RedMageCole

Arthur simply nodded at Baldur's response, taking more sips of his tea; they're all rather small sips and he still has some tea left to go in his cup. At the next question, Arthur raised an eyebrow curiously, with a hint of... concern. "...Succeed?" While said in a confused tone, it doesn't exactly convey one hundred percent confusion. "...Well, whatever my father does, I am not interested in his life and I intend on making my own path in life independent of whatever he wants from me." Arthur pauses, lowering his eyebrows. "...What exactly did you mean by 'succeed', just so we're on the same page? You meant following my father's footsteps in his work, yes?"

Mercia gave a little gasp of shock when they all committed suicide, before quietly looking down at the ground. "I... I see... they would rather have chosen death, then? That's... that's unfortunate." Admittedly, while Mercia was able to kill, afterwards the harsh reality of this ending up being her life started to sink in. It hurt, but Mercia knew that she had to keep going for Rosanne's sake, and for her teammates' sake as well even if she did not know them... Taking a moment to calm down, she started taking deep breaths and closing her eyes.

Arthur listened with intrigue to what Baldur said... yes, that's all fine and good. It seems that Virtuous may be a noble group, if even someone as violent as this man had good intentions... maybe it would be a good idea joining them after all. The next question made Arthur think for a bit. "...It could be better. But I suppose it could be worse. While this world is extremely flawed with rulers that have basically no right to rule with the kind of act they put up... there are some good aspects of it deep down. It'd be a lot better if those rulers would step down, for sure... but maybe that's a goal for down the road for us. Maybe now with more members, there can be confidence in that. Then again, that is a tall order, so I suppose I shouldn't ask, really." Arthur paused, thinking of his next question. "...I thought of one... you have reasons for staying in Virtuous, but how do you manage to tolerate the people around you?" Arthur's tone gets a tad more serious, but he tries to keep himself calm. "After all, I can't say I care all that much for Lizaveta and Shin, but how do you tolerate them?" --- "Of course, Lenore." Kane steps aside to let her take a look. "It seems we might have something going for a decent stew with some meat and potatoes... though maybe that's too boring?"

Mercia charges forward, a sense of dedication gleaming in her eyes as she watches the enemy numbers dwindle even further. Mercia to O4, blast the Monk Rosanne to M3, decimate Hanabi

Neve to R6.

Arthur just gave a simple nod in response, hoping that they were indeed fine quality. Sitting back down at the table, he took a little bit of a more formal position and sat with both legs on the ground, quietly mulling over the tea as Baldur spoke. "...I'm not one to tell others' secrets especially when I have my own... and questions is a good way to start. I did say before that I joined mainly because of my father... once you came to surface, the bastard wouldn't stop talking about how much he hated Virtuous... and I felt it would be a nice bit of irony if I joined. Not to mention... I am an escaped prisoner. I pretty much have nowhere to go otherwise. Well... there is one place I want to go, but that's out of the question for now. But eventually..." Arthur pauses, before shaking his head. "Either way, despite your behavior, I would be hypocritical to call it out considering I'm of a similar caliber. I've always had an anger problem in life. And I am still working on trying to rectify it before it hurts someone like it almost did for myself." Arthur paused for a bit longer, then after a small sip of tea, continued speaking. "...Good quality, for sure... very well, my turn." Being honest, Arthur did not really have many questions at all, potentially because he most likely just didn't care that much, but he figured as long as he was here... "...Why did you join Virtuous, then?"

Arthur pauses before giving a little shrug and, without much of a word, gets up, flexes his wrist and creates a small ember in his hand, putting it to the outside of the pot. "Hopefully it'll heat up quickly, then."

Arthur followed, looking slightly annoyed as he did but still going along with it in the hopes that this was all worth it in the end. He looked inside Baldur's room... and well, it was definitely an improvement over Shin's room to say the least, but the amount of liquor bottles was... worrying, to be honest. Either way, he was content with just the couch. Sitting down, he paused to think for a bit. Not just about the tea, but about all of this, noting the closed door. Somehow, Arthur felt like this wasn't just going to be a reconciliation, if that at all. "...Chamomile's fine, thank you."

Arthur looks... somewhat confused and a little bit annoyed. "Am I really the one you should be making amends to? I've already done my part to apologize to Justine for my behavior toward her..." Arthur gives a slight pause, then a sigh. "...mmgh, but I'm not one to turn down an invitation when I have nothing to do, and I'm parched as hell... very well, I'll talk for a little while if that helps progress on making amends."

Kane shook his head at Ferdiad's offer. "That's very kind of you... but I'll probably be up and out early anyway before anyone wakes up, you know me, I don't run on very much sleep at all. I'll make sure to get plenty of-" Kane stops himself as he sees Lenore entering the kitchen, giving a small smile to her. “Hah, I'm glad it's at least above 'dump' somewhere. We are making dinner, and I want to try to make something good for everyone, it's the least I can do for everyone after the mission..." Kane's smile faded as he turned his attention back to the ingredients. “Mmm... We may not have gone to the market, but I think we have the essentials for a good dinner. We shouldn't worry too much, it's just a matter of thinking of what to make is the thing... that was always my problem with cooking, can never decide properly..." --- Arthur does not look extremely thrilled at the idea of rooming with Baldur either, especially upon reminder once Justine chewed him out. He does not react much to Shin's tumble, especially once Lizaveta catches him. He tries to protest in response to Mim, as if he knew that it was that bad, but lost the chance to, groaning a little bit at the missed opportunity before Simeon looks up the stairs. "Arthur, was it? I could hear the ruckus from down here. Ye do know there's more than one couch down here, right?" Arthur briefly contemplates this. "...Right. Thank you for the offer, Baldur, but I'll just take another couch. I'm trying to avoid stepping on any more toes after my last incident." Arthur proceeded to move downstairs and past Simeon, who just gives a shrug as he follows.

Rosanne to P4, annihilate the Fighter

Kane was just starting to get everything ready for dinner, trying to pick out main course meals, side dishes for everyone... it was hard having to feed multiple mouths, but there were even more to feed now, so Kane admittedly looked a little bit stressed out, not trying to hide it as much as before now that everyone was upstairs... though seeing Ferdiad made him try to quickly hide it to little avail. "Ah-... I'd... really appreciate that, thank you Ferdiad." A little sigh of relief comes from Kane as he starts to organize the mess of supplies he had been strewing around on the counter. "It's gonna be a tough adjustment... I'm just thankful there's a lot in storage, but I hope we can get some better mattresses and chairs for the new members at the very least tomorrow... I don't think tomorrow's going to be much of a day besides a planning day, anyway." --- Seeing that Shin was clearly not going to relent, Arthur groaned audibly, turning and opening the door. "If I'm going to have to move in with you, I'd think I'd at least deserve to know the-" "Oh my fucking god." Without closing the door, Arthur immediately goes downstairs without another word, presumably to go argue with Simeon about who's getting the couch.

Arthur looks very unhappy with the idea of sharing a room with Shin. However, clearly trying to contain burning rage, he slowly turns to Shin. "...Let me see the state of your room."

From the small windows that you can peer through in your wagon, you can see that night has fallen. You hear much of nothing outside besides the occasional chatter between Kane and Simeon. Thankfully, Virtuous knows that the road will be pretty much nothing compared to the walk they had. It seems you also get across the border just fine; no checks or stops occur. ... Just as you were starting to forget that you were moving, the wagon suddenly halts. Kane opens the door to the back of the wagon, giving you all a smirk. “Sorry for the wait. Ready to check out your new home, prisoners?” … As you all pile out, the prisoners may realize that Kane’s idea of a home was what looked to be like a rather decrepit house, yet a sizable one at that. It looked to be at one point very poorly out of shape and clearly looked to be abandoned previously, even if the current members tried their best at cleaning it. Kane quietly looks over the house, before looking back at you all. “Well, it’s not much, but it’s the best we got. Besides, abandoned places are normal in Ceda, so it doesn’t stand out nearly as much as long as we don’t go graffiti some kind of Virtuous logo on the front door.” Kane went to show the prisoners around; besides the fact that it was extremely run down, it still had all the basic necessities of a home with an occasional touch to try and make it look somewhat presentable; a living room with comfortable seating and a nice little potted tree in the corner, a dining room that Virtuous members knew to be generally more like a meeting area, though it was missing some chairs now with all the newcomers, a kitchen that was modestly stocked, and upstairs… “Sorry to say, Virtuous, but a few of you are gonna have to bunk up... All of the bedrooms are full and there's a bit of a gender imbalance... one of you can move into my room, if you'd like Ferdiad, I'd like you to join me. Then Crimson and Simeon will need to share a room with one of you..." Crimson looks rather appalled. Simeon shakes his head. "Don't worry about me, I'll just take the couch. I don't want anyone to wake up because of my late night work. Kane nods. Crimson looks as if he's wondering whether the cons of sleeping on a couch outweigh the cons of sharing a room. "Then that should free up room for two of the girls of the ex-prisoners to room together, one to bunk with Lenore and one to bunk with Lizaveta. Don’t squabble about who gets who, alright? If you start fighting, I’ll relinquish your luxury of choice in a heartbeat. But I know you can all be better than that." Kane says through somewhat gritted teeth. "...Just go ahead and choose, you can always see about changing later. I’ll have dinner ready in about an hour, and I’ll prepare some bedding for the rooms afterwards.” Down the line, there's Kane's room, Ferdiad's room, Baldur's room, Shin's room, Justine and Cecily's room, Lenore's room, and Lizaveta's room. All rooms are about the size of a small hotel room. Kane began to move downstairs. Simeon gives a yawn before starting to head downstairs, leaving you all to your own devices. "Well, I'd better go see how comfy that couch is... Crimson stands looking very awkward and somewhat annoyed. "...Must I share a room...?"

As you all reach the outdoors, soon enough you can all see a few horses furiously trotting far away from the prison, and afterwards comes Kane pulling a cart, having removed his mask; it's bigger than the previous cart and still covered as to not show the inside of it. He gets to work reattaching the horses from the previous cart onto the new cart and leads them over to the group, nodding to everyone. "That should give you all enough room to hop into the back and then some. I'll be driving at the front, but try to keep the ruckus to a minimum." Simeon clears his throat as he moves up to the front with Kane, untying his bandana to reveal a small amount of hair and tying it over his face. "Eh, allow me, Kane. Ye can stay in the front with me, but I'll drive so ye can keep an eye on things, I've ridden plenty of horses." Just as Kane's about to agree, another horse whinnying can be heard as a familiar guard to some of you rides up. "Boss! You made it out, just like I knew you would! Come on, let's get out of here!" Simeon slowly shakes his head as he heads on up to the front of the wagon. "Sorry, Jules. I'm probably a wanted criminal, so I'm gonna be workin' with Virtuous. I'm gonna need ye to run the shop for a while, alright? I'll be back in the future if I can clear me name, but ye were due to inherit it anyway... 'Ey, don't look so panicked, ye'll be fine. Ye just lack nerve, ye're a fine blacksmith otherwise and ye'll do fine addressing the customers. Just take it slowly, alright?" Jules fiddles with his hands for a while, before nodding and turning his horse around. "Alright... You were always a free spirit, Boss. I'll do my best... just try not to be gone too long, okay!? And you'll have to promise to tell me all about your time working with these guys; they're on the news all the time at this point, you know!? Good luck!" Jules starts taking off, as Simeon waves to him. "Thank ye..." Simeon lowers his hand, and looks just a tad bit sad, but shakes his head and looks confidently on forward.

Mercia takes a short breath of air once she dodges the attack, releasing it once the attack is dodged. "Phew..." Mercia to R5, attack Archer if Blodeuyn misses Lucan to R7

Mercia to Q8, happily totem Lucan to O8, heal Rosanne Rosanne to R6, tenderize Myrmidon

"Good te see someone who knows their way around talkin'. Jules never was much of a talker, which is why I'm a lil' worried about him taking over the shop... but the kid's gotta learn somehow. But I do agree... one's passion should never be ignored, and it's always good to listen. It ain't a problem, though. I'll do what I can to help out, and after today, I think ye all could use anythin' I can manage to lift yer spirits." Simeon gives a yawn and a stretch. "Bit tired, but once I get set up I'll probably be up all night... that's how it usually tends to be for me when working on late night orders, anyway."

"Heh, don't mention it." Simeon gives a short, gruff laugh. "Wise words indeed... ye sound like a blacksmith yerself. But I've had plenty of fancy orders in me lifetime, and I don't deteriorate the quality of the weapon in the slightest when makin' it. The key is stylizing the hilt; not the handle, ye want to keep that nice and comfortable while still firm enough to grasp, but the hilt is just the part that holds the blade and handle together; ye can stylize that. As well as the hand guard; always on one side, never both, but otherwise it can have a little bit of expression as long as it don't inhibit the guard's ability to block; ye never want it to extend toward the blade, or else it'll inhibit yer swing. The blade is tricky but manageable; ye can engrave a little bit of artistic expression on it as long as ye're careful while forging it, but always on the flat end, never the edges; the edges are either smooth or serrated and always sharp, nothin' more..." Simeon pauses and gives yet another laugh, this one a bit more from the heart. "Now look at me, goin' on and talkin' yer ear off!"

Simeon seemed to start going into concentration, trying to picture a blade that fit her description. He thought to himself for a bit, before opening his eyes and giving a nod shortly after her insistence on having just a sword. "Nay, I think I have something in mind just for ye. Once we get back to base and I get my supplies set up, I'll try te have somethin' that'll fit yer expectations. It may not be the fanciest thing in the world, but I'd like te think I'd have somethin' good for ye." --- Arthur tries to play it cool once arriving outside, but Fey quickly changes that, and suddenly Arthur pulls his coat up just a tad to hide his face ever so slightly, trying to keep his usual gruff face... and not doing the best of jobs. "N...nothing."

Simeon looked curiously toward Justine. "Of course, young lass... Justine, ye said? What can I forge for ye?"

Arthur stopped himself to look back at Mim, looking a bit curious as to what she might say next. It was then suddenly that he found himself basically paralyzed the second her lips met his cheek; completely and utterly unable to move as his brain tries to process what just happened; his face goes completely into shock and becomes almost similar to his namesake as he freezes up entirely while listening to Mim. "I.... n-... noproblem... I-I'm... g-...glad too." Arthur takes a little bit to move again, gently caressing the place where it happened and almost forgetting how to use his legs. Did that really just happen? That... That was something he really didn't think would happen in his lifetime. It takes him a few seconds to move again, but his mind seems elsewhere as he keeps gently holding his cheek, face still beet red and completely un-Arthur-like.

Arthur bites the insides of his cheeks, muttering a very quiet thank you in response to Mim, and giving a slow nod as she tugged on his sleeve; a gesture which made Arthur perk up just a little bit more. "...no, I... I'm content... yes, let's head back." He doesn't seem to be in very much of a rush when moving.

Rosanne moves to P8, stab the Monk.

Arthur paused as he let his words sink in, his eyes opening slightly, almost somewhat hoping that she wouldn't be angry. It was strange, really, this sense of comfort; he never usually worried about people getting angry at him, normally he would always be the one to get angry. And yet... ...Even more strange was the sensation that overtook him. A brief moment of surprise hit Arthur as he felt Mim holding him closely and apologize. This warmth... this sensation... it was very familiar, and something he never thought he'd be able to feel again... "I... I forgive you, Mim." For a brief moment, Arthur felt his own arms raising to hug her back, until she pulled away, causing Arthur to hurriedly retract his arms and look down at the ground, the blush and almost unnatural softness on his own face apparent. "Y... you're a very nice person, Mim. Please... always stay the way you are."