Fire Emblem On Forums: Mortal Transgressions (IC)

[Swordstar]

Mim frowned, taking a closer look at Shin. He was... well, generously, he was a mess. Some of that could be excused as being in battle, but... was his mask made of leaves? All the others had masks that were, well, nice. Why was his the only one... His hair was all sloppy too, and his clothes, well... Best not to linger on the smell either. She shook her head.

 

"Y-you don't look so great. Are they not giving you proper supplies? If they're your comrades, they should be making sure you have good clothes! You're a part of their group too. Who is in charge of this group, I have some words for them!"

[Zetaark]

Coming along with Mim, Fey also approaches Shin and takes note of his appearance and atmosphere.

 

"Well, either you're the guy who handles stable duty or you're just the neglected one of the bunch. Not sure which really," she says with a pause before thinking a bit. "Hey Mim, if we throw him in a pond for a bit, think it might get a bit better?"

[Chevaleresse]

Justine watched the abuse of the corpse without comment, though her expression made it clear she thought it was a bit unnecessary.

"Maybe I'll just leave it as the prisoners getting their revenge on the tyrannical warden, as an analogy for Virtuous defeating the greater tyrants. . . Well, hopefully. Oh, or I could turn it into a ground duel after the man was shot out of the air. . ." She pondered how to weave this into a decent verse for a few moments, before her attention returned to something else that needed taking care of. 

"You," she started, pointing an accusatory finger at the red-cloaked man as she walked slowly but purposefully toward him. "I tolerate neither threats to my person or slights against my character, and you've made both. I expect an apology." 

[RedMageCole]

"Don't say that, Orchid. Any progress is good, even if a little bit slow. I will agree, with... a little bit of exception, everyone worked together very admirably. A lucky time indeed, it seems."

Kane turns his attention to Lenore, thinking for a brief moment as he looks over to the two surrendered folks.

"Seems like we've accomplished all we needed to do... just a matter of deciding what to do with these two..."

 

 

In the meantime, Crimson stayed to himself until freed from Ferdiad's grasp, in which he sort of... stuck to himself on the side, grasping his sleeve as he seemed to take deep breaths. He looked briefly over at Mim acting nicely to... him, and felt his eye twitch, before closing his eyes and continuing to take deep breaths, whispering to himself in between. "Control your emotions... don't let your anger get the best of you... damn good you've been doing about that- no, just calm down... deep breaths, like they taught you..."

 

...His concentration seemed stable, until Justine spoke to him. His eyes opened, and a particularly deep breath came out of him before he spoke, in the clear voice of someone who was trying very hard to not get angry, but was clearly just a poke away from it.

 

"...I see we're in agreement on something. I don't tolerate insults even in a mere flighty jest; what may be funny to you certainly is not to me. I'll be willing to apologize if you are as well; I'm the first to admit I am, at times, an enraged beast... but if not, we'll be at a standstill. True apology cannot come without both parties coming to an understanding."

[Shauntaro]

Shin quickly tries to explain, but Mim was already storming off, his words landing nowhere.

"A-ah n-no they're all good! It's just that I-"

[Swordstar]

"Yeah, we might have to Fey... There he is."

 

She recognized the man in red as the one who had been trying to stop the fighting earlier and had a commanding tone to his voice when he did so. Stomping over to him, missing whatever Shin was saying in the meantime, she pointed a finger at him with a bit of a scowl.

 

"You. Are you the one in charge of this group? What gives? You're letting one of your men go around in barely holding together rags with a leaf as his mask? What sort of leader are you? Can't even take care of your own group? With how skinny he is, I doubt he's eating properly either! Not to mention other issues, but those aren't all your job. But come on! What sort of person doesn't make sure that his group looks sharp? That they're properly outfitted so they can do what needs to be done without worrying about anything else? Everyone knows that you need to make sure that the people that work for you are properly taken care of! How hard would it be to get him some nicer clothes and a decent mask so he doesn't have a fucking leaf covering his face? That's the sort of thing that could make your group a laughing stock! Hardly the face a rebellious sort of group wants to present!"

[Aurorix]

Baldur notices the small archer approach their leader and start yelling at the man. He heard Shin say his real name and was about to yell at him for doing something so careless, but what Mim is doing is unacceptable! He got between her and Kane and looked down upon her with scorn. "Listen here you ungrateful little brat! Our leader just helped save your damned arse and you start vomiting complaints at him? And it's about Fiscus no less? You should fucking learn to get the whole fucking story before flaming anger at someone! I'll have you know me and Pheonix both have tried to fix up that degenerate with little success. I'm honestly disgusted to be near him and you don't think I want him to get a new change of clothes, or mask, or a wash up or change up bloody everything about him!? So could you please sod off and do a little bit more research, mkay?"

[Zetaark]

Seeing the masked man getting frisky with Mim, Fey decides to step into matters.

"Oi. For the record, our side here also ended up getting through our own fights before we met up with you. And besides, for someone saying to get the whole story before getting angry, you sure got to snapping back fast. Personally I'm indifferent to your little theater troupe, but if that guy is seriously like that still after your supposed attempts to clean him, I'm lead to wonder how much you tried," Fey remarks in an indifferent tone before glaring at the masked man. "And for the record, if you end up trying to do anything to Mim, you answer to me. Are we clear?" Fey says to Baldur in a cold tone. "Sheesh, today has been something else," Fey mutters under her breath, recalling the prior incidents that came up.

[RedMageCole]

Kane was caught a little off guard at Mim's sudden accusations and rant, but managed to keep his cool and listen.

 

"...I can assure you that as the leader of Virtuous, I take good care of everyone-"

 

Kane is then definitely caught off guard by Baldur's rant. Kane briefly notices Crimson looking over Justine's shoulder, looking about ready to lose his cool, before quickly intervening. 

 

"Orchid! That's enough. I thank you for your defense, but we've already had enough disputes among each other with the previous incident, please let me take care of things. Miss..." Kane looks to Fey. "Please know that Orchid means well. He may get angry, but we're all family; we look out for each other." Kane calmly looks back to Mim, noting Crimson turning his attention back to Justine and beginning to take deep breaths again.

 

"Now, to assure you of my treatment of Virtuous... Even if I am not cooking for the day, I do my best to make sure everyone eats enough food, including Ficus; I do not allow anyone to go hungry under my leadership. His mask was of his own choosing, I also assure you; I give a variety of choices for disguise for everyone, and it fits with his codename. I assure you that it is not a real leaf either, you'll find that it's fake and no different from any other mask aside from design... as for his clothing, I'll admit I have tried a few times to get him to try to wear something nicer, but he's always insisted he's fine... not that I don't worry about him, but while I try to always look out for my teammates, Ficus is still an adult who makes his own decisions, and I cannot force him to do anything past live under our roof... even if he may need some work on taking care of himself, but that's for him to work on."

[Zetaark]

Fey gives the self-proclaimed leader of Virtuous a look over before shrugging.

"Whatever. So long as you don't actively try to start anything, I'll leave you be. At the very least, it seems that this theater troupe's leader has a level head, so good on you for that. Name's Fey by the way," Fey tells the man, introducing herself also while she has the chance.

 

"Now about...Shin? Ficus? Whatever you want to call him. I understand that he's an adult who can make decisions but well..." Fey pauses before whispering to him. "Look, do you have any complaints about him taking a compulsory dip in a lake? Its for the good of everyone involved."

[Swordstar]

Mim looked at Baldur with an icy glare, but did not even bother to respond to him. Instead, she responded to Kane with a calmer tone.

 

"He's clearly not fine but given the attitude some of your group clearly has towards him, I can see why he would act as such. Better to suffer in silence than deal with the scorn of others. Not that he seems to be avoiding that either way, but still. I apologize for yelling, but it's honestly disgraceful and you have to see that as much as I do. Shin clearly needs support and your group isn't giving it to him. Just because he's an adult doesn't mean that you can't help him out, even if you need to be a bit forceful sometimes."

 

She shook her head, looking back at Shin.

 

"I mean, clearly he doesn't want to care for himself. So someone is going to have to. If you really care about him like you say you do, you'd make sure he was taking better care of himself."

[Powder Miner]

Lizaveta hadn't had anything to add to what the new archer was saying to Kane -- it didn't seem entirely wrong, at all, but she seemed like she had it pretty well in hand. But then Baldur said what he said about Shin, and that did not sit well with Lizaveta, it did not sit well at all. She whirled towards him; being apparently angry at him was one thing, but this was another thing altogether.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Ficus didn't ever do anything to you, so why do you have to talk about him that way? He hasn't done anything to anyone really, so is it... do you really just hate him for being a member of the peasantry? Is that it, maybe? Calling him a "little degenerate" - that's awful! You're awful! All he's done is not have as much as you do, and that's enough reason to talk to him like that? Do you just... take it for granted, that you can treat people you think are lesser than you like that? That's horrible!"

[Shauntaro]

Growing increasingly tense from the escalating banter, and with Lizaveta having to stand up for Shin, he desperately tried to stop it from getting even more out of hand.

"N-no, please.. s-stop for a bit-"
"A-ah.. Li-...Scarlet! It's okay, that's enough! You really don't have to-"

[Aurorix]

Baldur slowly turns towards the fuming red midget, and inches forward to her with every step. His body shaking with anticipation and anger. He then raises his fist and slugs Liz right across her face with all the force he could muster. He didn't care if it would knock out a tooth, her mask fell off, glasses broke, or left a mark on her pretty little face. He just wanted her face on the ground. "Listen here you bitch, don't you DARE talk to me about taking ANYTHING for granted. It's people like you who disgust me. Acting all high and mighty, thinking what you're saying is right and just. You who hate an entire group of people for the actions of a few. You who make assumptions about nations and the people from with and take it as law. It's those same mindsets that have led the world to shit and you say I'M the awful one? I tried to help him and he refused. Don't force me to like someone's own choices they make and don't say I can't criticize them for it." He takes of the glove that make into contact with Liz and puts it into his pocket and replaces it before spitting on the ground in front of the girl. "Don't talk like you know ANYTHING about me. I out of anyone here knows what it's like to have nothing. To know what it feels like to be alone. To know what it means to scrounge to survive. To kill or be killed. A bitch like you knows nothing of those kinds of struggles. Now get off your fucking high horse and get back on the fucking ground where you belong!" He turns away from the group and starts walking back to the cart. "Heal that wound yourself, you worthless piece of human filth."

[RedMageCole]

Kane raised an eyebrow at 'theater troupe', but then looked over a little bit at some of the members, then gave a little shrug.

 

"I appreciate that, Fey. You may have heard my name in whispers, but my name... well, codename, is Phoenix." Kane looks at Shin briefly with a serious look when Fey brings up his real name, turning his attention back toward her. "...That might be going a bit too far."

 

Kane briefly pauses, but lowers his voice to a whisper. "Though I would not forbid it."

 

He looks back over to Mim. Though a touch exhausted, Kane keeps his ground.

 

"Your concern is not unnoticed. I will admit a little bit of the attitude toward Ficus can be... improved somewhat, but once more, I can not dictate how others feel. I try my best to give support to Ficus, I wish I could have been there to give him some breathing room when Crimson was yelling... but ultimately some basic necessities I can not force upon him. I can not force him to shower if he does not want to past a gentle reminder on occasion..." Kane briefly looks toward Fey before going back to Mim. "...and I can not force him to change his outfit if he does not want to. I do wish I could... but I do have to make sure everyone else gets support as well. In the end, as long as Ficus is content... well, others may not be very content, but I trust Ficus to be able to learn for himself how to balance that, even if some... persuasion may be necessary at times. Perhaps I have been a bit too lenient... but in the end, some things I want to be able to trust Ficus on."

 

Kane tops his message off, but then an explosion of noise caused him to whirl around. For a brief moment, Kane started to realize why exactly he couldn't give full attention to Shin.

 

"Scarlet! I cannot condone Orchid's comments toward Ficus either, and I understand your anger, but please try to keep it together!" Kane briefly looks over at Mim, apologetically. "I'm sorry, please excuse me for a moment..." Kane moves a little closer to Lizaveta and Baldur, prepared to stop any sort of fighting, but it was clear his words cost him a bit too much time. Kane's face hardens significantly.

 

"ORCHID! Too far!" Kane immediately inserts himself between Baldur and Lizaveta. "Once more; you are not forced to like each other, but at least have some self-respect as to not stoop as low to the same level of who you condemned! I am extremely disappointed in you!" Kane immediately gets in front of Baldur as he attempts to walk away. For once, Kane looks rather furious. "Orchid, as your leader, I will not tolerate your blatant abuse of your fellow teammate! This is exactly the kind of thing that young lady condemned us for! Our goal as Virtuous is to better the world and we can not achieve a goal that large if we reach that level of infighting! I am not going to pretend I understand your motivations, and you may be justified in your anger, but your actions were reprehensible and I order you to heal Scarlet this instant or risk expulsion from Virtuous! Do I make myself clear!?"

[RedMageCole]

Simeon looks like he's mildly amused watching the whole thing, but even he has to stop enjoying the banter once a punch is thrown and Kane starts yelling. He awkwardly turns to a couple of the ex-prisoners who are not talking with anyone.

 

"...Hm... Bit of a complicated lot, it seems."

 

Crimson was also one to notice the punching and subsequent yelling, and even Crimson with his normally stoic expression looks rather shocked. He looks at Lizaveta, almost a twinge of pity in his eyes, just a tad... before he shakes his head and looks to Justine.

 

"Okay... No, I don't need an apology. What I did was an overreaction, it was unnecessary especially of me to threaten you, and while I would like to ask for no more jabs at... whatever girls I may have danced with, you could not have known that would spark a reaction of that nature from me and it was... unfair of me to not give you a chance. What I'm trying to say is...... erm..."

A small pause.

"...sorry."

 

Crimson awkwardly looks back to Kane and Baldur.

"Out of mild curiosity... how... often does this happen, exactly?" Crimson asks in a brief attempt to initiate a decent conversation with Justine.

He briefly ponders to himself...

I'm trying, you know... I'm far from perfect, but I can use my eyes...

[Swordstar]

Mim had been about to respond to Kane when the violent healer from earlier punched the other smaller girl that had been defending Shin, knocking her mask and glasses off, and sent her to a knee. Leaping into action, Mim scooped up the mask and glasses on her way to the one called Scarlet. Kneeling down beside her, she pulled out the small vial of medicine that she'd collected at the start of the whole prison break.

 

"Hold still, this might sting. I'm sorry, this isn't going to be as potent as it could be... I didn't make this, so it's just cheap medicine, but it should still do the work if you let me."

 

When the girl didn't push her away, Mim gently spread the medicine across the bruised area, being careful to not press any harder than necessary. Almost immediately the medicine sank into Scarlet's cheek, soothing the pain and leaving the bruise appearing as if it had happened a week ago instead of just a few seconds ago.

 

"Tch, see what I mean? Shoddy, leaving any sign of bruising. Still, it's better than nothing and given that gigantic asshole shouldn't be anywhere near you right now, it'll have to do. Sorry that I riled him up like that. Guess this is a little my fault at least. Here's your stuff back. Oh, and, thanks for defending Shin. He seems like a good guy, he just needs some help. Good to know at least some of the people on your team care about him."

[Shauntaro]

Absolutely devastated by what had just occurred, he quickly rushes towards Lizaveta.

"Are you okay-?! I-I'm sorry, I..."

Edited May 3, 2019 by Shauntaro

[Blasbo]

Well...it looks like somebody's having themselves a little spat over there. If the members of the 'crafty bandit group' Virtuous were so prone to infighting she couldn't help but wonder for a moment exactly how they'd managed themselves this long. ...And then their healer punches someone ostensibly meant to be on their team. Calling her scum.

Heroes of justice, huh? Give her a fucking break. No, she's checking off whatever's left on her to-do list and she's blowing this fucking garbage dump.

"...Simeon. You're going to be okay, aren't you?"

[Powder Miner]

Lizaveta had been expecting perhaps yelling from Baldur; she didn't know him well because she was the newest member of the group up until maybe now, but she had already seen enough today to know that he was a pretty angry person.

 

What she hadn't been expecting was getting punched in the face, a rage-driven blow that managed to knock her mask right off of her face, along with her glasses, a nasty bruise already beginning to form on her cheek. It very nearly sent her to the ground, but she flailed and caught herself, on her knees, her mousy face now revealed fully to all of the prisoners. Her expression fought between pain, anger, and upset, and she muttered out an angry epithet too quietly to be heard by Baldur, fighting not to burst into tears.

"B-bastard..."

 

Lizaveta stayed on her knee for a moment, sniffling and fighting not to tear up, when the girl with the fluffy hat and Shin both approached her, and she grabbed her things from the fluffy girl, sniffling and putting her glasses and mask on before speaking.

"Th-thanks. I... Sh- Fi-- Shin doesn't deserve that, especially from people like him. It's not fair. It's not fair. We're supposed to be the ones helping those who can't help themselves, who need our help, right? So for someone like that bastard to treat him like that..." She glared up towards Baldur.

 

"It's okay, Kane, he doesn't need to heal me, she already took care of it... and I don't want to be near a monster like him anyway. Why are you even here, Orchid, if you're just going to be like the man you were just so happy to kill?"

[RedMageCole]

Simeon gives a bit of a shrug to Reiko, leaning against a wall and sighing.

 

"Eh... They're young. They'll cool it down after a little while... when ye get to be my age, ye've seen it all and ye've even done it all. Ye shoulda seen me temper when Jules accidentally rammed me ass with a hot poker... ye can ask him, he's still got the scar. But ye learn to calm down and forgive... but again, I'm gettin' old, that man's still young... but it ain't any of me business. Don't ye worry about me... I just hope ye'll be fine, especially with yer missin' sword... pardon me for askin', but is it anythin' I can't substitute? I am a blacksmith, after all..."

[Blasbo]

She lets out a scoff, crossing her arms and looking to the side.

 

"Don't excuse that kind of behavior. It's unacceptable, and that's the end of it. Hurting your enemies is one thing; hurting your allies is another entirely. If you're going to be okay, then as soon as I ask them about where I can find what I need then I'm leaving. I need these people like I need an axe blade in my head. ...Thank you for your concern, though."

"I'm not doubting your skill, but it's irreplaceable. The Murasama blade was an heirloom from my father, and his father before him, and so on down the line. My father told me it's a powerful blade, passed down from a great warrior we're descended from, and if it's in unworthy hands it could do terrible things.  ...That being said. I could use a better sword than what I'm using, if you're willing. This one is...enough. But I'm used to better."

[Chevaleresse]

Justine glanced toward Crimson, aware that she should be giving the man more attention. She made her best attempt to bow graciously in the most hurried manner possible towards the man.

"Water under the bridge, then. I appreciate it. . ." She couldn't help but sound distant, though she heard it in her own voice. "Excuse my lack of eloquence, I'm. . . trying to figure out how to respond to this." She gestured in the vague direction of Baldur and Lizaveta. "This isn't a regular thing. If it was I. . . Well, there's plenty of stories about lone heroes out there. And speaking of them, there's a fair maiden in need of rescuing from a villain." Her tone of voice rose in an odd way; she meant to joke a bit even as she started to move toward Baldur, but she couldn't entirely keep the rising anger out of her voice. The minstrel-turned-vigilante was missing the weight of iron at her hip; she still hadn't found a replacement for her previous weapon. It hadn't been entirely her fault that it was lost. . . but she probably could have chosen a more opportune moment to show off for that girl.

 

"Orchid." She spoke the codename deliberately. It was hard to resist calling the man out by name. "Do you think that you're somehow proving something here? By punching a woman in the face, a woman whose main occupation was lifting books previously? A woman who has just finished fighting and killing alongside you for the sake of an ideal you claim to share? Do you think that it somehow, what, proves you're right? You couldn't answer her with words, so you answered her with fists like a playground bully?" She walked closer to the man. "It's the weakest kind of man that responds to words with violence. Not that you'll listen to some Ulux whore, right? I suppose that's what I am to you; I'm neither deaf nor blind nor an imbecile, though you may as well be all three with how you're acting. I suppose it must be difficult to see past your own nose, walking around the way you do, but I don't see an excuse for the rest." Justine pointed at Lizaveta as the woman knelt. 

"Now are you a man, or are you a misbehaved brat? Apologize, or I'll discipline you myself." She didn't glance at Kane; she already knew she was overstepping herself, but at the moment, she didn't particularly care.

[RedMageCole]

"...Ye have a point there. And I understand that... weapons are replaceable, but heirlooms... afraid they're the one thing ye can't replace. If ye give me a little time after we exit, I'm sure I'll have somethin' for ye... I had Jules send me some supplies too in case I needed to make spares on the road."

 

---

 

Crimson gave a little bit of a bow himself in response to Justine, but it wasn't much; it was clear he hadn't bowed in... a while. 

 

"No need to worry about that, especially in this situation... do what you must, I have thoughts to sort out in the meantime."

Crimson seems to go back into deep thought as Justine leaves.

It's like you always said and proved to me... never judge someone by their appearance or even their first impression...

 

---

 

Kane notices Mim's healing of Lizaveta, and looks a little bit exhausted in response seeing it. Truthfully, he wanted Baldur to be able to rectify his own mistakes... but the faster Lizaveta healed her injuries before they got serious, the better. A quiet sigh comes out of his mouth as he tried to formulate a response, then Justine came in... at this point, Kane just let her have it.

 

"...Thank you, Minstrel." There was a tone of 'that will be all' in Kane's voice, as he clearly tried not to lose it any further, trying to hint to Justine that enough was enough. "...Scarlet already got the treatment needed, so that's on me for going off... but at the same time, my point still stands and I would rather nobody escalate it; I'd like you to personally apologize to Scarlet, Orchid. Once more, that is an order. You don't have to say anything besides a simple apology, I'd rather you just show me you're capable of stability at the moment, then do what you can to calm down. It clearly worked for Crimson who, again, you condemned for similar attempted acts of violence, I expect it to work for you too."

[ElfCollaborator]

Lenore, for her part, manages to remain completely calm. For the moment.

Good grief. She'd signed on to Virtuous in the hopes of working with the world's greatest thieves. For her, it was a dream come true, at least she'd hoped; Virtuous had pulled off some insane heists, showed promise, and she was hoping to work with the most audacious, most skilled thieves on the entire continent. One last con, one last big, final con, doing what Lenore Snicket did best; steal from the rich, give to the poor, before Lenore took her collective finder's fees and reinvented herself. And Kane seemed to provide; he seemed good enough, seemed exactly the kind of person Lenore would recruit for a big con. Justine, she could see her and Justine working together too, even if she was a little flighty. Cecily, probably a package deal with Justine. Fey too; after all, merchants were just legal swindlers around here, exactly the type of person Lenore would take on as a fence after finishing up.

 

But the others....the others needed a little work. Lizaveta was too green; Lenore liked her well enough, but she was too naive, too new to this. She wasn't made for thievery. Shin? Dirty guy, needed a wash, probably figure himself out. Not quite cut out for thievery either. Not a bad guy, but not a con.

 

And then Baldur....Baldur needed to pull his head out from his ass, before Lenore did it for him.

 

In Lenore's world, all thieves had to rely on is that the other person wouldn't stab them in the back, before they split the take, said goodbye and walked away. No honor among thieves and all that. That's why Lenore curated her collaborators; she picked people who she could befriend, who didn't seem the type to split unless absolutely necessary, unless the con had gone horrifically, drastically wrong. And Kane, for all his skills, was terrible at this.

 

She takes a deep breath, and keeps her voice to a whisper.

"Phoenix....you really know how to pick 'em, huh?"

 

"I'll check on Scarlet. Your team, your responsibility to handle their behaviour. It shouldn't be mine or Minstrel's. I'm not mad, Phoenix, but.....Virtuous needs to get itself together if we want to keep going. It can't go on like this."

 

She strolls over to Lizaveta. Again, she held no personal grudge against the girl, but she wasn't ready for this.

 

"Don't stress yourself over him. It's not worth it."