Baten Kaitos RP: How Many Burger King Jokes Can We Make.

[Jack]

Orion Lainsworth and Chara Gweneal: Island of Anuenue, Komo Mai City (a small cafe somewhere)

Orion drummed his fingers on the table as he waited for his coffee to arrive. Having found a gap in his work for Nashira, he'd slipped out into Komo Mai in order to wait for an old friend of his, as well as to relax slightly. The city was beautiful as always, and walking around it reminded him why he'd decided to come to Anuenue in the first place.

He leant back in his chair and looked into the crowd, searching for his friend. He hadn't seen Chara for years. It would be nice to catch up with her.

"Hello, stranger," a female voice spoke, catching his attention. Chara approached the table, and took a seat. "It's been... how long now?"

"Too long," responded Orion with a smile. "How have you been? What's it like back in Diadem now?"

"Too stuffy and political as usual. I sometimes think they forget that we're knights," she teased, pushing her blue hair out of her face.

"Hungry for battle, are we, Chara?" he replied, grinning a little.

"Don't you feel the same way, old friend? Although I can see why you left for Anuenue," she said, gazing out the window and enjoying the scenery. After some small talk, Chara decided to get down to business.

"How to begin..." she paused, unsure how to fully explain the situation. It was probably best to just get straight to the point. "You remember Adhil?"

Orion wrinkled his nose. "All too well. He's not still head knight, is he?"

"Still head knight," she confirmed, trying to suppress a groan as she worked directly under him."Recently I've been getting suspicious reports from my men about his activities. He's been making secret trips to Alfard - and possibly other locations - and summoning unfamiliar people to his office. He tells me it's just business, but..."

"But you suspect something more?" Orion finished for her. He frowned, considering the information. "Well, I suppose that none of those things on their own are all THAT unusual... He could have his reasons."

"Possibly, but with the upcoming conference between King Muphrid and Emperor Thuban I don't want to take any chances. Commander Adhil is posting only minimal security; he's too careless and underestimating the delicate situation. He's either hiding something or scheming."

At that moment, a waiter turned up with Orion's coffee. He thanked the man, gave him a tip, and sipped the drink, thinking. "Well, it doesn't stretch the imagination too much to think of Adhil being involved in some sort of foul play. I remember all of the stories about the dirty dealings he went through to achieve the rank of head knight." Setting down his mug, he leant back in his chair again. "So, you'd like some off-the-record help, then?"

"Yes, I can't rely on my men as they might answer directly to him. You also have authorization to travel to Alfard and Diadem freely. For me it was a hassle just to arrive here."

"Well, I can't get involved with this officially. Anuenue values its neutrality. But I could possibly request a leave of absence to go and investigate matters on my own..."

Chara nodded, then gestured toward the cafe entrance. "Although I can't help any further there is someone that can be my eyes and ears in my place. Arian!"

A timid young girl peered through the entrance, her lavender hair framing her face as she leaned in. She quietly shuffled to Chara's location, standing behind her.

"She may not look like it," Chara praised, "but she can help you on your investigation. She's the only one I can trust within the Royal Army."

"Arianneth Gweneal at your service," she greeted in a polite tone.

"No need for the formality," said Orion, standing up to shake her hand. "This is all unofficial, after all. You're Chara's sister, then? I can't remember the last time I saw you. I'm Orion Lainsworth, an advisor of Queen Nashira's, and I used to have Chara's job." He grinned at Adhil's current lieutenant. "You're following in your sister's footsteps, I see."

"Y-yes," she replied, although there was pride in her voice. Chara smiled, then stood up, patting Arian on the head.

"I can't stay for long - I have to train our new recruits. The convocation happens 8 days from now - I want it to run as smoothly as possible. Apparently they're trying to reach some sort of truce and stop the skirmishes happening on the nearby islands."

It was known for years that Alfard was closing in on Diadem and its resources. With the demands of machina fuel rising, Alfard wasn't content with purchasing small floating islands surrounding Diadem - and sometimes resorted to capturing them by force. The assembly was to alleviate the tensions that were rising between the nations.

"If you find anything, let me know," Chara added before leaving. "Will you have enough reliable men for the job?"

Orion scratched his chin. "I've got a few people in mind. We'll start low-profile. Just recon. I'm sure I'll be able to find people as necessary, though." He stood there for a moment, thinking. Then, a bit of recent news came back to him. "Chara?"

Chara was at the open doorway when she heard him and turned around. "Hm?"

"Have there been any reports of unusual disappearances in Diadem lately?"

"Disappearances? Well..." She pondered for a moment before continuing, "There has been a slight increase of people missing recently - but it's been correlated to the swollen rivers. You know how treacherous those waters can get. Why?"

Frowning, Orion said, "There have been a few here in Anuenue. About four people have gone missing over the past few months... It never sat well with me. Perhaps that, too, is something to look into."

"I'll give the reports another hard look," Chara agreed, "Take care of Arian for me."

"I will," he said, and he smiled at his old friend. "It was good to see you again, Chara."
_________________

[KittyKatStar]

~ Chara Gweneal and Orion Lainsworth ~ [Komo Mai - Queen Nashira's Palace (council room)]

OOC: 3 days before the big event...!

Chara's fingers tapped against the wooden table impatiently as the rest of the council members of Anuenue gathered around. It was a bright morning, and the sunlight naturally lit up the beautiful room which was decorated with rare flowers and intricately designed furniture. She glanced at the open window, marveling at the rich nature that surrounded the palace.

She arrived in Komo Mai yesterday, along with a small unit of troops to patrol and keep things under control while the royal convocation was under way. King Muphrid of Diadem and Emperor Thuban would arrive in Anuenue in a few days to discuss a proposed peace treaty between the two great nations.

Beside her, Orion took his seat, resplendent in his white council robes and silver circlet. "I can smell your boredom from the other end of the room," he said, giving her a little jab with his elbow. "Not that I blame you. Be prepared for monotony."

"I'll let you do the talking then," she replied, gesturing to his outfit.

"Probably for the best," he said, placing his hands on the table and lacing his fingers together. "The meeting'll start when Queen Nashira gets here, which should be about... now."

Chara followed Orion's gaze, watching various councilmen enter the room. She was unfamiliar with their names, and only briefly spoke to a few when she first arrived.

Then, when there were only a few empty seats remaining, Orion sat up straight. "She's here," he mumbled, giving Chara a gentle nudge to make sure she was paying attention.

Chara followed his example. Once everyone was settled, they turned their attention to the queen.

Nashira was a strange sight to behold. She wore a deep red dress with several frills and a lighter red petticoat, with a crown of gold and red sitting proudly atop her head. Her long red hair flowed down her dress, completing the look.

"All rise," commanded Orion, standing up and saluting with his right hand. On his word, all of the councilmen stood, bowing as Nashira took her seat at the head of the table. She nodded to them all, taking the formality in her stride- evidently, she'd been through this many times.

"We've all gathered here to discuss something important," announced Queen Nashira. "As you know we will have honored guests arriving: King Alastair Muphrid of Diadem and Emperor Cain Thuban of the Alfard Empire. They are coming to discuss the proposed peace treaty, and potentially sign it. As a location, Anuenue was chosen for its neutrality, and the conference will be held in this very palace. It is our job to see to it that the convocation runs smoothly. We hope that the proposed peace treaty is successful for the benefit of all nations."

"How will the monarchs be received?" asked a councilman in a stiff drawl.

"We are going to prepare a special reception," said Orion. "I will also oversee the preparations myself, and I will be among the guards attending. Of course, there are military personnel coming from the other countries, too- with me here is Lieutenant Head Knight Chara Gweneal of Diadem, who will be working with me." He gestured to Chara.

"It will be my pleasure to serve Anuenue," she said, nodding. At the same time she hated the formal presence, and was relieved when the conversation continued without her in the spotlight. The rest of the meeting went smoothly - mostly discussed reception plans, and patrolling duties. Chara sighed, trying her best to hide her boredom, and absentmindedly agreed to a task she assumed was patrol.

"Remember, we have three days to prepare," one of the councilmen added, as the meeting was adjourned.

An exhausted Orion kneaded his forehead as he headed for his office. Chara was walking alongside him.

"What did I agree to again?" she asked, knowing Orion would've paid attention.

"You have to oversee the decoration of the palace..." he mumbled, wincing in preparation for her outburst.

Chara stopped dead in her tracks.

"Wh-what!? Why would they assign that to me!? I'm a knight! The Lieutenant Head Knight of the Royal Army, not some interior decorator!"

"Leadership and organisational skills are an important part of being a knight," Orion said wearily, as though reciting something. "And, as Lieutenant Head Knight of the Royal Army, you possess both."

"I think they're just trying to keep me out of trouble," she grumbled, but stretched her arms upward, feeling better that she was out and walking.

"If you do it, Chara, I will personally bake you a batch of Komo Mai cookies."

"Your cooking skills did always surpass mine," she pointed out. "Alright, alright. Also," she glanced around to make sure it was just the two of them in the hallway. "There's been reports of an assassination plot. Arian has the details and the letter. Think you can thwart this before the assembly?"

Orion looked sharply at her. "I'll make sure of it. Who's the target?"

"Our King."

"Hmm..." Orion scratched his chin. "Does it look like this is coming from Alfard?"

Chara shook her head, "We don't have enough evidence pointing in any direction at the moment. Arian should be at your office shortly and - "

"Miss Gweneal," a maid called out, causing Chara to fall silent. The young girl held a large blue vase in her hands. "Where should we put these flowers?"

Chara glanced at Orion, defeated. "Don't forget those cookies."

"I won't," he said, giving her an apologetic look and a pat on the shoulder before continuing on to his office.

Once he got there, he got out a huge pitcher and set a kettle to boil. Taking pinches of this and that from different pots, he created a strange mixture in in the bottom of the pitcher. Then, while he waited for the water to boil, he removed his circlet and his robes and collapsed into the chair behind his desk. The blue-and-white colour scheme of his tunic and cotton trousers were a remnant of his life in Diadem.

The moment the kettle began its shrill whistle announcing the successful boiling of the water, he ripped off the whistle and poured every drop of the water into the pitcher. A pungent, intoxicating aroma rose from it. He breathed it in, feeling his muscles already starting to relax, then grabbed the pitcher and downed the whole thing in one go.

Once he'd swallowed the last drop of his herbal tea, Orion dropped the pitcher. The entire world was swaying. "Bloody Council..." he muttered, before he slumped forward and landed on the desk, asleep.
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Thank you for the lovely set, Seraph <3

[Psychon]

<Diadem: Fivestar Machina Shop>

[Six Years Ago]

She sat beside her husband, Leo, watching his crouched over body, tucked away inside of an open maintenance shaft of a large, machina engine. His trousers and shirt were stained with oil, a pungent, but familiar odor filled the air. His equally oil stained wings every so often flapped as he tinkered away inside of the machine, before a yelp of pain pierced the air.

"Ahh... Oh, geez..."

He emerged from the maintenance shaft, sucking his index finger. Concerned, she walked to him.

"What is it?"

He took his finger out of his mouth, revealing a stream of bright, red liquid slowly leaking from a clean,straight slit across the very tip of his index finger.

"Ugh, nothing Mai, I think I cut myself... someone didn't deburr the metal... can you.."

"Get the file and a bandage?"

He smiled, and she smiled back, patting his side.

"You're a dear, you know that?"

She stood up, and walked away, turning her body to the side as she slipped through the doorway. She reached into the top compartment of the tool box, pulling out a roll of white gauze, before digging through and finding a large file, suitable for grinding down metal. Before she could return, what sounded like thunder echoed through the air, yet there wasn't a cloud in the sky on this clear day. Her husband came running into the room, and she knew then and there from the fearful look in his eye something was wrong. She looked over his shoulder to see a man carrying a rifle in hot pursuit of Leo.

"Mai! Move! It's them!"

Before she knew what was happening, Leo had grabbed her, and was pulling her along. The thundrous sound echoed a second time, and she could see that inches away, a cloud of debris exploded rom the wall where the rifle had been aimed. If Leo had been moments slower, she would have been hit.

"Mai! Don't just stand there! Run!"

Leo pushed her along, and only now did she overcome the shock of finding these strange men in her shop. Up ahead, another man emerged from cover, drawing a magnus card and using it to summon a rifle into his hands. He raised it to take a shot, but without thinking, Mai charged the man, plunging the long, blunt tip of the metal file in her hands into the man's shoulder. He let out a pained cry, holding his shoulder where the improvised weapon had struck him.

"Mai! What are you doing!?"

She felt her husband clasp his hand around hers, pulling her away. The sound of thunder again cracked behind her, and she dared not turn around to see the source of the terrible, deafening noise. She was pulled into the bedroom with her husband, and he promptly shut and locked the door behind them. Leo made her hide with him behind their bed. Both were panting, their hearts racing as they got over the rush of adrenaline.

"L-Leo, what's going on?"

"It's those guys, the ones who came by yesterday..."

She remembered the odd, stern-faced man who had entered the shop only a day before. She remembered the older military uniforms that he and the two men with him wore.

"The creepy military guy?"

"Yeah, something tells me he isn't really with the Diadem military."

The sound of someone jiggling the doorknow got her attention, and she raised her head up over the cover of the bed. A thundrous crack at the door scared her, making her shriek as she covered her ears. The doorknob had been blown completely off by one of the rifles the men carried.

"Mai!"

She saw something fly into the room, before she felt Leo wrap hid arms and wings around her. The moment seemed to last forever, before a cataclysmic explosion rocked the room, and nothing but darkness came to her.


<Sadal Suud: Mai's Home>

Mai was shocked awake from her nightmare. She sat upright, shivering as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked outside the home she built with her own hands, gazing out the old, dust-covered window at the light of the rising sun. She began to prepare herself for the day, bathing and eating one last meal before she hesitantly began to dress. She sighed, sitting at her bedside, clipping layer after layer of clothing on herself, until finally beginning to mount her armor plate over her body. She tied her hair up to keep it out of the way, and slipped her helmet on, latching it to the rest of her armor. She reached for her magnus cards, slipping them away into a small compartment on her hip. She turned to step outside, where she became lost for a moment in her memories.

"Good mornin' Ms. Aupenta."

She was brought back to attention by the voice of one of the local residents, and looked down at him. He was a short, well-aged man, leaning against a cane fashioned from a fallen branch.

"Oh, hello Richard... what are you doing here?"

"I came to say goodbye."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised he knew she was leaving.

"How did you know..."

"Talk spreads fast around town."

"Heh, the sheriff doesn't keep his mouth shut, does he? Don't worry Richard, I just... am going somewhere... I'll be back, I just don't know when."

He nodded, gripping the brim of his hat as he looked down. He chuckled, before looking back up at Mai, gazing at her eyes through the tinted glass eyepieces of her helmet.

"I know what you're doing Mai, you're going soulsearching."

"I just can't keep a secret from you, can I?"

"Heh, there are no secrets in this community. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, all right?"

She suddenly reached out, wrapping her arms around him. He smiled, patting her back, making a metallic thud as his hand hit her armor.

"This town has been nothing but helpful to me since..."

"Since you lost Leo... I'm sure he's proud of who you've grown into Mai..."

She began to sob, and reached up to wipe her face, but instead, her finger met the armored faceplate of her helmet.

"Thanks Richard... I promise I'll come back someday."

She waved at him as she passed by, headed for the port, where she knew an airship was waiting. Where it would take her, she didn't know.

[Isenet]

-={[Emrys & Zelja Prehanat - Komo Mai (Velvet Cloak Tavern)]}=-

Well, if I've got a couple of extra days to kill, I might as well enjoy them, Emrys reasoned as he headed into the tavern, hoping to find something, or someone, to occupy his time.

After getting a stein of mead from the bar, he turned around on his stool and surveyed the room. Someone immediately caught his eye - the way she was dressed made it nearly impossible not to notice her.

"Hi there. Couldn't help noticing you're here on your own, and for a woman as beautiful as you, that is an injustice that I could not just ignore," he said as he sat down at the table opposite her.

The woman looked up at him, staring straight into his eyes with her own bright red ones, before leaning forward as if to look at him more closely. Her smile and eyes all seemed to widen, though this was likely a trick of the light considering how wide they all were in the first place. The woman's arms reached out to grasp the other end of the table until her face was separated from the man's by an extremely short distance. She seemed to consider him for a moment, before a torrent of words began to flow from her mouth.

"Oh! Hello there, sir! I'm Zelja Prahanat, a mercenary! How are you doing today? What's your name? Are you looking for someone to hire for, maybe, protection or some job that you need done? Hey, what's that on your back? Is it an instrument? Can you play it? You seem rather heavily dressed. Is that the fashion here now? It's kind of tough to tell when you're all around the world sometimes." Zelja finally stopped her rambling when she had run out of breath and gave enough pause for the other person to speak.

Emrys smiled from ear to ear, a reflexive mask when he wasn't sure what to say. "Well...let's see...I'm doing well - I just arrived in Komo Mai today, actually. My name? You can call me Emrys. I'm a traveling musician," he explained, then gestured to the lute on his back, "this lute here being the tool of my trade, so I don't really have any jobs I'd need to hire you for, unfortunately..." He paused. "What else was there...Ah, the cloaks? Yes, it is a bit warm, but it is something of a trademark fashion statement of mine. And might I say it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Prahanat. You say you're a mercenary - is there something in particular that brings you out to this neck of the woods?"

Zelja brushed some of the pink hair on the left side of her head over her shoulder before taking a deep breath and then began to speak again.

"Well, I was originally born around here and hadn't been back here for a while since I was busy with my mercenary work, so I decided to come back while there was a lull in my work and take time to meet all the new people that have come to live here. But I've already been here for, oh, a week or something, so I was thinking I should look for a job or such before my funds ran low, and so I was thinking that at the tavern I could find someone who needed somebody to help them with something. Makes sense, right? But I've already been here for a few days and so far nobody's wanted to hire me for anything. Not sure why, but anyways I was thinking I'd go to the palace and see if there's any official business that needed doing. Hey! Maybe you could come along too and see if there's anything they'd like you to do. I'm sure they could use a musician around the palace for a while, for some entertainment and they probably could pay you pretty well. What do you think?" She looked at him eagerly, grinning so brightly that it was a bit eerie that she could maintain the face for as long as she did.

Emrys mostly just nodded along, trying his best to keep up with her rapid-fire manner of speaking, but arched an eyebrow when she mentioned checking things out at the palace. "It's an interesting suggestion - a gig like that would probably pay pretty well. As someone who's from around here, I don't suppose you know anyone who works in the palace who could get us a proverbial foot in the door, would you?"

"Well," Zelja began, taking a moment to breathe again before she began to speak again, "Some of the people in the palace have changed since I was here last, though I think some of the higher ups are still the same, not that I've actually met them. I do get a job from someone in there every once in a while, usually by a public messenger though there was this one time when I was protecting someone who wanted to look around the Ancient Library and one of their officers actually came to me - not sure how he knew where I was - to request some aid for when that contract was finished. But anyways,I think I should have a record with them or something. That should make them more likely to listen to me, don't you think? And if you follow along, I'm sure they'd be willing to listen to what you have to say. It's not like you look nasty or something, so there shouldn't be anything to be afraid of when it comes to you. So, do you want to come along? I was planning to leave in just a little bit or so." A barmaid came around with a glass of ale and paused at Zelja's table, trying to figure out where to place the drink since Zelja had yet to move from her position. Zelja turned her head to glance at the server and stared at her for a while before releasing the table and falling back into her chair. The barmaid placed the glass in front of Zelja and the woman promptly picked it up and began to drink from it, her throat likely dry from all the speaking she had done.

"That sounds like a fine idea - I could certainly use the money as well. And I'll tell you what: if they don't have any work for you there, and I do get a job, how about I hire you on as my promoter?" Emrys suggested - it wouldn't hurt to have an in with someone who knew the area and had some connections at the palace. Zelja continued to drink from her glass until there was just a bit of drink left at the bottom before setting it down at the table with a slight thump.

"'Promoter'? You mean by going around telling people about you? I guess that wouldn't be too tough, and I could have other contracts in the meantime while working for you. It'd be a constant source of income at the very least, and you should get a good profit from working in the palace, so I wouldn't be worried about you not having enough money. It'd be a good way to find other places that could use a bard too or something, so then you could have work even after your done working in the palace." By this time, the mercenary woman had stopped talking directly to her table companion and was instead musing to herself. She continued telling herself aloud of the virtues of taking on the suggested line of work, allowing her eyes to wander about the room, before once more focusing on Emrys and saying, "All right! That sounds like a good idea!" Zelja emptied her glass with one swift gulp.

"Then we're agreed," Emrys said cheerfully. He raised his stein up and towards her. "Here's to better living through cooperation and partnership." As if on cue, the barmaid passed by with another glass of ale and placed it in front of Zelja again with a motion that suggested that she was used to dealing with the woman's need for a drink. Zelja lifted the glass and tapped it against Emrys' own stein, causing a loud clink before taking another long drink.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she set the glass back down, "May we both be profitable and never be with a dull moment. Hopefully we'll both manage to find ourselves a job. It's not exactly fun sitting around sometimes, you know? I have to do the same thing over and over again when I'm not on the job and that's just not exciting. Feels like a waste of time."

"I know the feeling," Emrys agreed. "That's why I'm a traveling musician and not just some spoony bard plying my trade back in my hometown." He chugged down the last of his mead and set his stein down as well. "Well, shall we settle our tabs and be off, then? Fortune favors the bold, and the bold take action."

"And the early bird catches the worm, right?" Zelja tacked on, finishing the last drops of her drink before getting up suddenly from her chair. She opened one of the pouches that hung from one of her belts and pulled out some Gold, which she counted out before tossing onto the table, resulting in an array of light clinking as they struck the wood.

"All right!" she exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm, causing some of the other tavern patrons to jump in surprise and turn to figure out what the source of the sound was. Zelja looked down at where Emrys was sitting and said, "I'll meet you outside, all right? Don't be too slow!". She quickly guided herself toward the exit and was outside before she could hear the bard's response.

"Well, I was looking for entertainment, and I should certainly say I've found it," Emrys mused to himself aloud. He headed over to the bar to return his stein and pay for the mead, and after leaving a tip for the barmaid, headed outside to meet up with Zelja.
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[Toku]

-={[Mylennia Josten & Cole Rosmire - Komo Mai (School of Magic, Courtyard)]}=-

Mylennia looked out the window. Okay, it's this or practical exams... It took all of two seconds for her to confirm her decision and slide the window open. There shouldn't be any teachers out there at this time of day, so I should be all right... And so she snuck out of the window and out into the courtyard, where she'd make her escape from the school.

She broke into a run, knowing her professor would come running after her any minute, but as she looked back over her shoulder to check that she'd made a clean escape, she tripped over something and went tumbling to the ground. After taking a moment to recover, she turned over and looked back to see what she'd hit, only to find a fellow student, looking very confused and in a bit of pain. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry - I didn't even see you there! Are you okay?"

The red-haired man she tripped over was rubbing the groove of his side in pain. One eye clenched closed, he stared daggers at the girl as he straightened up. A scowl was clear on his face and he brought his hand up to make a furious gesture that started at his eyes and extended outward as if telling her to watch her surroundings. It was quick and heated, how he intended, and soon enough, he started gesticulating even faster.

"Ah, umm..." It took Mylennia a moment to realize what was happening. "Let's see..." She began signing what she could remember from a course she took years ago. "Sorry. I was looking the wrong way and didn't see you. My fault."

The man raised one eyebrow at her response then raised his hand, index finger raised, as if telling her to wait. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out two cards. One in the right hand and the other in the left, both of them dully glowed until forming both a notebook and a pen. He flipped the notebook open to the nearest blank page and scribbled quickly. When he was finished, he showed it to her. "Your signing is horrendous," he wrote in neat handwriting.

"Huh..." Mylennia was a little shocked at his rudeness, but chalked it up to her having just kicked him in his side. Still, he could've been a bit nicer about it. "I could get up again and kick harder; teach you some manners. I said sorry, did I not?" she signed as best she could, her state of mind making it even more difficult to recall the correct signs than it already was for her.

Cole watched her sign in amusement, struggling to hold back the urge to laugh. He started to write in his notebook again. "You did, but I was simply stating a fact. If you want to save yourself any further embarssment, feel free to just talk. I'm only mute, not deaf, and quite frankly, watching you butcher your signs is a heavy toll on my eyes."

"Well that certainly saves me a lot of trouble - you could've said something sooner. Oh wait," she responded snidely. "But you know something? You've got a lot of spunk for the sort of person who sits out in the grass reading..." Mylennia directed her attention to the now discarded book. "A joke book? I take that back; what are you, twelve?"

Unperturbed, Cole grabbed the fallen book and placed it in his lap. "You're free to think that but I enjoy this book so I'll continue to read it," he wrote in his notebook. "Now, all this animosity is beginning to tire me. I believe we started off on the wrong foot so it'd be best to attempt a more cordial conversation. First, two questions: your name? What are you doing running?"

"Right. Sorry if I got a little overboard there myself. My name's Mylennia Josten, though most people call me Mylie or Myles. And..." she glanced back at the open window. "Yeah, I was running because I was trying to get out of class without getting caught by my teacher."

The man frowned as he started to write again. "It's not good to play the truant."

"Well, it would be one thing if it had been my choice to go to school here. Frankly, I think life was a lot more fun when I was free to practice magic when and how I wanted, rather than being stuck with all these rules and regulations. And besides, you're not exactly out here studying either, I notice."

"Unlike you, I'm actually allowed to be here," the man wrote calmly. "I have a potential employer coming to meet me so I was excused from classes early. I had only been waiting a few minutes before you came along."

"Potential employer, huh? My teacher's been pestering me to start thinking about what to do after I graduate, but I can't really think of anything I could do where I wouldn't be bogged down with all the same sort of red tape I have to deal with here. B-but good for you!" she added, realizing she was sounding a little insulting over the matter. "So, what exactly is it you're hoping to get into? And while we're on the subject...I don't think I caught your name."

The man's eyes widened as he realized he had neglected to tell her his name. "My apologies about that. Cole Rosmire. And about this opportunity, I'm not really at liberty to discuss anything about it."

"Not at liberty...?" Mylennia cocked her head to the side slightly. "Wait...you couldn't be talking about that military guy, could you? That one scouting for new recruits for something or another?"

"You were scouted as well, I presume?"

"Scouted. Not sure I'm really interested. Military work sounds like it'd be even worse than it is here, if that's even possible."

A thoughtful look passed over Cole's face. "You must be very talented to have been scouted. You appear to be even younger than I am."

"I'm already 19!" Mylennia complained, "Though you wouldn't know it to look at me, according to most people. And yeah, I guess I'm talented, but obviously no more so than you."

"I might have to disagree with you on that point," Cole replied. "I'm a prodigy." His voice had no tinge of cockiness to it, only confidence.

"Do I detect a bit of underestimation on your part?" Mylennia responded cheerfully, already toying with the idea of challenging him to find out just how much of a prodigy he really was. "As we've only just met, you don't really have any grounds to assume the width of the gap between us - if there even is one."

Cole shook his head. "I wasn't saying that at all. I have no doubts that you're talented. I just happen to be better."

"Well I say we put that to the test, then, shall we? Call it a learning experience...for one of us, anyway."

"Are you sure? There's a chance I might hurt you."

"I could say the same for you - besides, there's no fun to be had that doesn't involve a little risk."

Cole let out an exhale of breath. "If you insist." He rose to his feet and rolled back his shoulders, easing himself up for the duel that was about to commence.
_________________

[Jack]

Arian Gweneal and Orion Lainsworth: Komo Mai Palace, Orion's office

Arian walked down the hallways of the grand palace, nervously returning the greetings from the guards and passing councilmen as she headed for Orion's office. When she eyed the door, she shuffled up to it and knocked so gently that no one could have possibly heard it but herself. After a few moments she knocked again, this time louder. Reluctantly, she grabbed the doorknob and slowly turned it, peeking through the slightly ajar entrance.

“Um... Orion, sir?” she mumbled, then turned around as she shut the door. Orion was at his desk, slumped over it asleep. Beside him was a large pitcher, and Arian sighed, as it was a familiar occurrence after a meeting. She exited the room and entered the adjacent room that contained small fountains and birdbaths decorated with lily pads. Arian opened the small pouch attacked to her belt and pulled out a blank magnus card. She lifted her arm, holding the card above the fountain. Multiple streams of white light appeared and converged into the card as it gathered the water's magna essence. The blank card glowed for a moment then faded, revealing a picture of what she captured.

Satisfied, she returned to the office and carefully approached Orion who was still sleeping.

“Ah, forgive me, it's urgent,” she apologized, and held up the card again. The card illuminated as a torrent of water appeared and splashed over Orion's head. When he started to stir, Arian tucked the card into her pouch and quickly stepped before the desk to address him.

“Um, sorry for waking you. My sister wanted me to give you this as soon as possible,” she explained, holding out a folded piece of paper.

Orion raised his head groggily. "Oh, Arianneth... Chara told you to give me this?" He took the piece of paper, unfolded it and squinted at what was written there. He sat up sharply, looking more focused. A few drops of water fell from his hair onto the note. He cursed under his breath and shifted it away from him. "Hmm. Thank you, Arian. I'll have to call the guards together and tell them about this..." He sat back in his seat and looked out through the window. It had a wonderful view of the lush nature surrounding Komo Mai.

"I'll excuse myself then," she said, deciding to leave Orion to his tasks.

"Hmm?" he said, looking up. "Yes, you can go, Arian. Watch out for your sister on the way out, though. She's... not in a good mood."

Arian laughed nervously, "I could tell. I heard her shouting earlier across the hall."

Orion grimaced. "Maybe it'll teach her to pay attention during future council meetings."

"I doubt it, knowing her," she said with a smile.

Chuckling, Orion stood up. "Well, get out of here. I've got some people I need to speak to today, actually, so I should try myself off and get going..."

Arian nodded and departed, deciding to explore the rest of the palace.

Orion watched her go, then folded up the note and put it in his desk. Then, he exited his office and headed for the School of Magic. His potential recruits should be there...
_________________

[Psychon]

<Nearing Anuenue: Airship>

Mai watched out the window of the cargo bay at the endless, empty void the airship floated though, the dull hum of the airship's engines seemed to be the only thing breaking the silence of the great, empty space. There was plenty of time before she would arrive, so she decided now would be a good time to make sure her skills were still as sharp as ever. She walked back into the cargo hold; the dimly lit area was only lit by what light could come in through the windows, it wasn't exactly built to accomodate passengers. She put her shoulder to a large crate, and the scent of freshly harvested peaches managed to penetrate her armor, she took a moment to take in the wonderful scent, before beginning to push the wooden crate aside. She did the same for other, outlying crates, gradually creating an empty space for herself.

Mai looked around for any sort of analogue she could use as a dummy, eventually finding a stack of large, burlap sacks, each containing a rather large amount of rice. She continued to search, coming across a couple old, dusty mops and a bucket, clearly they hadn't been used in a long while, along with a nearly curled up length of rope which encompassed the bucket. She stooped down, picking the bucket, mops, and rope up, returning to the empty space in the cargo hold she had created, setting them in a messy pile on the ground. She then retrieved several sacks of rice, and then set them on the ground too. Mai used the odd collection of resources to construct for herself a vaguely humanoid-shaped dummy in the center of the cleared out cargo hold. He gave the dummy a few test jabs, making sure it wouldn't be knocked over; satisfied, Mai stepped back and began to warm herself up.

Her stretching complete, she drew out two magnus cards, summoning a short, compact weapon into the air alongside a small box of ammunition. She caught the weapon in one hand, and snatched the box out of the air with the other, clipping the ammunition box to her hip, on the opposite side as her magnus cards. She began to steady her breathing, and in one swift move, flipped the chamber of her weapon open, grabbed a blank ammunition shell from her hip, rammed the shell home, and locked the weapon up into a firing position. Before beginning her training session, she maked sure the safety on her weapon was up, and calmly walked to the dummy. She entered a fighting stance, before throwing the first punch in what would be a series of many.

For the next hour or so, Mai practiced several lethal and non-lethal strategies of hers, usually a combination of kicks, jabs, uppercuts, knees, and elbows, always punctuated with her ramming her barrel into a carefully calculated spot on the dummy's body and squeezing the trigger, feigning firing the weapon. Between every combination, and to keep herself familiar with the reloading actions of her weapon, she always ejected the 'spent' shell and reloaded a new one. By the end of the hour, she was sweating underneath her armor, and ready for a rest. She opened the breach of her weapon, reaching inside to extract her blank shell.

"Wow miss, I didn't know you knew how to fight."

Startled, she froze, and whipped around to find the captain of the vessel had come down below the deck. She looked over her shoulder back at the human analogue she had been practicing on; flustered and unable to form words, she raised her empty hand.

"I-I can explain..."

"Oh don't worry, besides, no harm done. I don't think that the people in the markets will mind if their rice has been... tenderized."

Relaxing, she sighed, letting her arm drop as she locked the breach on her weapon shut and walked to the captain.

"You know, why don't you use magnus cards? It would make transportation a lot easier."

The captain chuckled, walking to the dummy that stood in the middle of the cargo hold, giving it a few quick punches himself to see how sturdy it was.

"Well, some people like fresh produce, want to see and feel the stuff they're getting in person."

The captain backed away from the dummy, giving Mai an opportunity to execute one last combination. She closed the gap on the human analogue, delivering a quick elbow to the side of the dummy's "head", before vaulting up onto the top of the analogue, balancing on top of the dummy with one hand, and using the other hand to press the end of her scattergun into the back of the analogue, precisely where the wings on a person would be. She pulled the trigger on her weapon, simulating firing it into her foe's wings. She finished up her combination by forcing her body forwards, flipping backwards and delivering a powerful kick fueled by the momentum of her body flipping over. The kick was more than enough to uproot the dummy from its stand and knock it over. The captain applauded her, walking towards the fallen dummy.

"You're quite the acrobat Miss, who taught you to fight like that?"

Mai began to recall her equipment back into their respective Magnus cards, sliding them away into the compartment on her hip to keep them safe. She looked back up at the captain then.

"Sheriff Cavalier, back in Sadal Suud... anyway, why did you come down here into the cargo hold?"

"I just wanted to tell you we'll be arriving in Anuenue's port soon. Just wanted to make sure you were ready."

"As I promised, I'll help unload as payment for taking me. Oh, by the way, where are we going on Anuenue?"

Mai began to clean up after herself, carrying the sacks of rice back to the stack in the corner. The captain started to help her, hoisting several bags of the white grain over his shoulders and plopping them down in the same stack.

"Well, the shipment I want you to help with is bound for Komo Mai. Then after the shipment reaches its destination, you're free to go. Say, why'd you come to Anuenue, are you going to that conference?"

"Conference?"

Mai walked back, picking the rope, bucket, and mops up, starting to disassemble them while the captain accompanied her.

"Oh, I take it you haven't heard; some big peace treaty is going to be signed there."

Mai set the pile of equipment neatly in a corner beside one of the windows, looking outside at the floating nation of Anuenue; it was gradually getting closer and closer to them on the horizon.

"Maybe I'll go take a look..."

[Azer Kriemhild]

-={[Mylennia Josten & Cole Rosmire - Komo Mai (School of Magic, Courtyard)]}=-

Mylennia stretched her legs out and rolled her head, prepping herself for their duel. "I hope you're ready - I have no intention of going easy on you just because you're mute."

"I would have considered that to be an insult," Cole signed in reply, returning his notebook, pen, and book back into their magnus forms. He replaced these three cards back into his breast pocket then pulled out a different one. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the magnus above him then lifted his arms as they transformed into a magic circle. Neat, bottle-glass blue gloves appeared over his hands and slowly, Cole brought them down and held them out. His moth-like wings simultaneously appeared on his back in a flash as well."Whenever you're ready, I'll allow you to make the first move," he signed. He pushed back his sleeves and placed the hood of his cloak over his head in preperation.

Mylennia released her wings, spreading them out proudly before reaching into one of her pouches to draw a magnus Card. "Your funeral," she countered, ready to show him what she was made of. The card dissolved into nothing, and a glow started around her fingertips. "Lightning Whip!" she shouted as several arcs of electricity shot out and headed straight towards Cole.

Cole acted fast. Reaching into his breast pocket to pull out another magnus card, he placed it in front of him where it seemed to hover. His hands worked quickly as the card in front of him started glowing. A gale of wind soon spread around him, catching the streams of electricity and dispersing them into crackling sparks. He took a few slow steps back as he negated Mylennia's spell to provide even further of a distance between them. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Tch. Well, I'd be disappointed if it were that easy." Seeing that he still wasn't going to go on the offensive, she started slowly approaching him as she pulled another card from her pouch, replacing the first at the same time. "I guess I'll just have to turn up the heat..." The card dissolved again, and this time a pointed finger shot out a stream of flames at Cole. "Flamethrower!" With her spare hand, she quickly grabbed and activated a second card, sending her shadow moving along the ground to ensnare him. "Shadow Tendrils!"

With a click of his tongue, Cole felt her shadow wrap around his ankles to prevent him from making any further movements backward. He signed his Wind Blow spell he had used previously to create another shield of sorts then, as the flames spread away from him, he slipped another spell magnus into his hand to save for later.

Mylennia smirked. She hadn't expected the flamethrower spell to hit him, but it had served its purpose of distracting him from her shadows. "Well, if indirect attacks won't work, I'll have to try something a little more...up close and personal." Drawing two more cards, she activated the first, which released her stuffed bear, which she placed on the ground with care. "And now...Transmogrify!" she shouted as she activated the second card, which caused Mr. Teddington to grow eight times its original size, making it a very imposing figure despite its cute appearance. It began lumbering towards Cole, closing the distance between them, and threw a heavy punch once it was in range.

Temporarily stunned by the sight of the stuffed animal coming toward him, Cole barely remembered to move before it was too late. The shadows held him in place but still allowed him to move his legs so as the bear's punch came flying at him, he dropped to one knee and brought his arms up. The impact slammed him onto the ground and he let out a choked cough as he made contact. Hands sprawled out, Cole managed to slip the magnus card in between his index finger and middle finger and brought it up to his mouth for him to bite on. He quickly started to sign and a blast of darkness aimed right from his hands to the bear's gut sent it sliding a few meters away. He gingerly got up from his position on the ground and readjusted his hood, readying two more cards in his hands.

Mylennia directed Mr. Teddington to charge at Cole full-force, and meanwhile targeted her Lightning Whip spell at the bear, intending to electrocute Cole through Mr. Teddington the moment it made contact. She wasn't sure what cards he had prepared and what they might do, so she pulled out a card of her own and set it aside, just in case.

Cole couldn't help the upturned corner of his lip. He had hoped she'd send the bear charging once more. The Dark Flare card still clenched between his teeth, he started signing the symbols for it to send a powerful blast of darkness forward. He had saw before that it sent the bear sliding a good distance back and right as the blast hit, Cole set another magnus in front of him and started to fingerspell the words for it. His fingers moved fast-he had to be if this was going to work. A tealish aura soon surrounded his hands and Cole moved to reach for the shadow along the ground. At once, he felt his body freeze in place. However, it also meant that a certain girl was frozen as well.

Mylennia knew he'd manipulated her Shadow Tendril spell somehow, and the moment she moved to avoid Mr. Teddington stumbling back towards her, she realized what he'd done. As she was about to be crushed, she deactivated her Transmogrify spell, which returned Mr. Teddington back to his original, perfectly safe size. And with her hand still pointed straight ahead, she shouted "Lightning Whip!" and hoped Cole wouldn't have time to conjure up another blast of wind while he was crouched down and frozen as he was.

He had expected Mylennia to have been smashed by her own colossal toy. However, as he saw another whip of lightning aimed right for him, Cole released his hold over the spell and hit the ground. He felt the tendrils of electricity spark above him, nearly touching his body as he rolled along the grass to his right. There was a loud noise as the spell made contact with another object, Cole guessed a tree, and it was at that point, he felt it was safe to get to his feet. He stared at her as if utterly bewildered then slowly, turned his gaze downward. His body started to shake, shoulders slightly hunched over and soon, he was doubled over with his hands grasped around his gut. Cole was laughing. They were soundless but coming quickly, causing his body to wrack while he pointed at Mylennia as if she had done the funniest thing. "Your battle style...i-it's so unpredictable!" he signed shakily, unable to stop laughing. "I was confident I had you back then but your spells...You certainly are very talented! If it were anyone other than me, I'm sure you would have clearly been the victor by now!"

"True, you're tougher than I was expecting you to be, too. My compliments. So let's see how you handle this!" she said, dissolving her Lightning Whip card one more time. "Lightning Whip!" she shouted as she directed the electric arcs at Cole. With her free hand, she grabbed her Flamethrower card and followed up with that.

"I have no intention of losing either!" Cole signed quickly as he released his Wind Blow spell. Like before, the wind and lightning managed to negate one another in a storm of crackles. However, as Mylennia fired off another of her Flamethrower spells, Cole took the card he'd been saving and placed it in front of him. He held his hands out, palms facing forward, and another blast of dark energy was sent forward. The two opposing spells made contact and soon reacted in a large explosion that sent a shockwave across the courtyard, effectively shattering every window in near radius.

Mylennia held her hands up in the air in mock surrender. "Whoa-ho-ho," she said, stifling her laughter as best she could. "Umm, I think we're about to get into serious trouble now."

Looking around himself, Cole brought a hand to his chin nervously. "Indeed," he signed as he released his wings. "This could be a problem."
_________________

[Jack]

Orion Lainsworth, Cole Rosmire and Mylennia Josten: School of Magic courtyard

"Impressive indeed," came a voice from across the courtyard.

Mylennia whipped around on her heels. "Who's there?" She half-expected it to be the principal, or at least some member of staff looking to catch them for their unapproved fight and suspend the both of them, but as the voice was unfamiliar, she decided not to run just yet.

Removing his hood, Cole looked around the courtyard as well. His eyes suddenly narrowed as he saw an unrecognizable man approach them.

Orion stepped onto the grass, which had been scorched black by the duel, and walked up to the two students. "My name is Orion Lainsworth. I believe you both received my letter, asking for a meeting? In fact, I came to meet Cole here. I was planning to wait for your reply," he indicated Mylennia, "but since you're both here, we can return to the palace and discuss it ourselves."

At the sound of his name, Cole stiffened. He cast a surveying glance at the destruction Mylennia and he caused then looked away uneasily.

"Yeah, I remember your letter," Mylennia replied. "Military work doesn't really suit me, though, so I threw it out."

Raising his eyebrows, Orion said, "It's not military work. Strictly speaking, this is off the books, and I shouldn't be discussing it in the open like this. But... at least come to the palace and hear me out. I could do with people of your talents."

"Fine, I guess it won't kill me to listen to you yammer on about objectives and missions and such; just try not to make it a complete waste of time, if you could," Mylennia requested.

Orion suppressed a sigh. "I might add that this won't go unrewarded. I'm quite an influential figure. Name your price, and I'll tell you if it's too high or if I can pull the strings."

"I could care less about the money," Mylennia admitted. "I just want the freedom to use my magic however I please, and not be restricted by all sorts of arbitrary rules and regulations."

She's an unusual one, mused Orion, mentally. "Well, I can't offer you freedom from the law, I'm afraid. But, if your issue is with the rules of the School of Magic, I may be able to help you... We can discuss this more in my office. As I said, this is off the books, so I don't want too many people overhearing." He turned to Cole. "What about you? Are you interested in my offer? You haven't said anything yet."

Cole stifled a laugh as he heard this, politely covering his mouth with his left hand while his other fumbled for his magnus. He pulled out his notebook and pen like he had done for Mylennia and started to write quickly in it. "Did they not tell you about me?" he showed Orion with a curious look on his face.

"No," said Orion, frowning slightly. "The school, if that's who you mean, didn't mention much besides the fact that you're a prodigy."

Unable to help himself, Cole smiled. "I should get it out in the open then. I'm mute. However, what the academy has told you is correct. Yes, I am a prodigy. No, that is not me being pretentious." he showed the words to Orion then quickly went to add something else as an afterthought. "By any chance, do you know how to sign?"

As Mylennia saw him write "No, that is not me being pretentious," in his notebook, she turned fully towards Orion so that Cole couldn't see her face and mouthed the word 'prick' and rolled her eyes.

Restraining the urge to smile, Orion nodded at Cole. "I know the basic signs. The military train you in them to make communicating quietly or over long distances easier."

Cole raised an eyebrow as he returned his notebook and pen into their magnus forms. "I suppose there's a basic enough similarity. This'll make it much easier to communicate then," he signed. "Now, what was it that you were saying? Something about returning to the castle?"

"Yes," Orion said. "If you're interested in my offer, then come with me. We can discuss things in more depth without risk of interruption."

"That sounds like a good idea. It'll be nice to finally get more details on this operation. Unlike some people, I do posess a genuine interest."

Mylennia didn't catch everything he'd just signed, but she managed to catch the last part. "Genuine interest in showing off, no doubt," she shot in, before cheekily sticking her tongue out at Cole.

I need to make sure that these two can work professionally with each other, sighed Orion mentally. Otherwise I'll have to keep them on separate tasks, which is a shame...

"Well," he said aloud. "Let's get back to the palace, then. Follow me." He set off, but stopped after a few steps. "Oh, yes. Afterwards, I want you two to help clean up this mess you've created. The School of Magic may not be for you, but you are still students here and you can therefore clean up the courtyard after you destroy it."

Well, I guess I'll just have to sneak back off into the jungle until the prodigy here winds up cleaning things up himself then, Mylenna plotted with a wry smile curling the corners of her lips.
_________________

[Zacewing]

Elucifer Netzavare - Komo Mai

Elucifer was perched onto a tree, sketching. He was sketching the scenery before him: A beautiful flower garden, filled with roses, lilies, and other flowers, as well as an apple tree. The sun shone radiantly upon the garden, accentuating its beauty. A bird was perched on his shoulder, chirping happily. He smiled as he finished his portrait. "I'm sorry, but I must be going" he said quietly to the bird. The bird flew away, almost as if it understood him, and he leapt off the tree branch where he sat, landing on the ground on his feet. Looking up into the sky, smiling with contentment, he walked back to the inn.

As he entered the inn, he retrieved his easel, and other art supplies from his room. He locked the door behind him as he headed to the castle. I can't believe I, of all people, am going to be painting a portrait of the queen! he thought to himself excitedly.
_________________

[Psychon]

<Komo Mai: Main Street>

Mai sat in the back of the wagon with one leg dangling over the rear of the cart, leaning her hand on one knee, while her other hand gripped one of the crates of oranges to give herself support. A few individuals stopped to look at her as they passed by, the sight of a person fully clad in armor was an unusual one, warranting the attention of the local populace. She had forgotten what the sensation of being the center of attention was like, and a sense of discomfort came over her. Back in Sadal Suud, everyone was familiar with her and her tendency to wear the armor; back there, it was almost expected of her to show up fully suited in her protective plate.

"Hey Miss!"

She craned her head back to the crewman guiding the wagon she was riding on into town.

"Most of this shipment's headed to a processing facility, where all the produce is going to be stored in magnus cards. You'll be coming with us to the facility to unload, then Captain says you're free to go do whatever."

"Yes, thank you."

She relaxed for a moment, lying against the crate of oranges to her back. She crossed her arms, watching the few individuals who hesitated or stopped merely to glance at her. One young child in particular pointed at her, but the young boy's mother quickly placed her hand on the boy's arm, pushing it down while simultaneously giving an apologetic look to Mai. She considered for a moment nodding to show there was no harm done, but the mother had already turned around and dragged her son alongside her.

About fifteen minutes into the leisurely ride, a massive explosion almost made Mai jump out of the cart, and she whipped her head around to the source of the noise. She gazed in the direction of what looked like a school.

"Did you hear that?"

The crewman looked up briefly, and when he saw the school of magic off in the distance, he smirked, as if he knew the source of the noise.

"Yeah, I did... that's the school of magic, must be practicing something today."

Mai hesitated, before relaxing. She reached up to the side of her helmet, making sure that the hearing protection she had built into her helmet was working properly, clicking her fingers together just beside each ear. She turned around to see the cart was now approaching a large, plain-looking building. The cart gradually slowed to a stop outside a large gate, which a pair of workers at the factory wrestled open. She slipped out of the back of the cart, and was approached by the crewman.

"Okay, we just take it inside, they'll do the rest."

She nodded in response, right as one of the factory workers approached with a dolly, the grinding, unlubricated wheels squeaking as it was pushed towards the cart. Mai helped the other crewman and the worker lower the first of many crates down onto the dolley, and as he left, another worker pushing another dolley approached. For the next half hour, the process continued, until the last crate, the crate of extremely fragrant peaches, was set down onto the dolley. Mai let out a relieved sigh, watching the dolly wheel into the facility. She could catch a glimpse of an assembly line of workers already packing away the contents of the crates into Magnus cards. The gates groaned shut, and Mai felt someone pat against the shoulder plate of her armor.

"Well, you're free to go Miss, thanks for the help."

She turned to face the crewman, nodding in response.

"It is the least I could do to pay for taking me here."

She walked past the crewman, her mind beginning to drift, but she was quickly drawn back to reality by a shout from the crewman.

"Hey miss!"

She turned around, and saw a Magnus card sailing through the air towards her. She caught it, and looked at the card, seeing the image of a fresh peach depicted on the surface of the card.

"Take care of yourself, okay!"

She waved her hand at the crewman, slipping the card into the container on her hip as she wandered into Komo Mai.

[KittyKatStar]

~ Arian and Chara Gweneal ~ [Anuenue, Komo Mai: Queen Nashira's Palace]

Arian awed at the rest of the palace, unlike Diadem's castle where it was shrouded in constant cloud, it was surrounded by nature. Plants, fountains, waterfalls, tall trees, ivy, flowers, lily pads... It sometimes was hard to tell where nature ended and the marble foundation of the palace began. She climbed the main staircase, up to the throne room. Nashira usually kept her palace open to the public, but with the upcoming royal visits it was filled with security guards, council members, and servants.

Inside the throne room was a rich red carpet that contrasted with the blue theme. White marble pillars stood at all sides, with small tables supporting vases of flowers.

“These flowers aren't the consistent blue of all the other flowers!” Arian heard a familiar voice demand. “I want them all to be the exact shade!”

“Y...yes, ma'am,” a meek maid apologized, while Arian heard footsteps of other maids scurry around. Chara stood in the center of the throne room, hands on her hips, occasionally pointing at something and barking orders.

“Uh... sis....” Arian started. Chara turned out, her scowling face suddenly softened as she saw her precious sibling.

“Sis!” Chara gushed, which was unlike her. She hugged Arian tightly, crushing the delicate body against her breastplate. “My darling sister! You like interior decorating right? Would you pleeease like to take over?”

DEATHGRIPDEATHGRIP, Arian could barely breath. She winced in pain, and Chara finally let her go. The little girl inhaled deeply, a little shaken and weak.

“I'd rather not. It's because you weren't listening that you got stuck with the role,” Arian replied. She trembled as she tried to scold her. “And... and.... you should act your age!”

Chara burst out laughing.

“Aw, that's adorable. Arian's finally growing a backbone and saying no!” she teased with a hearty chuckle, slapping her sister hard on the back. Arian nearly stumbled forward from the sheer force.

“Where's Orion by the way?” Chara asked.

“Meeting some new recruits... I think...”

Chara's expression grew serious. “You read the letter you gave Orion, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I want you to see if you can find any other clues or leads in Komo Mai. I know you're just one person, but we only have a few days left to thwart the plan. Will you do it?”

“You can count on me,” Arian said.

“Good. I'll keep an eye on the palace – I am stuck here after all.”
_________________

Thank you for the lovely set, Seraph <3

[Psychon]

<Komo Mai: Main Street>

After much exploration of Komo Mai, Mai sat down on a knee-high stone wall to the side of the street, just in front of a small restaurant. She took a moment to process everything she had seen, this was her first time in Anuenue, much less, her first time outside of Diadem or Sadal Suud. She reached to her hip, withdrawing the magnus card containing the peach. She summoned it into her hand, and set the emptied card into her hip compartment for later. With her free hand, she reached up to her helmet, unlacthing a few pieces which freed her jawplate, allowing her to set it down; the missing plate revealed the lower half of her face, allowing her to eat the peach.

By now, she had grown used to the occasional stare given to her by passerby, having grown accustomed to sticking out from the crowd. The only time it bothered her was when an officer passing by slowed his pace and gave her a suspicious glare, but he soon left, allowing her to finish the fruit. She rolled the peach pit in her hand, before drawing out the used magnus card and recalling the pit into it, intending to plant the peach pit at a later time. She scooped up her armored jawplate, the latches clicking into place as she reattached it to her helmet. She checked the compartment opposite the one that stored her magnus cards, finding she had just enough gold to maybe buy herself a room for a few nights, and if she was careful with her money, maybe a few meals. It occured to her now she needed to find some form of temporary work.

Back in Sadal Suud, she had previously served as a hired hand for the farmworkers from time to time, but mostly, she was called on by Sheriff Cavalier whenever problems in Sadal Suud needed the attention of law enforcement to be resolved. A loud noise up ahead, followed by the scattering of the crowd and a series of panicked shrieks, caused her to rush ahead, pushing through the dispersing, panicked populace.

"Nobody come any closer!"

A young, unshaven man brandishing a large kitchen knife was holding an elderly man hostage. Mai moved to the head of the crowd, and the man immediately whirled around, using his hostage as a shield while pulling the kitchen knife up to his neck.

"Stand back! Or I'll slice him a new breathing hole!"

Mai raised her hands to show she was unarmed, but eyed the compartment containing her magnus cards. She remained quiet, backstepping to give the man room. By this time, the crowd had formed a large circle around the man, and every time he moved, the crowd would react accordingly. Mai at last spoke, recalling one past experience where she had to help the sheriff with a similar hostage situation.

"Sir, please, let him go. He hasn't done anything to hurt you."

"This man... this man took everything from me, my job, my wife and kids, my home... I have nothing to live for ever since he took my life!"

The elderly man, coughing against the weight of the man's arm against his neck, managed to sputter out his retort.

"Times are hard... I couldn't... afford to keep you on staff... I'm sorry your wife left you... but it's not my fault..."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

The unshaven man tightened his grip on the elderly man, his muscular arm almost entirely wrapping around the face of his former employer. The unshaven man lifted his hostage into the air, the elderly man reached up to grab the muscular arm wrapped around his face.

"Sir, please calm down, don't make a decision you'll regret later. This can be worked out, it's not too late to let him go."

"No, no, I'm going to hell anyway... but before I do, I'm taking someone with me!"

She saw the large kitchen knife wielded by the man rise up in preparation to slice through the neck of his victim, and reacted immediately, drawing two magnus cards from her deck, her slug shells, and her scattergun. In one smooth, fluid motion, she loaded the weapon with a shell extracted from the box of slug ammunition and charged the man. Her armor created sparks against the stone walkway while she slid; the actions exhibited by Mai bewildered the unshaven man enough to make him momentarily stop.

By the time he realized what was happening, Mai had slid underneath him and pointed her weapon straight up, thumbing the hammer of her weapon and pulling the trigger, a slug round ripping straight up through the elbow of his arm wielding the knife. He shouted in pain, dropping the knife and his hostage as he held his wounded arm. Mai stood up, ejecting the spent shell and approaching the wounded man, headbutting him, a metallic pang echoing through the air as he was knocked over. Mai placed her foot on the man's chest, loading in another shell and pointing the scattergun at him. She looked momentarily back at the dazed hostage, who was digging his finger in his ear, deafened by the loud blast of her gun.

"You okay back there?"

"What!? What did you say!?"

She turned her full attention to the unshaven man she was pinning to the ground.

"You're lucky I'm a good shot, all you're going to lose today is your freedom, not your life. Maybe someday you'll be thankful."

"W-what?!"

She chuckled, at that time, she herself was thankful for the hearing protection built into her helmet.

"Can someone get police and medics here! I need voluntary witnesses to also describe what happened to police!"

[Zacewing]

Elucifer Netzavare and Chara Gweneal - Komo Mai (Palace)

Elucifer entered the palace through the large wooden doors. It's...beautiful he thought to himself as he observed his surroundings. The blue marble floor was accentuated by the beautiful flowers displayed throughout the palace. Elucifer continued into the palace, approaching a large staircase which presumably led to the throne room. However, as he went to go up the stairs, he could hear an angry female voice shouting from one of the hallways.

"Take it down, it's too tacky," Chara ordered, sighing. She stretched, and surveyed the throne room. Overall it looked complete, decorated and refurnished. "I think that's enough for today."

Elucifer approached the double doors leading to the throne room. "Halt!" One of the guards commanded. "What is your business here?" the guard asked. "My name is Elucifer Netzavare, I am here to paint the queen's portrait." Elucifer said with an unwavering tone. "O-of course. Her Majesty is attending to important matters at the moment, but you may wait for her in the throne room." The guard said, sounding intimidated. Elucifer entered the throne room, discovering it was just as beautiful as the rest of the castle. Almost immediately, he noticed a woman wearing Royal Knight garments, with long dark blue hair tied back into a ponytail. Why do I feel like I've met her somewhere before...? Elucifer thought to himself.

Chara noticed the new stranger, paying him no attention until she gave him a second glance. He looked vaguely familiar, although she couldn't put a name to him.

"Are you here for the Queen?" she asked, deciding to stay and chat for a few minutes.

"Er...yes, I am. My name is Elucifer Netzavare, and you?" he said, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Gweneal, Chara Gweneal," she replied, not bothering with ranks. "Nice to meet you, Elucifer," the name seemed familiar. As she shook his hand, she asked, "Are you from Diadem?"

"To be honest with you, I don't know." Elucifer answered. "I...seem to have amnesia, you see. About a year ago I awoke in Sadaal Suud, remembering nothing but my own name. All I have to go by is this locket." he said, clutching the locket around his neck. "But I guess you don't want to hear these types of stories, do you? You appear to be busy."

"Not at all," Chara replied, "I'm sorry to hear that - I'm sure you'll recover your memories with time," she added. The nagging feeling was increasing, and she was positive she met this man before.

If he is who I think he is... she thought, turning her back to him. She discreetly pulled out a card from her sleeve, which displayed a picture of a claymore. The card glowed, transforming into the weapon. Gripping it, she turned and gracefully pointed it at his throat in a flash.

"Gone rusty, have you?" she said.

What? Elucifer thought to himself before quickly drawing a magnus of his own, which materialized a silver scythe which he used to knock her sword aside. "I don't understand what you're doing, and I dislike fighting, but I won't hold back." he spoke with dignity. He held his scythe ready at his side, waiting for her to make the first move.

"Fine by me," she threatened, throwing another card up in the air. Her claymore now shone silvery blue, enchanted with the element of ice. He has the same weapon, but what about his fighting style...? Her large wings emerged from her back, adding balance and agility despite the size. Taking only a single step, she charged forward, her sword ready to strike.

Elucifer quickly parried the blow, materializing his black ruffled wings as he stepped back. He advanced, swiftly swinging his scythe several times. "Impressive." he said.

"I'm not second in command of Diadem's Royal Army for nothing," she replied. "You're not bad either."

She dashed at him again, then leapt high in the air, performing a side aerial over him as her sword clashed against his scythe. She hoped the force would loosen his grip.

Elucifer gripped his scythe tightly as he parried the blow, countering with a swing of his own. He then swung his scythe in four wide arcs, which staggered Chara long enough for Elucifer to dash directly in front of her, pulling out his musket and pointing it with the barrel directly touching her forehead. "Had enough?" he said, smirking slightly.

"Nope," however she turned her weapon back into magnus. "But we're scaring the maids here," she tilted her head in the direction of the eyewitnesses, who gawked at the sudden battle. She also returned the magic cards to her pocket, despite the readied wind card. Machina? Dammit, even that caught me by surprise... When did he acquire that?

"Fair enough." Elucifer said, returning his weapons to their magnus form. Soon after, the door opened, and the queen emerged, escorted by a group of guards. She approached Elucifer. He couldn't help but admire her elegance. "Are you the painter?" she said. "Yes, your Majesty." Elucifer said, bowing to her. "I am ready whenever you are."

Chara took it as her cue to leave. Once there was a pause in their conversation she patted Elucifer on the shoulder. "See Orion once this is over," she said quietly and departed after excusing herself.

Elucifer pondered for a moment as he set up his easel and paint. Why does she give me this nostalgic feeling? She must know me. I'll have to inquire later. And who is Orion? He quickly shrugged it off for the time being and began painting the Queen's portrait.
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[KittyKatStar]

~ Arian Gweneal ~ [Komo Mai]

“And then I said to him...”

“... flowers look better this year. Don't you think?”

“There's this wonderful bakery that just opened up...”

“Ugh, I'm still not finding anything,” Arian mumbled to herself, as the Magnus card continued its snippets of absorbed conversation. She was nestled on the roof of a local cafe, which seemed to be made up entirely of plants and flowers, using her Mangus to slip into the window below and secretly 'absorb' voices.

It definitely wasn't like those plays she had seen – where the dashing hero spy conveniently overhears the important information needed to find the culprit. She really had no leads besides the letter that was found in one of the cargo ships of the docking bay. She asked various guards, patrolmen, and even crewmen at the docking bay about any suspicious activity. She already got permission to scan the ship once – which originally traveled from Alfard, but there was nothing revealed that could give her another clue.

“For such a clumsy act of forgetting a letter, I haven't see any other blunders...”

Throwing up her blank Magnus again, it flew back toward the window below while she watched the crowds below vigilantly, looking for any suspicious activity. She watched one of the stalls right across the street from her spot, pondering if she should buy something for Chara before her sister returned to Diadem. One customer stepped away from the crowd and greeted its seller. The merchant had his wares set up to draw in potential buyers. They were mostly the typical Komo Mai souvenirs – wooden carvings, seeds, ingredients for cooking. The two were in light chit-chat, but she noticed the male merchant took something out of his robe while they talked.

She eyed them curiously, and her interest peaked when the merchant glanced around him before slipping something into the other male's hand. The customer hastily departed, and Arian's eyes followed the male who received the item. She took note of her position, the event and location quickly, her blank magnus card absorbing her words.

It could've been anything, however their shady looking movements made Arian want to investigate at least. It was better than nothing, and she quietly jumped down into the alley behind the cafe and merged with the crowd to follow him. He had a long black ponytail, and his tall height made him easy to track.

After 20 minutes of trailing him, he entered into the residential, and stopped at one of the small one-story houses. Arian hid behind one of the hedges, watching him knock on it. He appeared to be whispering something, and a moment later the door opened and he disappeared inside. Arian quickly recorded a small note in her Magnus card, indicating where the house was located.

Unsure whether she should try to eavesdrop, she retreated for now. Although his actions were particular, only Orion had authority to search houses with enough evidence. To avoid being suspicious herself, she backtracked to the center of Komo Mai, deciding to drop by the house again later.

When she returned to the cafe, the stall was already packed up and gone.

“Strange...” Arian thought, as all the other merchants were still selling their wares. For now she would return to the palace and report this to Orion – if he was there.
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Thank you for the lovely set, Seraph <3