwardly after Baldur spoke, but shook his head and looked up at him. "Tis alright, but it should be somethin' you should strive to work on in the near future. I ain't gonna do ye any disservice, nor am I gonna skimp on your request... but ye should work on it. In all my years of smithin', you learn a few things of life... one of 'em is to treat a lady with respect. Sometimes she may not respect ye, and that's alright... but ye wanna give 'er the benefit of the doubt when ye can. I won't pretend to know her or ye more than either of ye do, but if she wants to act in a manner that may seem unpleasant to ye, ye should not only let 'er as long as it ain't botherin' anyone, but also not let it judge yer entire perception of her. She's quite a nice lass to talk to; very passionate and willin' to talk yer ear off if ye let 'er. If ye don't wanna interact positively with her, that's alright, nobody's gotta like everyone... just don't put 'er down because ye don't wanna."

Mercia bit the insides of her cheeks. She wasn't gonna be preachy, not just because she was told not to spread her ideals but especially to someone who was neutral on the whole matter and just wanted the whole thing over. To be honest, the whole thing... struck a little true with her. Deep down, while she felt like she made the right choice on what she wanted to do with her life, she really just... wanted there to be peace. Why did people have to fight?... It was unfortunate that people didn't want to give Rosanne a chance, which is understandable... but did it really have to wage in this all out war? One that drove a horrible wedge in her and her sister's relationship... her sister was the most important person in the world to her, and she turned her back on her in a bid to create peace. ...She felt somewhat foolish. And did she really hate doubting herself. "I... I understand those sentiments... and really, I want it to be over soon too." A quiet pause. "I'm... I'm sorry about taking up so much of your time. I'll... be off, then. I hope you have a good rest of your day."

Arthur and Simeon just... watched as the whole fiasco happened, honestly somewhat too aghast to respond. As Justine walked off, Arthur without a word got up and headed after her, with Simeon crossing his arms and simply thinking to himself. He briefly looks over at Baldur for a second, but goes back to thinking to himself. ... Arthur followed Justine outside, trying to approach the subject as gently as he could; there was a noticeable softened tone to his voice as he approached, knowing he had also similarly insulted Justine... yet he didn't think he was nearly that aggressive. "Justine... I know I am perhaps not exactly close to the first person you'd confide in, but... his behavior toward you was unreasonable. People should always have an open mind to others... that's something I've been wanting to learn well myself."

A slight twinge of disappointment hit Mercia, but she managed to shake it off easily; nobody said it was going to be easy and she would be able to locate Lancelot on her first try. Instead, she tried to keep a smile up. "That's alright! I'm sorry to bother you..." Mercia's smile did slowly fade over what the person said. Were the rumors really that bad? She wasn't going to actively try to dispel them, but... "I... I see. It's okay, I don't blame you if you've heard those rumors..." Mercia paused for a bit, then decided to, while trying not to blow her cover, at least try to inquire a little bit about the rumor. "Forgive me for asking more questions, but is that a rumor that's been passed around a bit in this village? I've heard that the Marshlands support... Nicolos, right?... Do you support him as well?"

Hm. That wasn't a response Mercia was prepared for. Rosanne's words echoed in her mind... She figured that made sense, not telling anyone who she was, especially since they mostly were in favor of that wretched man... but what could she say? She wasn't the best liar in the world. A pause came across her before she... decided that a half-truth wouldn't hurt. "Um... I'm looking for him. I wanted to ask him about the Knights of the Round Table while I was passing through the area. There's one Knight I look up to that I wanted to ask him about, and I know he's supposed to have a knack for appearing when he is needed... while the Knight I look up to is elsewhere across the continent." To be honest, while she did want to know more about Alexander the Dragon Prince, it was a pretty silly thing of her to say, but it wasn't entirely far from the truth; she did really want to ask Lancelot about Alexander when they met... but of course that was not nearly the full reason for why she was there. But they didn't need to know that.