Fire Emblem on the Forums: Sea of Crossroads [IC]

[Sutoratosu]

Cadence thought about it for a moment. Aside from getting better gear, she really had left the boat without any intentions for this port. No point staying out... "Well I've got nothing else here, probably just gonna head back to the ship. Might as well make it look like someone's guarding it. You can come if ya want."

    She set off towards the docks, before pausing and glancing over her shoulder. There was something else, now that she thought about it- the little agreement from when they'd first met. Amazing how things like that repeatedly slipped ones mind, when shit seemed to hit the mill at every possible turn. "By the way, you still have that Ember Thread you found on the last island, right?"

[Zetaark]

Having purchased his vulnerary, the two mages set out to find a place to eat. After a bit of wandering and checking some places, the pair decide to go to a place called "Mira's Diner". After entering, a waitress seated the two by the window with a view towards the sea.

"Well this seems like a nice place for food. The view is rather nice and from what it looks like the food is rather good. Better than academy food probably," Helena remarks, looking out towards the sea.

[InnocentSerenity]

“Well, this be certainly quite a small selection ye got here.” Karik walked around the shop, noticing the rather small sets of weapons. The racks barely had many multiples of similar weaponry, some of the stock even only having one of each kind. A strange thing to see in such a remote shop. You’d think they’d have excess with few people showing up. But what did Karik know? He didn’t know weapon stores.

"Aye found something!" Karik saw a heavy blade on display, the only sword that was for sale at the moment. Lifting the Steel Blade off the shelves, Karik handed it over to Madante. "Aye'll take that Blade for me matie here. And a Steel Axe for me." Karik took notice of the Steel Bow also on display. “And this for a friend of ours.” Karik left 2400 Vespers on the shop keep’s counter before taking the rest of the weaponry from the shelves. The boy turned to Madante as he realized a problem he had.

"Aye kind of can’t whistle, ye mind helpin' me out, Madante?” 

 

Buy Steel Axe for Karik, Steel Blade for Madante, and Steel Bow for the convoy

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"OH! Yes that's right. I have it somewhere." Rayne started to dig through some pouches she had with great fervor. She dug around in them without really looking but using touch to find what she was looking for. Pieces of fabric poked out every now and then, and even what looked to be a small ribbon, a cobalt blue in colour. Finally, her face lit up again and she pulled out the spool of sparkling ember thread. She had it flat in the palm of her hand. "Yep yep, still have it.~"

 

She swayed back and forth, the rush of happiness from before coming back to her. She was filled with delight every time she laid eyes on it. After all, it was the perfect find. As if fortune itself was smiling upon her to find it. It was certainly a rare thread indeed. "I'll have to get your measurements. Means I have to touch you a lot, hopefully your okay with that." she said not really realizing how weird that sounded. "It's been awhile since I've worked on something this important... oooooh I hope it goes well. I might be a little rusty. Though, Ma always said a Marigold never forgets how to sow."

[Bfroger6]

"Well that's not nice. What kinda rumors though?" Cass proceeds to ask the man while taking a sip of his own drink. He was sort of feeling like they were being watched, but he attributed it to the paranoia caused by Emilee's possible stalking, so he dismissed it as well.

 

"Hey, 'neeways, since we're all here, Emilee! Howabaoutya sing that song again, aye? Imma play for ya."

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Priests and priestesses are just as human as everyone else. It saddens me that one would fall like that." Emilee says with a tone of sadness. She takes a sip, and turns to Cass with a smile. "I'd love to sing! No better place than a tavern than to sing about getting drunk. Not to mention that alcohol warms up your vocal chords. If anyone knows the song, please feel free to sing along!" 

 

She downed her drink, and nodded at Cass to begin playing; and she started to sing.

 

"Drunk and merry we are friend,

When the casks run without end,

Drinking singing all night long,

The Drunk and Merry Bunch

 

Sailors and ruffians, scum alike! 

All of them happy after a pint

There is no sleeping until dawn,

For The Drunk and Merry Bunch

 

So if you come in to our bar,

Come and sit and sing along,

A little drinking will do no wrong!

For The Drunk and Merry Bunch!"

 

[Sutoratosu]

"umm... oook then..." she said, shuffling awkwardly on her feet. Something about the mention of 'alot of touching',  and the Rider's general enthusiasm was a little bit off putting in that moment, but she pressed on regardless. "I guess it is... necessary for a tailoring job..." with that little awkward moment seeming to stretch on for an eternity in her mind, she headed off towards the docks again, calling over her shoulder.

"moving on... don't worry, I'm sure you can't do any worse than Smitty... like I said, he's crazy good with anything that's metal, but... sewing just isn't one of his strong suits..."

[Chevaleresse]

 "Huh? Yeah, it's Myrdwyn, and the hangover's gone. Was thinkin' about grabbing something else to drink, actually, but I dunno what Madante thinks a'that." She frowned at the woman. "Oh, and, sorry for taking a swing or three at ya earlier. Truth be told I don't remember why I was so upset, but hey, friendships have started over worse! Like that one story about the two soldiers that became friends after one of 'em nearly took the other's head off with an axe."

[Twinwolf]

"Well, as nice as a drink would be, we are on duty. Might want to keep our senses, especially with how some people act when drunk.

 

I'm not really sure why you started a fight either, actually. Maybe you were drunk enough that something I said sounded like an insult - Goddess knows I probably would have done the same thing if I was half as drunk. And it was less a fight, more a full bar brawl - we were the only people besides the bartender still conscious when you were done. That was some property damage... 

 

Anyway. Glad there's no ill will. You know, you handled yourself really well when that fight broke out even with how drunk you were. I've gotta learn that at some point."

[Aurorix]

Belros took a sip from his drink as he listened to Emilee sing. Singing like this in a bar is bound to bring unwanted attention but they didn't make bad music. What's worse is that he couldn't focus on anything else in the bar besides their music playing.  "I mean those two are good but they have to be joking right now. Oh well, I guess I'll just enjoy it for now. I just hope those two don't start something terrible. Then I'd have to help clean up their mess."

[Chevaleresse]

 "'S all in the ridin'. Wyverns act a lot more independently than horses - someone told me once that it's 'cause they're predators. So fighting drunk is nothin' compared to fighting in midair with something with a mind of it's own also fighting right underneath you. Besides, I wouldn't be much of a royal guard if I couldn't fight regardless of how messed up I am. I could probably take you for a flight sometime, actually, though not right now." She reached up to a spot just behind the wyvern's skull; the motion she made looked more like she was trying to scrub a wall, and the hand she used was still gauntleted, but Ecquis reacted much the same way a dog would react to having his ear scratched. "We had to push pretty hard ta get here on time, so I'm tryin' to let him relax a bit. He doesn't like to fight as much as I do."

[Anstane]

 

"I can imagine. Having to pack light and eat dried food is not fun either, which is what I had to do while I was out wandering. It'll be nice to get a proper meal for a change..." Darius replied.

[Zetaark]

"Yeah, sure," Madante answers before whistling. After some time, the man arrives.

 

"You called?" the man crones before looking at the new items that the pair had purchased. "Ah, I see you managed to find something after all. Good for you Madante. First gift you've gotten in years," he laughs, patting Madante on the back before taking the bow from Karik. "Good day to you both," he says before heading off back into the town and fading out of sight.

---------------------

"Indeed. Food set out for traveling just doesn't have the same flavor as restaurants or even just homemade meals. I'd say cooking was a hobby of mine, but the academy had various policies about using cooking equipment on campus. Probably cause some idiot burned down the kitchen a few years back," Helena says, muttering the last bit. "Speaking of academies, I'm a bit interested in how people go about learning dark magic. It's not exactly a well known or appealing path to take for most, and for those who are interested I couldn't imagine the hassle of trying to find a teacher. Actually, how did you run into yours if I may ask?"

[Anstane]

 

"I was actually studying one of the few books related to dark magic when he noticed me. He noticed what I was doing and offered to train me. For the next two years, he helped me improve my spellcasting, my control of the elder spirits..." Darius reminisced on his past.

[Twinwolf]

"Fair enough. You know, I never actually heard why you were in that bar. Or why the other Royal Guards were on an island as remote as that one, come to think of it. Did you need to investigate something on the island?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Rayne started rather quickly. She had Cadence remove her jacket to get more accurate measurements. The garment itself was much too unwieldy to do with it on. She pinched the fabric of her outerwear in a few place to figure it's approximate width so that she could subtract that from the actual measurements. She pulled out a tape measure, just a simple piece o a durable material marked with small hashes. Rayne's was rather simplistic, having only the 5's measured out and not every single hash to save room and allow the tape to be smaller. Perfect for traveling. Rayne's moved were carefully calculated and clearly something she had much practice with. This was the first time Cade ever saw Rayne so focused on the task she was doing. She quickly noted down numbers on a small pad of papers labeling them with a few letters. Cadence definitely felt her hands a few times but she was careful with the pressure she applied. Never pressing too hard or pulling her measuring tape to tight either.

"Lift your arms please, I need to uh... measure your bust size." Rayne said glowing bright red. "If you could hold the end to the center of your chest that'd be very helpful. Also yes this is important." 

[Chevaleresse]

 "Couple reasons. First one was to add a little muscle to the party, and a little intimidation factor. People see Ecquis in battle or her him roar - he doesn't do it much, by the way, I had to train 'im to do it and he still won't unless I sneak him a bit of bacon or somethin' - and they damn near piss themselves out of fear, especially if I'm up in there jabbin' em with my lance. Plus I was supposed ta' make sure the guards got ta' where they were going all right, and, well, they didn't. Sent a little carrier pigeon with me and everything, though he's gone now, of course. As fir why we headed out there in the first place, there was s'posed ta' be some trouble going on or something, ask Madante for the whole story."

[Sutoratosu]

"Uh-I...I...tch, fine..." Cadence sighed, feeling her own cheeks flush. Even though it was just a necessary part of the work being done, having someone poke around her like this still put her on edge, even with Rayne taking as much care as she was. Never really liked being touched that much, really, made her a bit... jumpy, regardless where or who it actually came from. It just always set off that instinctive anticipation of whatever was about to come, made her tense up and brace for impact, especially so if she wasn't expecting it. Regardless though, She took the tape and did as Rayne asked, drifting her gaze off to the side, mostly to put her mind elsewhere as the tailor continued her work...

     "If you...really must. This... isn't going to take much longer though, is it?"

 

((37x28x36))

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Hmmm, you don't really like being touched do you? I apologize. It's part of the work. I hope it's not making you too uncomfortable though." Rayne noticed it much earlier than now but it was clearest now that Cadence wasn't much a fan. Rayne understood. Some weren't exactly fans of people in their personal space that much. It was a certain kind of... intimate? that not all were comfortable with. One had to trust someone quite a lot. They were vulnerable. Some rather didn't like the feeling. Rayne knew it usually came from bad experiences though... she wasn't sure as to the nature of what had happened to Cadence... or if it was in fact preference but either way she wasn't going to pry. It'd only do the opposite of what she wanted to do.

So, Rayne thought to herself. She figured she would have to do soemthing to relieve the sort of tension to some degree though she was having a bit of trouble thinking of anything to talk about. Like... she didn't really know where to begin. So she just defaulted to something. "Beau doesn't really like being touched by people other than me. I never really understood why he's so... I dunno, towards people. He's only really ever taken a liking to me. He'd do more than just bite at ya if you tried to pet him. He'd probably kick you straight in the pelvis. I dunno... he doesn't mean any ill will... he never goes out of his way to hurt people. " she was still finishing up on the measurement pulling it forward to meet where Cadence was holding it. She touched the two points together placing her thumb where they aligned. "...oh and you can let go now."

[Sutoratosu]

"I see..." she said, dropping the end she held, "yeah, I... hadn't exactly pegged him as being too friendly, from the times I've seen him with you...just... has that feeling about him I guess..." that was the understatement of the year though- she'd already been warned by the Anima long before this not to approach that pegasus, it hadn't been so much of a feeling, as a bunch of nagging little voices constantly discouraging the idea whenever relevant.

     "And no, no, don't... apologize, I know you have to do this. I....I don't know... I just...something about someone being this... close..." she paused, sighing. The anima silently whispered in the background, talks of old times, of the trials, not even that long passed, not even finished, technically. Talks of her, the beast, the killer. A part of Cadence wanted to listen in on them, but so many more parts of her knew it would only be for the worse... tch, pathetic. Even with all her talk and resolution about 'Freedom', she was still just a cowering little girl before the mere memory of the beast.

"I guess... I... always assume something bad's coming, some type of strike or punishment or... just some vague threat I'll have to react to. I.... I don't know why. Doesn't matter where I am, who's doing it; It's just the first thing I always jump to, in the back of my mind, like it's... automatic or something. It just... always happens before I even realize it is. I know you're just doing your job though, Rayne... that you don't mean any harm. I'm sorry that I probably haven't been making it any easier for you..."

 

[Zetaark]

"Huh, that's something. To simply come across someone proficient at dark magic like that isn't particularly easy. I'll also have to ask you about the book you studied from before. I'm aware of the few that exist, but finding them isn't particularly easy. Then again, that probably has more to do on the academy's policies of no dark magic. Which makes their request to have me gather information on it for my final report all the more strange. At the very least they could direct me to any source of literature or point me towards someone, but no," Helena sighs, rubbing her forehead just a bit.

[Anstane]

 

"I had found it in one of the libraries on Avalon. It was tucked away in a silent corner, gathering dust. I noticed it, almost like I was meant to find it. Maybe that's what attracted my mentor to me, the fact that he noticed me studying a tome of dark magic. On the surface he seemed just like any normal person, albeit scrawnier then most. Who knows how many people are there with talents, magical skill out there that we simply don't recognize because they don't dress or act stereotypically...as for the book, with any luck, it should still be the library. If we get to Avalon, we might as well look for it." Darius explained.

[Bfroger6]

"Haha, as great as the last time! Let's hear an applause for Emilee!" Cass sets his guitar down and bows, while Emilee hopefully does the same. "Y'know, time really flies in a place like this, wouldn't ya agree? It goes almost as fast as a...SPY!!! A-HA!"

 

Cass turns in the direction from where he felt the pair of eyes burning themselves into the back of his skull and throws a pebble that got into his sandals earlier at whoever is there, assuming a comically vigilant attempt at an intimidating pose with his hands raised above his hands. There, however, as his pebble flies and falls harmlessly, completely and utterly missing its target, he spotted a bush of painfully blue hair that was going anything but actually fitting into the crowd. Because it was goddamn neon blue. "And whaddayasay, 'tis really a spy. Huh. Wasn't actually expecting anyone to be there." Crossing his hands, he raises an eyebrow and grins. "Well then. Come join us."

[Zetaark]

"The Avalon library? Huh, didn't think one of the Holy Islands would have something like that. I've heard some things about the church banishing the group of summoners to one of the northern islands and locking away any dark magic found on the islands. Then again, I've also heard some conflicting information on that story. I personally don't know anyone from the church though, so I couldn't say one way or another. Either way, if we do somehow find our way to Avalon, I would very much like to search for that book," Helena remarks with a pleased look on her face.

[InnocentSerenity]

Before Karik could even make a remark, the convoy man had already left. Karik had a feeling it wouldn’t be possible to stop the man and get some information from him. Someday, he’d figure something out. Today was not the day for that, though.

Karik picked up the blade on the counter by its handle. Karik nearly fell when he lifted it up. “Hefty little thing.” Even with Karik’s rather surprising strength, the Steel Blade weighed him down, his stride feeling a bit slower than before. “It may be breakable, but it’ll certainly do ya well enough until then.” Karik held out the blade for Madante to take. “Aye’m sure people of yer training know how to use heavy weapons to their advantage.”