Return of the Emblem Chapter Fifteen: Alliance

[Snike]

"Well, that's why I said we should talk to Hoshi after this. She's supposed to be the leader of the Weyland people," Pete said, with a shrug," So she might have a plan from here on out. As for if they find us early on, well, as long as Bert doesn't set anything off or a Wrathite's with the Ursians, we can probably find a way to stall things. Does anyone know where vanishing girl or Fizza are? They could help you move, worst case scenario."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"People like family owned businesses, it'll make 'em feel like Greta ain't *really* a foreigner. I was thinkin' she could handle most of the actual business, but we just have to make it look like you're the one who's really in charge. 'Entrepreneurial young Kigenese businessman' is really the vibe we're goin' for here. I bet ya can handle that," Nadya reassured him. Not the ideal frontman, but we gotta make do with what we have here.

Liam

"All right, Joanna and I will stay on the ship for now while you all make arrangements. If something happens, we'll fly away and land further down the shore," he stated with a nod.

[scorri]

Hoshi had reached the dock near the ship and was standing a bit back, glancing nervously over at Eva, Angel, and the men with them. It seemed that they'd been having a good discussion, but it was still stressful to see so many important looking Kigenese men. They were not people that she wanted to talk to right now, but she knew she very well may have to. Hopefully Amon would disembark soon. She'd realized that likely no one else knew that Weyland Enterprises had a base here in town, which might be a good place to coordinate from while they were staying here. And she did want to talk to Joanna. Even if the Avian was the protector of the Emblem, surely she wouldn't be averse to answering some questions, right? Hoshi didn't want the power of the Emblem or anything like that after all. She just wanted to know more about it. Hopefully they come down soon.

[Toogee]

Once Greta's wagon was off the boat, Jam decided to go over and see how everything was going. She couldn't help but overhear Nadya and Shad talking about him being a merchant and Pete being a better cousin. Initially confused, the dancer continued to Greta to investigate.

"What's this business about Shad playing merchant and Pete being a better cousin?" Jam asked. "And for the record, I would make a great cousin."

[Phoenix]

Dealing With It

"Maybe," Shadrak shrugged. It was generally easier to just be himself. On the bright side, he was familiar enough with the way things worked in Kigen to get by and help others do the same, even Greta. He supposed that was why he was being asked to play the businessman. "Just don't get your expectations too high. I'm a little too young for a role like this, and people are going to notice that." He also supposed that was his problem to work around.

Vetting

"Only if it's an emergency," Joanna stressed all of a sudden, "Until then we should stay right here and see if the ship isn't safety enough."

"Why's that?" Amon asked. Almost immediately he regretted doing so. He knew full well what happened the last time they split up like this and tried an 'along the shore' approach just to evade their enemies. Everything had fallen apart so quickly and so irrevocably, Amon was still trying to wrap his head around it. "Never mind. Just stay here. No matter what happens, at least the ship is something we can defend. It's not a fortress, but it's close enough."

"I don't think they'll fight us," Joanna shook her head, "I'm only concerned that Liam and I moving around like that will upset the locals. It's not easy to tell an avian from the fallen unless you're up close, and I'm sure that won't convince everyone."

... right, Amon mentally cursed. What in Sardius were they going to do about that? Neither Joanna nor Liam had tails, but judging by Steinn, those weren't terribly difficult to hide or disguise. The Kigenese must have been a lot more vigilant and diligent with regard to the featherfolk. He hadn't experienced any of that during either of his two prior visits, but said visits were quite short, and no avians were with them at the time. They really should have figured this out sooner, Amon realized.

"I don't think they'll overreact as long as we act normally and cooperate," Joanna noted, seeming calm despite the potential danger. Amon supposed if their natural tendency was to overreact, Kigen wouldn't have any avians around, whatsoever. Granted ... he hadn't seen any, yet. "While we wait here," Joanna continued, still calm and collected, "maybe you should tell someone about us and let them know in advance. Better still, I'll go and find Lexi. She was with the customs people. I could speak with them." She glanced toward the middle of the main deck, where the two staircases leading into the ship were located. "I don't think they noticed us among all the crew when they went down there." Or maybe they were just that reserved. "If they want to check and make sure we're not fallen, we'll just have to let them," Joanna said, grimacing at the thought, "Better to do that on the ship than in the city, I think ..."

Amon could see where Joanna was coming from, but it would have been nice if they could go about their business without having to deal with that kind of suspicion. "Talk to them if you want, but be careful. If they decide you've altered yourselves and you're actually demons, then it's just going to be another fight, and I'm not sure how we're going to get out of that one." With that mostly settled, it was time to head down and make sure no one ran off at random. They were a bit disorganized at the moment, and that made them vulnerable.

((OoC: Sorry if that was a bit stretched interaction-wise.))

Disembarking

There was no telling how things would go inside the ship, but Joanna seemed confident enough that she was making the right decision. Just to make sure there weren't any surprises on land, Amon made a mental note to let anyone important looking know that their group had two avians with them when the opportunity presented itself. How to do so without making matters tense, he had no idea, but hopefully being straight forward would get them past that danger and let them focus on the bigger issue of the Ursians and Neviskotians that were doubtless on the lookout for them right this moment. As he made his way down the pier toward land, Amon looked around for foreign faces, anyone that obviously wasn't a Kigenese local.

Business

"Huh?" Greta got the first part of what Jamilla had said, but the part about Pete threw her for a loop and her self assessment made the merchant laugh. "Hah, I guess ya would, but it's more about makin' sure I can do business here and be taken serious. I need one'a the guys to 'help' out with that," she explained, keeping her voice down as a precaution.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

The sounds carried on as usual as time slowly slipped by. The cannons continued to boom in the distance, and the murmuring of watching crowds went on. Other than that, though, the hustle and bustle was fairly familiar. The sound of the sea was still present, and so, too, were the sounds of the dock workers. The sights were a little less ordinary, but part of that came from waiting for a disembarking caravan.

Some more people had left the Darklighter Idolus. A woman had joined the man from earlier, and yet another woman had come down and to the wagon. Both looked like they were southerners or nomads. Another man was just coming off of the other ship: another southerner. He was closely followed by another northern man. Idly, he wondered if any of them would come down this way, or if he would have to ask Eva or Angelica to introduce him. Perhaps their leader was still organizing things aboard one of the vessels. They didn't look like sailors...but, then again, ships took on all kinds of people, so that was at least possible as well. If they were Eva's group, though...then they sure traveled with a lot of women. It was strange for him -- though he wasn't really adverse to it -- even being more open to northern customs than most.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Mercakete

[Xinnidy]

So she was just taking advantage of their situation? Thales had underestimated her, in that sense. He didn't expect her to be that savvy... and now he wondered why he assumed so, following a tried sigh. "<Sure sure...>" What else to say, dealing with girls sure could be an exercise in patience...

Haruhi did raise a good question, and that Thales pondered for a while. Did they need to go soon? He observed the group leaving the boat with a curious eye. It'd be a hasty departure, in that case... would they at least remain in town for a day? "<Ah, that Amon.>" He noted, eyes spying the nomad as he descended from the pier. "<Will ask, maybe not fine yet. Many soldiers near.>" It would be better safe than sorry. Thales could be sneaky, but he didn't really prefer it that way. "<Will talk to him.>"

Thales walked over to the man, not really making a point for Haruhi or Rin to come or stay. "Ah, Amon." He spoke up, cautious tone in preemptive apology if he were intruding on something. Thales still wasn't much familiar with the man, after all.  "Are we leaving soon? Do we have somewhere to stay here, or are we still deciding what to do next?" With that information, he could most likely infer if splitting from the group was acceptable at that point.

[Mercakete]

As he observed the movements of those coming from and going to the two ships, Daichi noticed someone walk up to one of the men who had just been leaving the Darklighter Idolus, and begin talking to him. It could have been the the two were friends, but the look of it was similar to someone reporting in to a superior. Perhaps that southerner was Amon. It was entirely possible that he wasn't, though. Regardless, there was no rush, and it wouldn't be prudent to interject himself into the man's business. If he was organizing this departure, he likely had his hands full enough. Besides all that, everything would clear itself up in due time, and there was no sense in acting before then. There was no harm in observing and amusing himself with his own guesses in the meantime, though...such as idly trying to decide whether the one who had just come up to the southerner was male or female.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Mercakete

[Nanami Touko]

Eva didn't mind the lull in conversation, idling going back to brushing Sasha's scales and making sure his harness was properly attached. Since he was being so calm and content, it was a perfect time for it. Though, as a few other people came down off the boat, the man she needed to see popped into view. Thales went to talk to him right away, but that definitely wasn't as important, right? These were officials, after all.

"Ooooooooooi! Amoooooon!" She raised her hand nice and high, waving at him. "Got some people for you to talk to!" That should about do it, right? Probably. Thales could put up with waiting, totally.

---

"<Alright...>" Haruhi didn't really know what to feel right now. Perhaps some mix of regret and anger? Mostly aimed at herself... She wished that she could take back what she'd said to Lumi, but... Things like that were impossible. She'd said it so impulsively that, just... Ugh...! Collapsing against the crate again and kicking her sandal against the dock, she put her head in her hands. "<I'm just the worst.>"

[Mercakete]

Things had been so calm, and then Eva started calling someone over. It was a little jarring, but Daichi didn't show it. It was also interesting hearing Eva call out like a Kigenese person. A little amusing, actually, in a way. <Have the northerners started calling people with "oi" too? Daphne said that was an expression of minor frustration to notherners, and that, instead, they said "hei." Things must be changing a little bit i the north.> Also, apparently, one of the men out there was Amon. It was a little hard to tell which one -- the southerner and the northerner men were still on the pier, the southerner and his northern companion being closer to the ship -- but it was probably the southerner, given prior observation. Unless, of course, it was the one talking to him. Daichi, himself, hadn't noticed that person until he or she had gone back to speak with the southerner, after all. <That person must have disembarked while I was talking to Eva-san. Or Norbert...>

And he had been so refocused on his purpose here, too. Well, now Daichi's mind was drifting back to his son, worrying after him. This wasn't a dangerous town, but he couldn't help but worry all the same. <He was so upset. I hope he's okay...>

Edited August 21, 2017 by Mercakete

[Snike]

Pete had begun mulling the avian-fallen problem as he headed down the pier, following behind Amon. For the time being he was wondering about the light magic Joanna and Liam could use, but he didn't know if a light show would be enough proof. Before the Rexian leader could even make it off the pier and onto the wharf proper, he was accosted by both Thales and Eva in short order, the former, in front of him, asking if the group was good to split off, and the latter, from a distance, saying that she had some people for him to talk too. The Ursian man, looking over in the wyvern rider's direction, realized that those people looked awfully like Kigenese soldiers and sighed.

"It begins," he muttered to himself, before directing his attention to Thales. "You probably don't want to run off just yet, since we're still figuring things out. Especially right now."

[Phoenix]

Anxiety

"Once we decide where to go," Amon answered Thales as Pete caught up, "we'll leave the docks. We're probably not leaving town yet--" That was all he could manage before Eva called out to him from the docks. There people to talk to, though? That could be either very good or very bad depending on the circumstances. The fact that it was Eva calling him didn't help clarify things for Amon one way or the other. "I should see what's going on ..." He nodded at Pete's suggestion not to split up before heading over to see who wanted to speak with him.

They definitely looked like soldiers, alright, that or well armed militiamen. Given the situation, they were probably soldiers. "Hello," Amon waved cautiously. He didn't have the focus or energy to pretend he was in a good mood, not when Ra was watching from somewhere. It felt like waiting for a bomb to go off just after a lit fuse reached the casing.

[Mercakete]

The men by the Darklighter Idolus then came over, and the Southerner among them waved as he greeted them. Presumably, this was Amon. Putting matters of family out of his mind as well as he could, Daichi refocused on the task at hand, and gave the newcomers a friendly, relaxed smile. Being out of handshake distance, Daichi nearly reverted back to his more natural greeting gesture. However, he caught himself. Since the man had waved, Daichi returned the gesture for his greeting. Still, he did wind up at least giving a nod out of reflex as he began speaking with the blond southerner. "Hello. Welcome to Kigen. Are you Amon, the leader of this group?"

[Phoenix]

Greetings

"I am Amon," the sancturan admitted, "but ..." No, one second thought, it probably wasn't a good idea to highlight the group's fragmented nature unnecessarily. "Well, I guess I'm more or less in charge, but it's more nuanced than that. I'll spare you the details ..." That was about as smooth a recovery as he could make on such short notice. "Who are you, exactly? Are you with the army?"

Edited August 21, 2017 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Sorry Thales, she offered in her head, smiling as Amon came over. She was about to play introductions, but figured that the two knew how to take care of themselves. Instead, she let the small pleasantries get out of the way, before offering her own question to Amon. "Hey, before you two get into things, how far into town are we allowed to go? And, are we staying here? I don't really know what the plan is... I guess I'm asking if Angelica and I can go off for a bit."

[Mercakete]

Nuanced? That wasn't a word he knew. Maybe it meant something like "complicated." Anyway, Daichi was going to answer Amon's questions when Eva interjected. Not wanting to get in the way of the group's proceedings, Daichi quietly waited for that inquiry to be wrapped up. However, he was a little disappointed. He thought that Eva was going to check with her friend, Hoshi, before going any further into Kigen. He thought that had been a wise course of action, so he was a little sad to see she wasn't going to try to preemptively eliminate any potential faux pas, as she had planned before. Well, hopefully Angelica, at least, could help her out in the meantime. She knew the language, so maybe she knew some etiquette as well.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Come up with some sob story about how it was your pa's business and you're carryin' on the family legacy yadda yadda yadda. It's almost not lyin' because it's true for Greta," Nadya suggested.

Liam

Of all the things I was worried about coming here, being mistaken for a Fallen was not on the list. I suppose I overestimated how common dark avians are in these parts. He decided to leave things in the hands of the rest of their group for now, ready to follow Joanna if needed.

[Phoenix]

Standing Around

"I guess I could mention that if it might help, somehow," Shadrak shrugged. "If we're lucky, Greta won't have to worry about any of this and people will just be interested in whatever she's trying to sell." That was the druid's hope, anyway. Pretending to be someone's relative without knowing much about them felt risky.

Heading Down

Here was hoping the customs people weren't startled when Joanna and Liam showed up. "The sooner they know about us the better, I suppose. Let's go," Joanna said, starting off for the lower decks. She imagined they hadn't finished looking through the hold just yet. Since a lot of what was being kept down there had been given to Greta to sell, the group would be tethered to the ship a while longer, at least until there was an extra wagon to handle everything.

Into Town

Amon winced at Eva's question. Was now really the best time to be running off? The Ursians and Neviskotians were probably both looking for the group, right now. They probably weren't going to pick a fight right in the street, but it had been seven days since Urquium. That was a lot of time to come up with ways to entrap the group, and some their own clearly weren't going to be on the lookout for those kinds of tactics. "Don't go anywhere. We just got here and the last thing we need to do is split up before we even know where we're going or how long we'll be staying in town."

[scorri]

Spotting Amon moving over towards the Kigenese man and Eva, Hoshi summoned up what little courage she had and made her way over to them. Giving a proper bow to the strange man, she turned to Amon and quietly said, "I have a place for us to stay while we are in the city. My employer has business here too and we should be able to stay in his headquarters here." She didn't know how much the Kigenese man understood in Common or if they were trying to hide the fact that they were connected to Weyland, but she figured that not giving away more information than was needed was the better path to take for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lumi had finally managed to convince Star that going back below deck was the thing to do right now and so managed to reach the stairs right at the time that Jo and Liam did. Hesitating, she gestured for the two of them to go first. "Ah, sorry, here, you go. Are... are you staying on the boat too? Why? I mean... Sorry. Not my business. Err... Do you know where the captain is? I should... probably talk to her..." Lumi was quickly realizing she had no clue where this ship was headed next or if it was even headed back to Ursium. Hopefully she'd be able to talk to the captain soon.

[Snike]

Pete followed Amon over to the 'welcoming' Kigenese soldiers but said little initially, as their apparent leader greeted Amon. Instead, he was keeping an eye out for any sign of their pursuers. Or was, until, just after Eva asked Amon about splitting off and Hoshi, shortly afterwards, approached and told Amon about having a place to say. The latter, in particular, sounded promising, but he decided not to interject in that conversation.

"By the way, do you know if anyone else has run off yet?" Pete asked Eva instead. He wasn't sure if everyone from the Emi Maru had disembarked, but figured that the wyvern rider might. Especially since she had been one of the first off of the ship.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"A lotta business is more about gettin' attention and havin' a good story than actually what ya might be sellin'. Especially with rich folks with gold to throw around, poor folks just buy what they need if it's cheap enough," Nadya explained to Shadrak.

Liam

"We are trying to avoid any possibly violent incidents resulting either from being recognized or from being mistaken for Fallen. Is everything all right?" Liam asked Lumi.

[Nanami Touko]

"Aw... Not yet, huh. I guess that makes sense." With the military where it was, having everyone split up, were something to go wrong... Well. Eva had only been thinking about her and Angelica during that, knowing they'd definitely be able to defend themselves, but having the rest of the group without their magic battery and a wyvern... Probably a bad idea.

At least her next destination had show up, and offered them a place to rest. Eva smiled. Stepping to the side a bit to not get in the way of Amon's talks with Daichi anymore, she stepped over to Hoshi, giving her a gentle nudge in the shoulder. "Hey, Hoshi, do you think you'd be able to tell me about Kigen? I got pretty lucky running into who I did, and it'd be best to know about the customs before I go any further." Before an answer could be given, she was hailed by Pete, to which... She didn't really want to answer. Her smile turned into a worried frown.

"Er, yeah... Bert did. No one else has gone off the docks, from what I've seen. But, he, uh... Best to get that information from Mr. Kazemi, the soldier, there."

[Snike]

"Okay, thanks," Pete said, frowning at the revelation that Bert had run off, despite the situation. And, from what it sounded like, he had already gotten into trouble with the Kigenese army. In other words, business as usual. Well, given they weren't being held at swordpoint yet, they might be able to recover.

"Sorry about our ally, Mr. Kazemi," he said, turning towards the veteran soldier. "He's a little testy at times."

As he said his piece, the Ursian man attempted to bow like Hoshi. That was the custom, right? Merz, he should've paid more attention to the etiquette training, back when he was starting out as a lieutenant

[Xinnidy]

Well, Eva's yelling was jarring, but it seemed to not distract Amon from giving an answer, thankfully. "Not leaving town soon, gotcha." And we'll still settle where to stay, better to postpone things then. Thales wasn't entirely sure what Pete tried to mean with not running off yet, but that was maybe a hint paranoia talking. He didn't think Thales was just going to drop out now that they hit Kigen, did he? Probably not, I'm thinking too hard.

Thales nodded as Amon walked toward Eva and the soldiers, deciding not to follow them. He wasn't really comfortable around soldiers... but maybe it'd be important to find out. Should he follow suit, or let them be? Standing awkwardly at the pier, he observed the men by Eva, one seemed to be the leader, or at least mediator in this situation, and apparently was able to speak Common. They were probably checking out what the group's purpose was, among other things. No, I guess... I guess I should go. It's not like anybody here would know or care.

Thales walked over slowly, not wanting to intrude in the conversation abruptly, and then another woman came over. Hoshi, he'd gathered, from what Haruhi told him, and supposedly they'd have a place to stay. That's good news. On top of that, the pegasus rider that joined them suddenly on the boat had ran off, into the town. Did he run off with his pegasus? At least... he'll be easy to spot if he did, provided he didn't straight up leave the city... Realizing he really had nothing important to add as he came over, Thales' body stiffened for a moment, feeling increasingly awkward, and gave a greeting bow following Peter, as he stood not too far behind the armored man.

[Mercakete]

So, they hadn't yet discussed how long they would be staying in Arugai. That was a little strange, but if their group was complicated, as Amon had indicated earlier, then perhaps that made sense. Maybe they had several merchants with conflicting business schedules or something, and they had to wait until they hit land to sort that out, or something similar.

Speaking of the group's consolidation and coordination, a woman approached. He'd seen her off closer to the Emi Maru before, but had mistaken her for a curious local. Now, he saw that she worked...as a part of this group, if not for Amon directly. She bowed to him first, though. Daichi gave the woman a polite nod in response. She talked to Amon about her employer -- so, she worked for someone else, but was at least allied with Amon and his group -- and mentioned that he had a...headquarters, here? Well, that certainly narrowed it down. "Headquarters" was pretty specific, after all. She certainly seemed like a native Kigenese woman. <I wonder who she works for.> A list of potential companies was already forming in his mind.

The man who had come off of the ship with Amon then asked Eva if anyone had left yet. Daichi winced a little at this, but mostly, his expression just turned a little forlorn. Eva responded to various people after that. First to Amon, wrapping up her conversation with him. Then, she physically indicated that she was done speaking with Amon, stepping away from the man in order to allow Daichi to speak with him more directly. After that, she began speaking to the Kigenese woman, whom she called "Hoshi." So, this was who she'd been talking about. Daichi smiled as he heard Eva ask the woman about Kigenese customs. So, she still intended on getting her lesson before heading into town after all. That was good. He wanted this group to have a good stay in his home country, after all. That, and it would be better for the locals, too, not to have to deal with "foreigner frustrations." It wouldn't have been the first time... Really, much of the trouble between visiting foreigners, and local businessmen could be easily avoided with a little humility and education. Well, that didn't look like it would be much of a problem if they had teachers right in their group to learn from.

After that, Eva answered the question of Amon's escort. Or at least, he looked like a personal bodyguard or something like that. He was covered in armor. Daichi frowned again at her answer, a little regret coming back into his expression. Also, Eva gave his name, at least in part. Did he really need to introduce himself, now? After a tiny bit of thought, he decided that yes, he still would. It was only courteous, after all.

Speaking of courtesy, the armored man who had accompanied Amon thanked Eva for her report and apologized for Norbert's actions, calling him "testy." <Ah, I'm sure I knew what that meant in the past...> Daichi thought, trying and failing to come up with a translation. Well, if this man was reiterating what Eva had already told him of his son's reputation, it probably meant he was excitable, or often frustrated. The man also bowed...a bit, er...femininely. And...yes, that was definitely a man, now that he saw him up close. The short one, with the long hair. He was bowing the same way as the armored man. Oh dear. Well, Hoshi could probably correct them on her own, but Daichi wondered if he shouldn't ease her job by giving some lessons to the men of the group while she handled the women. Given the depth, these two were truly apologetic for Norbert's actions. Did they think that their missing group member had done something offensive? It could have just been that they were copying Hoshi's bow from earlier, though... Yes, that was probably it, actually.

Deciding that saving his son from getting into more trouble than he had really earned took precedence (due to a fatherly impulse), Daichi addressed that first, while simultaneously trying to save these men from embarrassment. He held his hands palms out. "No, no need to apologize for him." Lowering his hands again, and resting one on his hip by his sword, Daichi's face grew sympathetic. "It is understandable. It must have been shocking to hear, after so many years... I do not blame him for reacting so strongly." Giving an apologetic smile, he added, "Please, do not blame Norbert for running away. It was my fault for being so careless."

Then, returning his attention to Amon, his expression and tone turned to something a little more official. "Mr. Amon, I apologize for making you wait for my introduction. As Eba-san" he gave the woman a nod, here "said, you may call me Mr. Kazemi, or, if you prefer," Daichi hesitated, here. Kigenese honorifics were very different from northern ones. They would have to learn a few of them at some point, but it was probably best not to overwhelm them as soon as they hit shore. There were various ones that applied to him, especially in a formal setting. Nodding to himself, he finished, "Kazemi-san. Though my full title is Kazemi Daichi, soldier 30th-year, and Hikibain."

Here, he bowed in greeting to Amon. "It is good to meet you, Mr. Amon." He gave Amon his happy, friendly smile, here. "And as I have told Eba-san, I am here simply because I am curious. It is not my assignment to investigate you, so please relax." His expression relaxed a little more. "She told me I could ask you about your view on what happened. Your ships came in with the Ursians and Neviskotians, and I wanted to know why. Eba-san already told me that there was a battle in Urquium between them, and that your ships, and theirs, sailed all the way to Arugai Minato together. Why do you think that is? It would have been safer to wait for them to pass, if they were already coming here. But that does not make sense, either..." Daichi's expression turned ponderous, here.