Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Fight

[-Cynthia-]

Emi Maru

Liam partially wondered where Norbert had disappeared to before, but that was not the most pressing concern at the moment. He prepared his wings to take off before Norbert suggested a different course of action. "That is actually rather sensible. The humans do have a way to take care of themselves after all- but it is ultimately your decision."

Nadya had been spending her time squinting to try and figure out what was going on with the ships and her friends, to little avail. All right this does it. Last ship I'm takin' for the rest of my life.

[Xinnidy]

"Ah... I'm okay." Thales winced, picking himself up. "Just my hands... Had to take the wild ride down." With an awkward smirk, he showed his red palms. "Should I go? I'll be fine, in a bit." Now it was a matter of... what had they done, really? It seemed to scare off the Neviskotian forces, that was good, right? That meant he wouldn't need to draw a bow soon, so it wasn't necessary to get care for his hands, probably.

[Phoenix]

Servant of the Queen

Haythem watched as the crew started tossing lines out to the stranded mercenaries and sailors. Not all of them were passable swimmers, but they survived long enough to get a hold of those lines. The few that were further out would take another minute or two to reach the ship, but it didn't look like there would be any real casualties. Haythem didn't know if this situation could have been prevented if Amon knew why the Basilisk had disappeared so suddenly, but not having that information certainly hindered their response, and people had gotten seriously hurt as a result. He quietly approached his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. <"Listen ... when you have a minute, I need to tell you about the Basilisk ... and ... well not just that. It's important.">

Rexian? Why? Amon winced, hoping this wasn't some dangerous secret Haythem was trying to let him in on. <"Just tell me here. It shouldn't be a problem if we're not speaking common,"> he noted quietly. Malik could still understand them, and possibly a few others, but the former was on his way back to the infirmary.

Haythem looked around. There weren't a lot of people who looked like they might understand what the two were saying, but a fair number of them looked like they wanted to keel haul Amon. He supposed he'd better just explain the situation while he had the chance. <"Alright ... it's about Regalia. I know why you couldn't control the Basilisk, Amon.">

Amon's eyes lit up. When Haythem said this was important, he very well meant it. <"Tell me. What's wrong with it?">

Haythem frowned. <"There's nothing wrong with it. Regalia's ... it's Lady Aisha's tool, not yours. You can gather things ... or people, for her ... but only she can summon and control them.">

Amon took a half step back. Regalia was Aisha's 'tool'? What did that even mean? Raquel, or at least some aspect of her, was trying to help him obtain a new power. It was meant to be his emblem ability, not Aisha's. Why had this thing been created as a tool for her and not him? <"I don't understand, Haythem. She was helping me specifically ... so why can't I control it?">

Haythem's frown only deepened. <"It's ... because you're a servant of Lady Aisha. Everything you do is for her sake, and she has ultimate authority over you. That's why Regalia works this way. It's using you as a ... helper. You can gather items for her, but only Lady Aisha can restore Sanctuary. The things she could do with the Basilisk alone are ... unimaginable ..."> As awed as Haythem was by the idea, he couldn't find a way to cheer Amon up, and so he couldn't even force a smile, himself. <"I'm sorry, Amon. I know you feel responsible for what happened, but Lady Aisha's the one that controls when and where the Basilisk appears ... and when and where Isis and I appear.">

Amon cringed. <"You've got to be kidding me ..."> What on earth have I been doing this entire time?

Servant of the Goddess

Frankly, using her power was what had Joanna so worn out. The emblem itself didn't tax the user, but the effort it took to stay focused on the task at hand caused all sorts of small involuntary muscle movements, especially when trying to sit still on a ship. After a while, they could add up to real fatigue. She wasn't keen on using it again and making herself even more tired. Flying was harder, but fewer of the muscles involved there were calling for relief, and the ships were reasonably close to one another, now.

Joanna briefly--ever so briefly--considered asking Liam to fly her over to the Deadly Dandelion if they were worried she couldn't make it on her own, but that felt excessive somehow. "I'm the one that asked them to risk their lives that way," she said pointedly, "I can rest as soon as I make certain everyone's alright."

Edited May 22, 2017 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

"Better to get them checked while nothing's happening. Come on." Eva hoisted him up, leaning down some to get his arm over her shoulder. "No whining, either... Saved Shadrak's ass from drowning and he gets grumpy at me. Don't need any more of that. So..." Eva headed down, Thales in tow, whether he wished it or not. She wasn't really sure what to talk to him, or if they should. Really, it was weird to have such a calm moment in all of this. "So... Uh... H-Having, fun?" She felt her face flush at such a stupid question, trying to chuckle it off, before sighing. "Nah, I... I'm probably the only one having any fun. It's pretty weird, huh."

----------

"<Not entirely the same, then,>" she muttered, finishing off the cheese. "<Both my parents have no idea where I am... Probably happier for it, without another mouth to feed... Ah, wow, that was depressing, uhh... Well... I'm glad you, are finding reasons to keep going and stuff.>" Touchy subject. She didn't quite know what to add onto it. If she tried to relate, it'd just be more depressing information coming out. Was that worth talking about? <Hah... What do I do...?> "<Well... Uhm...>"

"<H-How long did it take you to learn common?>" Haruhi's was broken and slow. This Hoshi girl didn't look that much older than her... Maybe there was hope for her speaking yet.

[Ether]

It was certainly quite a spectacle, as the summoned Neviskotian ship fired it's main guns, which slammed into the water, seeming to almost graze the decks of several of the galleons of the Neviskotian fleet. Still, the message appeared to have been sent despite the lack of a direct hit. Things seemed to be going well, that was, until the Basilisk disappeared into a golden mist almost as suddenly as it had arrived, dumping an unfortunate number of the people aboard into the water. Grabbing her tome and drawing out the most magic she could in the dash over to where those flight-capable were landing on deck, Angelica amassed as many wind particles into her control field as she could manage, glad to see Eva in one piece on deck as she approached, but looking over the side of the boat revealed what looked to be almost a dozen men in the water.

"Nothing but a wild ride today, huh?" Angelica muttered, slipping her tome into it's leather holster on her belt... unlike a gun, she didn't need to draw it to cast, it was a pretty good deal. And lucky for it, there was no way she could carry the thing around during this operation... she could see Eva was fine, so she could talk to the rider later. Leaping off the deck, Angelica honed in on the face she actually recognized, one of their group, Glen she believed? His name didn't really matter, as the mage descended to the water, using wind shaped as makeshift footholds to avoid sinking in to the depths herself as she landed next to him.

"Glen, lift your arms, I've got you." She noted, the man seeming a bit sluggish, taking a few moments to do so. Still, after a few seconds, just as her own feet started to fall into the water properly, Angelica managed to grab Glen from underneath both shoulders, and with a powerful push of wind beneath her against the water, lift the man out of the sea and towards the ship... landing with little grace due to the added weight of the man and the salt water absorbed into his clothing, but landing safely, which was the important part.

[Xinnidy]

"Oh, alright-- wha?" Without warning, Thales was lifted from the floor, his arm draped over Eva's shoulder. It was a rather unorthodox response after he said he was fine --he could certainly walk there... "Uh... t-thanks?" He was about to complain and say he was fine walking there, but Eva seemed to preempt that by asking him not to whine, mentioning another instance where she was trying to help and got some backlash. Just mind your hands... Did she enjoy acting like a protective mother to the other mercenaries? Thales sure couldn't tell that from barely a day with them. Letting himself be towed to the infirmary, the boy couldn't help but blush at his own predicament, looking away.

"...Shooting was fun." He admitted, trying to break some of the awkward mood Eva put herself into. "I had to learn how to set up and fire a ballista with other once, but it wasn't anything like that. It... roars and shines bright."

[Nanami Touko]

"Yeah... It was, I guess. Good that it didn't hit anyone, like Amon planned, so I don't have to feel bad about it, either. I'm getting to see a lot of new things out here, Thales... All this magic, Emblem stuff, giant ships-- I even met a dragon! But... It's so... Dangerous." She bite her lip a bit, getting him down the stairs. "That's why I feel so weird... I could be dead, many times over, right now. We've... We've been through a lot, really. But I always jump head first into things. At what point... At what point do I stop? Ahhha... I should probably be talking to Angelica about this, but... It's coming out here and now, can't exactly stop it."

She sighed. "But I don't know if you have an answer for me. Just feel comfy talkin' about it 'cause we both just got through that. They say that, emotional experiences bring people together... And that was certainly emotional, lotta excitement and fear... What do you think? Am I as stupid as I think I am for being such a thrill seeker?"

[Xinnidy]

Right, these people, for what it was worth, were Neviskotians just like Eva. If any of those beams had hid and annihilated one of those ships --no doubt hundreds of people--, she'd certainly have some weight on her consciousness after the thrill high passed off. He could relate to that. "Yeah... all's well that ends well, right? You're still alive so far, and... you have no regrets, right?" At least, he hoped so, he knew how the contrary could mess one up. "There's nothing stupid with doing something you like." It was perhaps overly simplistic, but that's how he saw things himself. It was almost a position he was jealous of. "Just be careful to not mess it up..."

"But life seems pretty good to you, huh?" He smirked, winking. "Traveling through countries, getting to seek the thrills you want, and even have a cute brunette for yourself? Seems like a pretty good deal to me." He chuckled. Maybe things work better if they're kept simple, huh...

Edited May 22, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Snike]

The gold-auraed enemy battleship ended up needing to be manned, so, as a result, other sailors and mercenaries crossed over from the Emi Maru. Eventually, though, the battleship did fire.

And it was loud.

Pete's ears were still ringing by the time that the magical- it was impossible to describe it otherwise- ship disappeared, almost like a mirage. Well, aside from the now-water logged sailors who were being pulled up above deck. The Neviskotian navy had disappeared for the time being, so all that was left was to leave, or so it seemed. Pete decided, for the time being, to stay near the cannons, at least until he completely regained his hearing.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Snike

[Nanami Touko]

"No regrets... Not sure, yet. We'll have to see." She was still worried about a few things, mostly things to do with her... Well, as Thales put it, cute brunette. Eva stammered to try and find the right way to rebuke him, ending up sighing, with a wry smile hanging on her face. "I'm pretty sure she has me for herself... I know I'm the strong, tall one, but she's a bit of a cheater, always has some magic up her sleeve. I don't really know how to deal with that, so... I end up on the bottom. Not... N-Not that I mind that. Being a thrill seeker turned me into a bit of a masochist. Whoops..."

"A-Anyway! We're here, so... You seem like you can walk fine, take a load off and get those hands fixed up. Don't want anything permanent on accident, alright?" Eva let Thales down in front of the infirmary, shaking her head. "And here I thought I was going to hate you. Hah."

Edited May 22, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[scorri]

Hoshi had clearly hit something of a sore spot, so she decided to avoid it for now, instead choosing to answer the second part of Haruhi's response. <"Well... I ended up at Weyland's when I was 16... And now I'm 24. It probably took me close to 6 years to be proficient. I still make mistakes sometimes, but for the most part I'm fluent. How much experience with Common do you have? Clearly some but not a lot. I can help teach you Common too, if you want."> She couldn't help but want to help the poor girl. She was clearly struggling to survive in a world that had stacked the odds against her. Hoshi knew that she was one of the lucky ones and even now she was scared about returning to Kigen eight years after she had escaped. What must it be like for Haruhi?

 

Lumi had just been returning to the infirmary after having found one or two sailors who had small injuries they had believed too inconsequential to take to the lone healer on board. Spying Thales being placed down by Eva, she sped up, calling out, "Thales! Are you ok? What happened up there? There was... It sounded like that ship fired again. Did... Is everyone ok?" She realized she was starting to panic again and did her best to calm down, taking a few deep breaths. He was clearly able to stand by himself now. But then why had Eva been carrying him? She had Angelica, right? It hadn't looked like an especially romantic carrying but what if... She muttered and smacked herself on the leg. "Focus..." Talking louder again, she asked, "Is there anyone else that needs to be looked at by a healer? I was finding people for her... Trying to help."

[Xinnidy]

Thales' quip got a reaction out of Eva, which only grew his smirk further. "Uh-huh~." He certainly wasn't expecting this much information out of it, but who was he to tell her to stop? "Well, I can get that about cheater mages. It's pretty unfair when you don't know what they're gonna pull, huh? I wouldn't want to be on your place in that regard." Being the non-mage partner in a relationship would be totally lopsided in the boy's mind. Who would want that? "Can't say I expected you to enjoy thrills that much, though, maybe that's why you two are a good fit?" He gave her another wink. "I mean, I can't judge you there, I can get behind that kind of thrill-seeking... but still~."

Suddenly, Lumi spoke up, revealing her presence right as he was put down on the floor, standing and walking perfectly fine. "Ah, Lumi! That's my line." He turned to her, still in (relatively) high spirits. "Are you feeling better? Things have stopped... at least they should. The 'Skotians are retreating now, we're safe, okay?" She seemed so shaken before... Thales couldn't help but try to cheer her up a little, she was kind enough to help recruit him, after all! "Besides, I just hurt my hands a bit, nothing too serious, I think." He showed his palms, red as they were, the ropes certainly left a painful mark, but it surely wasn't lasting. Just... getting to explain why he has rope burns on his hands would be a lot story. "I don't know if it's too serious, doubt it, but I guess it won't hurt to check?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Maybe... Still gotta talk about a lot once we're off these boats. And-- hey, quit that!" Eva snapped quietly, slapping his arm. "If you're healthy enough to make quips like that, maybe you don't need to see the healer. Geez... Take care of him, Lumi." Eva gave a small wave and walked off, back towards the top deck. That is, not before stopping to see her favorite lizard ever!

"<Sashaaaaa. How are you feeling?>" The big lug had curled himself up comfortably below deck, having finished his snack, and was trying to rest the day off, being woken by Eva's call. He snorted, not bothering to move, as she stepped up to gently pet him. He didn't mind the gesture. "<Things are starting to wind down, so you'll be able to keep relaxing. Thank you for everything you did today, you wonderful guy~ Keep it up, okay? And don't ever scare me like that again.>" She gently bobbed his snout, eliciting a confused grunt, as he opened an eye at her. He didn't quite get all of what she meant, but she seemed happy, which meant he'd some well. Good enough.

----------

Haruhi sighed and furrowed her brow, grumbling quietly a moment. "My, common... Bad. No, good... Slow. Not... Work. Talk, but... No, talk, back. <Ugh, it such a dumb sounding language... I can't follow conversations, or respond well to people, if I'm forced to... So I tend to stand there saying yes or no and hoping that all works out. Luckily for me it doesn't happen often.>" She slid her hands out and flopped onto the table, sighing. "<Six years... That sounds like a lot of time for something like this. But I guess if I want to live somewhere that isn't Kigen, I'll need to, won't I... Hhhh...>"

[Phoenix]

At Fault

Glen coughed up some water he'd gotten his mouth during his confused splashing and sprawled onto his back. "Thanks," he said, practically coughing out the words. Someone kicked his wrist while passing by, causing him to roll onto his right side and groan. "Going over there was a mistake. I was just in the way." Another person's leg brushed Glen's back, illiciting another groan. Little did he know where these careless individuals were headed.

Amon didn't realize just how bad the situation had become until Haythem snapped him out of his shocked state. <"Amon, get it together! These guys are ... well ..."> Amon didn't need any further warning by that point. Lexi's hires were as furious as he'd ever seen them. Equally important, they were intelligent enough to block all four routes to the lower decks for the sancturan. What now ...?

"Hey, listen," Haythem spoke up first, "that was an accident. Amon had no idea that would happen." Haythem didn't either, frankly. The ship only disappeared because Aisha willed it to, after all. "If you want to blame someone ... just blame me. I knew something like this could happen. Amon didn't do anything wrong." A few of them looked like they were about to speak up or throw a tantrum, but Haythem didn't give them the chance to get out more than snarls. "Seriously! This is all my fault! Think about it ... I'm the one that had Isis fly you over there without coming up with a way to get everyone back safely. We needed more people there than she could handle, but I led the effort to get you people onto the ship. It really is my fault!"

Amon cringed again and again. Every time his friend uttered those words, a small part of him died. It was just like on the Basilisk. Haythem blamed himself for more or less everything, from their group being caught up in the crimson storm, to being too slow to escape it the second time it was used against them. Amon couldn't bear to hear that over and over. As far as he was concerned, if he'd just known how to make better use of his own abilities, he could have saved them both from the start. They wouldn't have wound up on the Basilisk, perhaps, but things wouldn't have turned out like they had for Haythem and Isis, and honestly, that felt like a fair trade to Amon.

"If you want to fight," Haythem continued, nervously taking up a defensive posture, "I'll fight you, but leave him out of this."

[Nanami Touko]

With Sasha taken care of, Eva headed back onto the deck to... See a growing mob? What? It was pretty thick, there was no way she was getting to the center easily, and these people seemed pretty upset. "Ooooooi! The fuck's going on? The fight's over, we're safe, why are you all mad?" She didn't get it... Wait, was it because the boat disappeared? Seriously? They were going to get angry Amon when he stopped the fleets fighting? Did they even know? Screw this. How stupid. "<Alright, get outta my way, this is so... Dumb...>" Eva muttered to herself as she started to muscle through the tight crowd.

[Mercakete]

Norbert sighed at Joanna's response, and just previously, wasn't sure if he should take Liam's as a partial insult or not, and this only really due to the inclusion of the word "actually." At least he supported the idea. Now, though, there was Joanna's reply. She was a Mercinic Avian -- of course her compassion would rule her decision. More than that, though, her desire wasn't unreasonable. Maybe it was different seeing everyone okay for herself. It was a sweet gesture, he had to admit.

"Alright," he conceded. Then, he mounted up again and offered her a hand. "At least accept help, though."

Truth be told, he was a little tired of flying today, and, more than that, was concerned about Rizen's own fatigue level. She was probably hungry, too -- he certainly was. There were the wyverns over there, too -- he wasn't looking forward to subjecting the pegasus to yet more stress. This was a small errand, though, and the Neviskotians looked like they were peeling off, so it was probably okay to take the ever-shortening flight. It was the least he could do for his tired friend before calling it a day, himself.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Mercakete

[Ether]

"Hey now, the man almost drowned, watch where you're stomping." Angelica spat out at the irritated men as they passed by, taking a moment to drag Glen over against a wall that he could rest his back against, and be out of the way of anyone else that might come storming through. It seemed the rest of the floaters were being rescued as they spoke, so there wasn't much need for her to dive back off the boat.

"Just relax, alright? Try not to look off the side if you're not feeling like seeing more water... now the hell had them all worked up like that? Sit tight, I'm gonna try to make sure the ship isn't about to burn to the ground." Angelica pondered for a moment, giving Glen a firm pat on the back, as she began to look over at the growing, restless crowd... there was no way in hell she'd find out anything from over here... luckily enough, the ladder to the crow's nest should prove a much more fruitful vantage point.

Climbing up with the help of her magic, the mage gripped the ladder, looking over the gathering from above, trying to piece together what was going on.

[scorri]

"Ah, I, what?" She blinked as Eva dropped Thales in her lap and walked off. "I... Well, it looks like you can walk by yourself. Uhm, I'm... I'm ok. I guess. Here, lets take you inside though. Better to take care of things just in case. i can't imagine it would be easy for you to fight or... do much of anything with your hands hurt like that." She made her way back into the infirmary, holding her arm back towards Thales, gesturing for him to follow her.

 

<"Well, it's better than not knowing anything. I bet you can learn it faster than six years. I mean... You know how to read tomes, right? How long did it take you to learn that?"> Hoshi realized a few seconds after she made the assumption that it might be a dumb assumption. The girl was using magic, but it was less than skilled and she clearly didn't have a solid grasp on it. Hopefully her blunder wouldn't embarrass Haruhi too much.

[Xinnidy]

Quip after quip was enough to make Eva embarrassed as she left. Thales smirked and waved her goodbye, that'd help keep his spirit up over this unfortunate day. Hah, and here I thought I had to deal with some strict rules, although everything Eva said she dealt with sounds a bit ridiculous. He'd really need to get caught up on this emblem talk.

"So you're better? That's great, Lumi!" Thales was pretty content with that, the memory of Lumi curled up on the floor was pretty depressing. "It wouldn't do to be all down like that. We... you could have been in danger here. I don't really get what that carnage storm was about, but it should be over now, no more fighting today." Wishful thinking, but everything seemed to work out one way or another, perhaps it wouldn't be sinful to assume. " 'Sides, you've got a pretty face, cheer up a bit!" He winked, following her to the infirmary, casual as somebody who... had not just fired a massive weapon of war. Just put it in the back of your mind..

And there they were, at the infirmary's door again. I hope my hands will be fine in an hour or so either way, but I'll be more useful if I check it now, I guess... Thales was going to open the door when he backed his hand away, remembering the obvious. "Ah, um, you open it." The gaffe was enough to embarrass him.

[Toogee]

Despite the rough flight, Isis did not end up in the water, much to Jam's relief. They had all landed back on the Deadly Dandelion without incident. As for those that didn't catch a ride, many landed in the sea. Even so, the ship was able to get to them in time. It had seemed everything had worked out until the sailors began forming a mob around Amon and Haythem. They had just barely avoided a battle, yet the sailors were looking to make up for that with a brawl. With Haythem bracing himself and Eva stepping in, they were going to need help fast. Rather than jumping into the fray herself, Jam turned to the giant wyvern Isis to intervene.

"Alright big guy," Jam addressed Isis, "Haythem and Amon look like they're in trouble. Think you can scare these guys off of them?"

Jam attempted to climb upon the wyvern, hoping to come along for the ride.

[Toogee]

so nice it posted twice

Edited May 23, 2017 by Toogee

[Phoenix]

It's On

Lexi could only frown as she watched the crew coalesce around Amon and Haythem. That would be an even more one sided fight than the Basilisk taking on the imperial fleet, though the majority would pull through in this case. Then again, it looked like their allies were growing wise to the tension in the air and looking to insert themselves. "Oh boy, this is gonna get violent."

She eyed the Ursian ship, as well as some of her own men communicating with them. The Ursians had flag bearers sending request after request to come aboard, and her own flag bearers were doing their best to politely decline, but from the looks on her people's faces, the Ursians were getting more insistent. Just one more problem to sort out, and it was the one problem keeping Lexi's hands on the wheel. She needed to be ready to get the ship moving again, soon.

Isis hadn't been preparing to go anywhere, so when Jamilla mounted her again, she turned her head all the way around to see what the girl was up to. The human wanted something, but the wyvern wasn't completely sure what, only that it involved her. Neither Haythem nor her master had given any direction, though. Isis moved her snout right up to Jamilla's chest and sniffed once, trying to get a sense of the girl's mood. There was some lingering fear in the scent, but nothing that fit her current manner. That was when her mind snapped. Isis felt as if something terrible had just happened, and swung her head back around to find Haythem.

Haythem staggered back as one of the sailors stepped forward and punched him hard. He'd been so prepared, so ready to deflect a simple strong man's punch like that ... but something in his mind, a sobering revelation, pulled him right out of the fight, completely obscuring the danger. Not content with just one good hit, he followed after Haythem. Amon quickly stepped forward and delivered a door splitting kick to the oncoming sailor's face and sent him straight to the ground. Isis' bloodcurdling shriek paralyzed enough of the mercenaries and sailors to keep the sancturans from being overwhelmed immediately, and she'd followed her wrathful cry by grabbing a man with her jaws and hurling him clear across the main deck and into the lower foremast. That caused half of the crowd to crumble in a frenzy; they could handle two young men as a mob, but the wyvern had just turned on them and that would require more than just their fists to deal with.

Danger

Joanna smiled somberly. Surely Norbert was tired himself, riding practically nonstop to get here ... and that said nothing of Rizen. "I don't mind accepting your help, but you haven't had time to rest, either ..." A loud shriek cut through the air and drew Joanna's eyes to the Deadly Dandelion. "What's going on over there?" It didn't matter how tired either of them were, now. Something was definitely wrong, and they needed to investigate.

[Nanami Touko]

Some of the crowd started to move, as they took swings at Haythem and Amon, but luckily, Isis quieted the whole show. It stopped Eva in her tracks too, covering her ears at the piercing cry, but she managed to shove her way to the center of the cowering crowd.

"Hey! What the fuck!?" She'd hoped the momentary silence Isis had created would give her enough time to shout before the crowd got upset again. "What is your problem? You took a spill in some drink, I'm fucking sorry for you, but do you realize the situation we'd be stuck in if he hadn't done what he had!? Stuck between a Neviskotian fleet and the Ursians going at it in bloody murder until one side wasn't left standing! You're not in the middle of that right now, because of him! So stuff your anger and take it on the chin, things could be far worse!" She huffed, shaking her head, still tense. Some of them probably didn't care, and some of them would probably still take swings. Need some backup...

"And if you're not satisfied with that, you can take it up with the wyvern! Got another one down below deck. Any takers!?"

----------

"<Learn tomes? Uh... It took me a few years to pick this one up.>" She reached into her robes and pulled the torn up book out, laying it on the table. It had certainly seen use, and plenty of it. "<I got lucky, my... My Dad could afford to teach me how to read, before his accident. I'm sure he thinks it was a waste now, but... I can read Kigenese, just fine. Common will be... Another challenge.>" Speaking it was one thing. Reading was a whole 'nother.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[Ether]

Well, that certainly wasn't good. The crowd had started to rile angrily around Amon and Haythem, apparently quite mad about going for a swim. Angelica had been readying a spell for crowd control, when Isis arrived and put quite a damper on the crowd's spirits, followed by Eva also stepping in. Holding onto the swirling ball of sharp wind blades whipping around her hand, Angelica waited for a moment. If Isis was enough to dissuade anything else, well...

[Mercakete]

"Whoa!" The soft exclamation was triggered partially by the sudden, loud shriek, and partially from Rizen's reaction to it. The pegasus suddenly jolted and trotted a few steps away before turning around to look in the direction of her natural predator's cry. Norbert had instinctively retracted his hand to grab onto the pegasus to steady himself in the saddle. Now, he was glaring off in the other ship's direction. They were close enough now that Bert could see someone...well, flying. Sent flying, specifically. Then, sailors were scrambling across the deck, away from the commotion. From what he could see and hear, Isis was the one causing problems.

Norbert frowned in annoyance. "Looks like Isis got mad at someone or something." That's weird. Usually, Haythem has her under complete control. "Maybe we should wait until Haythem's calmed her down. It shouldn't take long." Besides that, he wasn't sure how well he could convince Rizen to get anywhere near a rampaging bull mountain wyvern. She was already stiff and on edge, even this far away.