Tales of Cadence

[Swordmaster69]

LMAOOO. That sikt is so funny. I laughed when it said, (sounds of punching in the background).
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Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[yoru~no~angel]

lol finally posting a comment. So yeah, I read up to chapter ten a while ago but then I got lazy... I've caught up now though

Midna, as usual your writing is <3<3<3 and I love your characters, especially Felix since he's so adorable~ <3 Raven's fun 'cause he's so grumpy and Stephen gets a mention too for being so wonderfully crazy :'D

Well, I don't really have anything else to say, other than I absolutely love this story <3 oh and I bring some more fanart which is a little halfassed, but it's filled with love!
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Avatar and signature made even prettier by the wonderful Roadie <3

[Sediea]

[Swordmaster69]

Yoru I love the fanart!!! It's soo cool!! I would make fanart if I had a scanner.
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Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[Zandra]

*looks at Yoru's picture*

That is AWESOME! I bet he does dream of explosives. And guns.
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[Sediea]

[Roadie]

Yoru...I love you. <3<3<3 That fanart is awesome. And even if you say the shading is halfassed, IMO it still looks kickass.

I keep forgetting to post this but Ehlly drew Elsynne's skit faces

I forgot when I posted the last chapter so I guess it's time to post another one... It suc- *shot*

Guess who makes a cameo. :,)

Chapter XVI


“Th-Th-That’s my boat!”

Felix pushed past Raven and the others, tripping clumsily over his feet as he rushed towards the abandoned boat at the end of the pier. He stood on the tips of his toes and touched the beat-up sides of the ship, his tone filled with disbelief when he finally spoke. “I can’t believe it...”

“It does look different from any kind of boat I’ve seen before,” Stephen acknowledged, tilting his head to the side as he examined the ship.

“Didn’t you say your boat was stolen or something?” Raven asked. Stephen was right; it did look strange and was made from different material than he was used to seeing on any craft. However, it still retained the same, familiar shape of any other ship—any sailor from Austror could mistake it as a new type of ship from Libra, a continent known because of their lust for improved technology.

“I thought I’d never see it again!” Felix said excitedly, trying to pull himself onto the deck. “We have to get it back!”

“But what if the people who stole it don’t want to give it back?” Elsynne asked nervously.

“B-But it’s mine...and my father will kill me if I don’t come home with it.”

Stephen rubbed the back of his neck and muttered something under his breath; Raven could only catch the word ‘persuasion’ and suppressed a shudder.

“Perhaps it’s on the market...” Skylar wondered aloud, narrowing his eyes. “But do we need this one specifically? We shouldn’t be using up our expenses if we can help it.”

“It would be easiest to modify this model, I’d expect,” Stephen said, placing his hand on the side of the small ship. “It’s basically already finished, except for a few small repairs and other things that need redoing.”

“I suppose you’re right, but...”

Raven looked up and down the pier; there were a few sailors wandering around their ships, proudly boasting to others about recent voyages or preparing their boats for their next trip. Merchants and tradesmen sat on woven blankets or behind stalls, selling wares from neighboring continents or fish they caught in the ocean. He noticed that the merchants selling trinkets from Eus-Aen (or those claiming that their goods were from the continent) drew in the most customers.

“No one’s really tending to the ship...maybe we can steal it,” Raven suggested.

“I don’t think even Felix could do something like that,” Elsynne said, smiling weakly.

“Stephen’s expendable, so we could use him as a distraction.”

Ilia frowned. “He’s not expendable anymore! He’s the one modifying the ship!”

Raven started; he kept forgetting about their newest addition to the group. Ilia had kept to her promise (to their surprise) and followed the others obediently. For once, Elsynne didn’t seem bothered about a new stranger in their group; Ilia was already aware of her ‘secret’, and she seemed happy that there was finally another female in the party.

“So, are we going to steal it or remain decent people?” Skylar questioned impatiently. “I’m getting tired of hanging around here.”

“What’s your problem? You’ve been edgy since Elsynne mentioned going to Lavinia,” Raven said, glaring at the elf with thinly veiled frustration.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re in the best mood yourself.”

Raven muttered something unintelligible and leaned against the pier’s railing, sulking by himself while the others talked amongst themselves.

“I think we should find the owner of the ship and see if we can buy it,” Elsynne suggested tentatively.

“I’m technically the owner of the boat! Whoever has it now stole it from me!” Felix protested.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just take it?” Stephen questioned. Out of the corner of his eye, Raven could see him touching the opening of his bag.

Skylar shifted uneasily. “How would one go about stealing a boat?”

“Oh, it’s easy-“

“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

“Well, I’ve never stolen something like a boat before, but...”

Raven sighed and looked back down the harbor. He could see a dark-skinned woman approaching them at a quick pace.

“Hey, I think the sailor who stole your ship’s coming back,” Raven announced, motioning towards the woman. At first glance she appeared to be human, but when she was closer to them Raven could distinguish the defining dragonling marks on her skin.

“It’s-!”

“What’re you doing?” the woman asked once she was within earshot. To their surprise, she didn’t sound mad or annoyed; her tone was more curious and questioning than frustrated.

“E-Eh...” Felix stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words.

“This piece of junk’s yours?” Stephen threw his fist into the metallic side of the boat.

“Hey, don’t go doing that...” The dragonling woman, twisting a strand of her thick hair with one finger.

“It’s not even yours! You stole this from me while it was docked in Itona!” Felix said, uncharacteristically bold. Raven rolled his eyes exasperatedly; he could still see the boy’s hand hovering shakily over the hilt of his rapier.

The woman smiled. “Oh, I got it from a merchant in Itona...whatever that place is called... I brought it back here for repairs. It’s sort of messed up, you know?”

“I don’t care where you got it! I want it back!”

Skylar cast a glance in Raven’s direction and smiled slyly. “We have the money to buy it, if you’d be willing to sell it.”

Raven placed a protective hand on his gald pouch. “No.”

The woman didn’t seem to hear Raven. “How much did you have in mind...?”

“Oh, thank Baldur the ship was stolen by a money-grabber,” Ilia muttered, looking somewhat relieved. “This’ll be easier than I thought.”

“She might have stolen it for profit, anyway,” Elsynne replied, watching in silence as Skylar tried to decide on a decent price with the dragonling.

“I doubt this thing could make it halfway to Libra in the condition it’s in. Two-thousand gald would be a reasonable amount to pay,” Stephen offered.

She shook her head. “Twenty thousand sounds a bit more reasonable, don’t you think?”

“Ten thousand.”

“Hmm... No, still sounds kind of low..“

Skylar took one of the large, gold coins from Raven’s gald pouch and flipped it in the air, catching it in the palm of his hand. He let the sunlight reflect from its smooth, flawless surface. “Ten thousand is our offer.”

The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of the Penna gold. She turned and glanced at the ship, placing a finger thoughtfully on her chin.

“I can guarantee you won’t be offered more than that. People will look at this and think it’s a product of Libra’s technology,” Stephen said. “You know what people on this continent think about our ideas.”

The woman’s gaze softened, but she didn’t reply for a moment.

“Fine... It’s a deal, then,” she decided, probably realizing that she wouldn’t get much for a beat-up, strange-looking ship.

“Yeah!” Felix exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air as Skylar handed the dragonling several of Raven’s coins.

“Those are mine!” Raven protested, trying to grab the coins back. Skylar held them above his head and dropped them in the woman’s open hands.

“So, how do you plan on fixing this thing?” Ilia asked Stephen curiously as she observed the lackluster condition of the boat. “I mean, even you said it was junk.”

“Oh, I only said that because I was hoping to get her to lower the price,” he said, pulling himself on the deck of the ship. “Hmm, it looks like we’ll have to replace some of the woodwork and metal...ah, I wonder what this device does-“

“Don’t press that!” Felix gasped, waving his hands. “That’s-“

The mast swung forward and missed Stephen’s head by inches.

“That was close!” he said, still grinning excitedly as he bent down to admire more of the ship’s strange technology. Felix jumped onboard and tried in vain to drag him away from the controls.

“How long is this going to take?” Raven asked irritably.

“It could take hours...or days,” Stephen replied, still looking over the ship with growing, childlike excitement. “I think it’ll take several days, but only if I make good progress. I’ll need to expand it a bit anyway, it’s a bit small for our group as is.”

“Damn...”

“We could always go back out on the plains for the time being and seek out another Spirit,” Skylar proposed. “Besides, we could use all the help we can get.”

“There is another Spirit on this continent: Leander, the one who controls the water element,” Elsynne said.

“It’ll be difficult with just the three of us...” Skylar muttered. “We can’t be sure that the Spirit will choose me, since neither you nor Raven can be picked.”

“Yes, Raven being the Messenger puts us in a delicate position,” she agreed.

“I’m not your damn Messenger!”

“Hey, what about me?” Ilia asked, placing her hands aggressively on her hips. “I’m not staying here with that crazy blonde and the stupid kid! I’m coming, too!”

“Pushy girl, aren’t you? You and Raven will get along well,” Skylar said deviously.

Raven’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, shut up.”

“Leave the ship repairs to us,” Stephen said confidently. “We’ll be working here in the port, so come back once you’ve visited the Spirit.”

“Good luck!” Elsynne said. “And be careful.”

“Heheh...we should be the ones saying that,” Felix said, smiling sheepishly.

“No...you’re working with Stephen,” Raven pointed out. “You’ll need to be careful.”

Stephen looked at him innocently. “I’m not going to do anything wrong.”

“Oh, Elsynne! Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the Scale,” Felix suddenly reminded her.

“I don’t think I’ll hear anything about it from the Spirit, but I’ll be mindful of it,” she replied. “Besides, once we get to Lavinia, we can find out more about it. I got limited information in the first place, anyway.”

“That’s true...” he murmured. “Anyway, good luck!”

Skylar gave him a sympathetic smile, “You’ll be needing luck as well.”

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“Let’s see, the Spirit should be in this area, if Elsynne is correct...”

Skylar muttered to himself, tracing another line along the map in his hand with his forefinger. Ilia remained uncharacteristically silent, watching the group’s interaction with interest.

“We’ve been walking forever...aren’t we close to that Spirit’s place by now?” Raven asked impatiently.

“We have to travel to the southern end of Austor. Of course it’s going to take more than a few days,” Skylar replied, only glancing over his shoulder. “I know something like patience is difficult for you to grasp, Raven, but please shut up for our sakes. I’m sure Elsynne’s getting tired of you as well.”

Raven half-expected a protest from Elsynne, but she remained silent. He muttered a few inaudible curses under his breath and folded his arms, sulking quietly as they continued walking.

“I’ve never seen one of these ‘Spirits’ before, but I’ve heard of them,” Ilia said, breaking the awkward silence. “Um, actually, I’ve seen you guys using them before, though.”

“Yes, both Felix and Stephen have formed pacts with Spirits. They’ve been much more useful than I thought they’d be,” Skylar responded absently, still staring at the map. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting Evadne to want to form a pact with Stephen. He seems...”

“Irresponsible?” Elsynne offered sheepishly.

“Stupid?” Raven added.

“Crazy?” Ilia quickly chimed in.

“I was going to say out of place, but I suppose all of those descriptions fit him just as well,” Skylar said, sighing. “I don’t know...I’m not completely sure why he decided to join us.”

“I’m not completely sure why you decided to join us. Everyone else gave us a reason, but you just kind of attached yourself,” Raven said, narrowing his eyes.

Skylar laughed. “Your observation has merit, Raven, but you’re jumping to conclusions. Do you think I don’t have a reason for joining you?”

“I know you have a reason, I’m just not really sure what it is.”

“It doesn’t matter. Skylar’s been very helpful since he joined us. It was thanks to him that we were able to get you out of Itona and he saved us when we were attacked by those dragonlings. He was also able to get these maps,” Elsynne pointed out. “I’m very thankful for all that he’s done.”

“Thank you, Elsynne. At least I know there’s one sane person in the group.”

Raven’s glare intensified. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You guys argue a lot...” Ilia muttered, rolling her eyes. “How does anything get done?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out myself,” Elsynne said exasperatedly.

The conversation finally died down and the group traveled without speaking for several hours, only stopping to rest or eat. Ilia began several half-hearted conversations with Elsynne, although both Skylar and Raven remained silent; Skylar was busy following the routes depicted on his map, and Raven was still sulking angrily. He noticed that Elsynne seemed unusually talkative and lighthearted; perhaps she was relieved that his status as the Messenger—although he still believed all the Messenger stories to be lies and myths—was finally out and she could speak freely about it.

“You’re so young...why are you a mage for the royal family?” she asked Ilia.

“I’ve sort of been wandering around looking for jobs. Being a mage seemed like a decent occupation. For the time being, anyway,” Ilia replied nonchalantly, brushing a strand of light indigo hair away from her face. “It pays well and keeps me busy.”

“You seemed fairly close to Lukas.”

“My tasks usually involve my cooperation with the troop he’s apart of. He’s also led a few solo missions in the past, and I was sent with him to act as a backup.”

“Next time you go out as his backup, don’t bother helping him,” Raven muttered, keeping his eyes on the trail ahead.

“Aw, but he’s your brother...right?”

Raven turned around, looking at her strangely. “Yeah, he is. Why did you hesitate?”

“Gah,” she hit the side of her head gently, smiling playfully, “You two act more like enemies than brothers sometimes.”

“Weird kid...”

“We’re almost there!” Skylar announced, folding up the map and replacing it in his pocket. The breeze carried the scent of misty salt water; Raven could see the faint outline of the dark blue ocean on the horizon.

“How do you know exactly where the Spirit’s cave is?” he asked, turning to Elsynne.

“My boat crashed around this area, remember? I recall seeing the cave when I made it to shore.”

“...Do we have to ride a boat to get to the cave?”

“No, no! It’s along the beach. It isn’t that hard to get into, but we’ll have to be careful of the tide,” she explained nervously, wringing her hands together as she spoke. “If we take too long, the tide will come back up and we’ll drown inside.”

“Well, that’s a reassuring thought.”

“We’ll just have to time our entrance right and make sure we’re in and out before the waves come back up. It’s not that hard,” Skylar said calmly. “There’s no need to worry.”

“I’m not worried.”

“I haven’t been to the beach in a long time! We should go swimming!” Ilia said, smiling enthusiastically.

“We don’t have time for games! We have to get this Spirit and go back before Stephen finishes the ship. If we get there too late, he’ll probably get impatient and try taking it out on the sea by himself,” Raven said impatiently. “Then we’ll be stuck here.”

“But if the tide’s up and we can’t get into the cave anyway, we’ll need something to do. Besides, it’s still hot out,” Ilia pouted, glaring at Raven. “Lukas was right, you are stubborn.”

“And it took you this long to figure it out?” Skylar questioned, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

Raven sighed. “Fine, if we can’t get in the damn cave, you can go swimming. But I’m not getting in the water.”

“Why? It’ll be fun!”

“I don’t want to.”

“Do you have trouble swimming?”

“No, I just don’t want to get in the water.”

“I think Ilia argues with Raven more than you do,” Elsynne whispered to Skylar.

“Well, as long as she keeps him out of my hair, I don’t mind if she travels with us. Besides, she’s fairly valuable to our group, battle-wise. Her magic skills aren’t half-bad.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Ilia spun around, glaring at Skylar. “I was the one who beat you up with magic, remember?”

“Yes, but recall that I was the one who ended the skirmish.”

She pointed at Raven. “That’s because he was distracting me!”

“Is that the excuse you’ll use the next time you’re captured during a fight?”

Ilia opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself and stuck out her tongue. “The next time I have to fight you, I’ll show you who’s the better magic-user.”

“Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” Elsynne said, laughing nervously. “We don’t need any casualties in the group.”

“That’s true, but I want to see Skylar getting hurt again,” Raven said indifferently.

Skylar flexed his hands over the bow strapped on his back. “I could always try fighting you, Raven. I’m sure it would be an interesting match indeed.”

“Oh, don’t even start. I’d slaughter you.”

“Hmph,” the elf laughed darkly. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

“It’s settled then!” Ilia raised her fist in the air. “I’ll have a duel against Skylar, and Raven will go against him later!”

Elsynne frowned. “That hardly seems fair for Skylar, having two fights in a row...”

“Oh, it wouldn’t have to be in a row. They could be separate.”

Skylar shrugged. “I don’t mind. But I’ll almost feel guilty about having to destroy two selfish, irresponsible children. I suppose I’d be doing this world some justice, though.”

Elsynne’s call interrupted Raven’s retort. “Ah! It’s...”

They turned and saw her standing several feet away, facing the precipice where the rocky cliffs fell into the ocean. Raven and the others followed her gaze to the massive, gaping crack in the earth; thick, black mist emanated from the core, wafting and curling in the fresh sea breeze.

“Elsynne, get away from there! Black magic cracks are dangerous!” Raven shouted, running forward and grabbing her sleeved shoulder. “That mist is poisonous!”

“I know, I’ve just...never seen one quite like this before. The ones back home are so...tame,” she explained quietly. She turned to face him slowly, her eyes unblinking. “It’s strange.”

“Didn’t you see this one when you came out of the water? Or any of the other cracks on Austror?”

“No, I came up by the shore. I haven’t seen any cracks outside of Lavinia before, besides the big one out on the ocean...they’re a lot worse here.”

Raven sighed and pulled her away from the mist. “Be careful, people can die from breathing too much of that stuff.”

Elsynne’s frown turned into a curious smile. “You’re worried.”

“Eh?”

“You’re...worried about me?”

He ignored her question. “Stay away from those cracks. You could die.”

“I’ve known several people who have fallen in black magic cracks like that one. They’ve either warped, or they’ve died,” Skylar said as they rejoined the others.

“’Warped’?” Raven repeated, tilting his head questioningly to the side.

“If black magic doesn’t kill you, it almost completely changes your appearance and does other strange things to your body,” he explained. “But we don’t have time to discuss that right now. Let’s get down to the beach where that cave is.”

Ilia looked at Skylar strangely for a moment. “How do you know something like that?”

“I’ve seen it happen before, to a friend of mine. It was a long time ago.”

She bit her lip, but nodded. “Oh, okay...”

“Skylar’s right, we should get going. The cave isn’t far from here,” Elsynne said, pointing at the cliffs. “Just a little ways west, I think. Right?”

The elf nodded approvingly. “That’s correct.”

Raven looked back and forth between his three companions; all of them were acting even stranger than normal.

“Raven?”

He looked up and saw Elsynne staring at him over her shoulder. She held out her hand, beckoning him to follow her.

“Come on, we’re almost there.”

He sighed reluctantly and followed, ignoring her open hand. “That’ll hurt me, remember?”

“Oh! Right, I’m sorry.” She withdrew her hand and turned away, her face slightly flushed. “I keep forgetting.”

“Yeah, because it doesn’t hurt you.”

She smiled sadly, “Maybe not physically, Raven.”
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[yoru~no~angel]

Love the new chapter as usual <3 your characters make me lol so much

You've inspired me yet again :'D this time I've drawn a quick fanart of Felix because he is absolutely adorable (but it's not like I'm biased or anything *shot*) Plus I like to think that, if he ever got over his fear of Stephen, he would so fangirl him and maybe even work together with him like an assistant... can't you just imagine him in oversized overalls with a cute little smudge of grease above his nose <3
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Avatar and signature made even prettier by the wonderful Roadie <3

[Sediea]

[KK Twain]

Finally Raven notices that Skylar seems to be hanging around for no apparent reason. At least, he's not planning on giving a reason. But why doesn't Elsynne find that suspicious?

As for the comment on Raven and Lukas being brothers, was Raven or Lukas adopted into the family? It would make more sense if it were Raven, actually....

After playing ToS and being betrayed by both Kratos and Zelos, my sister and I have made a habit of keep track of characters suspicious movements. That way we can predict if they're planning on betraying us later on. (Not that there's always a betrayal or anything.) Right now Skylar is on the top of that list, followed by Ilia. Raven might abandon them for a little while, but I dont' think he'll seriously betray them. As for the other three, I doubt they'd become traitors.

[Roadie]

@Yoru: <3<3<3 I love you. So much.

And the assistant thing can still be arranged, I haven't edited the chapter with that scene yet. :,)

@K.K.: Again, interesting predictions, but I can't reply to them just yet...

Exactly one year ago today I ruined my life- er, I posted my first fanstory, Tales of the Bane (yeah I haven't forgotten about it...yet).

I was going to save the Bane Ranger's cameo for later but I thought what the heck, it's a one year anniversary for Bane so might as well give it a shout-out since I've ignored it so completely for several months... Because *cough*TalesofCadenceisturningoutmuchbetter*cough*

I love making fun of myself in these skits And this is the first of many...unfortunately.

((The Bane Rangers are an old joke being carried over from Tales of the Bane, so those of you who are unfamiliar with the joke will probably find this skit stupid. ;D))


Cameo Skit: The Bane Rangers, Part I

Felix: Ahhhh!

Raven: What?! Did you see-

Felix: I-I’m missing the premiere of the new Bane Rangers movie!

Raven: The what?!

Elsynne: I forgot that was today! Aww...

Felix: Now everyone will be talking about the end before I get to see it! This isn’t fair!

Stephen: What are these ‘movies’?

Elsynne: They’re like moving pictures-

Stephen: Ah! Moving pictures! I know about those!

Felix: The movie’s supposed to lead up to the final episode...like the last chapter of a book, or something!

Raven: ...So?

Felix: What do you mean, ‘so’? This is huge! I can’t miss it!

Elsynne: I kind of regret missing it, too...

Raven: It sounds really stupid. ‘Bane Rangers’? Seriously, what kind of name is that?!

Felix: We’ll show you the Bane Rangers when we get home! This movie marks the series’ one year anniversary...so it’s got to be good! Even if the series has sort of tapered out lately...

Stephen: Lazy script writer?

Elsynne: But it’ll still be playing when we get back!

Raven: I don’t want to see it! I don’t even know what movies are... Stephen probably doesn’t want to waste his time with that kids’ stuff eith-

Stephen: I can’t wait to see a Penna’s moving picture...ah, imagine that caliber of technology~

Raven: Great, he’s gone into mechanic mode...

Felix: Yay! I can’t wait to get home!

Elsynne: It’ll be fun!

Raven: (groan)

Tales of the Bane - Celebrating a full year of pain, suffering, and evil jewelry
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[Drake]

Too much cameo and win D:
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[Xicrog]

Yaaaaaay, new chapter! Anyway, the character interaction is top-notch as usual. I'm agreeing with the general consensus that Skylar seems...suspicious, though he's struck me as acting a bit oddly around Elsynne for a while now. >_> Hm, so Stephen and Felix are going to be away from the group for a little while now...?

Ooh, I think I saw Cymbeline. ^^ [/randomstatement]

ZOMFG BANE RANGERS. 8DDDDDDD

*will come up with something more coherent to say later*
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It's Flying Toasters, the totally autisvizeristic fantasy writer's forum!

[Swordmaster69]

YAYYY!! Bane Rangers!!! I love that script. I really can't wait till the next part.
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Tales of Glory

Judith Avatar by Dimentio
Tales of Candence Rotating Fanbar by Squidmaster!!!

[Kevvie]

Yes, the amazing Bane Rangers make their grand return! xD

Oh, and excellent chapter, Midna. I'm looking forward to how well Felix and Stephen's repairs are gonna go. And of course, happy birthday TotB. 8D

EDIT: Oh, and I got bored, so...

Accidental Misfire
Oh gawd forgive me. D:
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[Avatar: Roadrunnuh][Fanbar: squidmaster64]