Return of the Emblem Chapter Fifteen: Alliance

[Phoenix]

Stories

A good story? That definitely sounded like Greta's territory. "I'll ..." Shadrak frowned, backing down a little, "let Greta handle that, then. As long as they know there's a respectable man at the top, they probably won't care who's actually selling them things." That really should have been enough, Shadrak mused.

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Hoshi was being awfully vague, but that was actually just fine. Amon knew what she was on about; Weyland, more specifically Weyland Enterprises, had a branch in this port. That was just what they needed, and about as close to a safe haven as they were likely to get for the time being. Amon smiled, managing something genuine despite his mood. "Great. We'll head there once everyone's ready, then."

Amon was glad he waited to bow until Daichi had. Something felt awkward about everything that happened up to that point, so seeing Daichi initiate it was reassuring, and Amon mimicked the maneuver as closely as he could. Daichi's full title was surprisingly informative. Amon didn't know what a 'hikibain' was, but a soldier in his thirtieth year was no joke, and quite impressive. "Just Amon's fine," Amon noted, "at least for me, it is."

With the introductions out of the way, Daichi went on to explain why he was here, and thank goodness it had nothing to do with an assignment, only natural curiosity. Since Eva had already given the man a seemingly vague outline of what had happened, Amon probably wouldn't have to do much more than confirm it, give some thoughts on why things wound up this way, and then hopefully move on to less turbulent waters. "Yeah, there was a battle," Amon began, not hiding his disappointment with that whole group of affairs, "We didn't actually come here as a group ... with the Ursians and Neviskotians, I mean. We just left at the same time they did. As far as I can tell, the Ursians are chasing back the 'skotians. We did get mixed up in that battle and had to defend ourselves," the sancturan admitted with a grimace, figuring that wasn't something he should hide knowing he could easily find out about it from the other two factions. Shaking his head and sighing, Amon continued. "We're trying to give them their space, and they've mostly done the same, but I don't know what they're up to, now. We're not here to make any trouble, though." No, far from it, Amon reminded himself. They were here to put a stop to a threat of unfathomable scale.

 

Edited August 22, 2017 by Phoenix

[Ether]

The man had left, presumably to rejoin the rest of his group as they departed the boat, leaving Haruhi to slump down against the crate she had used for cover, and begin berating herself, eliciting a sigh from Rin as she reached down and gently ruffled the young mage's hair.

"<You're far from the worst. As women, we don't exactly get our fair cut out in the men's world. You've gotta do what you've gotta do... with how much you already had him wrapped up, if you were anywhere near the worst you'd have robbed him blind and killed him by now.>" Rin noted, reaching down to Haruhi's shoulder and plucking the small mage up from the dock onto her feet.

"<Well, if you're going further inland, you should let me meet this teacher of yours, and whoever else I need to talk to so your companions don't try to attack me. And relax, he seems like a good kid, I don't think he'll hold a grudge.>"

***

Well, with Kazemi talking to Amon now, and Eva's question about going off into town answered, it seemed they were staying put for a while... it was slightly annoying that Eva was asking Hoshi about Kigenese customs after blatantly ignoring what Angelica herself had tried to tell her, but at least Hoshi would be able to give her good information... unlike many of the other options, Angelica snickering as both Thales and Pete gave an effeminate bow, copying Hoshi to try and display etiquette... nice try, boys.

"Well, that seems to be mostly settled for now, then."

***

Are gold chokers in season?

Dealing with Ra had certainly left Angelica... a lot to consider. He claimed to hold absolute power over her, but hadn't provided her with any 'burdens' aside from knowledge of that fact. He had even gone so far as to suggest he might even be impeding her progress for the sake of entertainment. Well, she wasn't going to get anything out of the Golden man by any means aside from forcing him to burden her at this juncture, which as a thought was entirely unappealing. So onto other things, it would seem. And luckily enough, an interesting other thing made itself apparent to her, that being their Emblem-guarding friend Joanna, alone in her meditation room. Alone... her guard dog... guard bird in this case, seemed to be off doing... something or other, and the mage recalled just the thing to give enough of a reason to speak with the Avian and try to pick her brain a bit.

"Oh, Joanna. Were you still doing those... what did you call it, Chrysalis lessons?"

Joanna looked up at the unexpected visitor, surprised by the inquiry itself more than anything. "You're interested in learning how to use chrysalis spells?" To her knowledge, the only light magic users in the group besides herself and Liam were Nadya and Jamilla. "I'm willing to teach anyone who wants to learn, but it will take a very long time if you don't have any experience with light magic to begin with," she warned.

"Not necessarily learn to use, so much as see if I'm able to... I have a bit of experience with light magic, but if nothing else, knowing the theory is useful. It's not every day that a new way to use magic is discovered out of the blue." Angelica replied, conjuring a small light on her finger and allowing it to flutter about for a moment before fading away... it wasn't much, but it was at least enough to prove she had some sort of base to work with.

Joanna smiled faintly. As long as Angelica had some footing in light magic, she should at least be able to pick up the basics in a reasonable time frame. "I'm pretty confident I can teach you, even if wind magic is what you're most familiar with." Come to think of it, wind magic was likely one of the more intuitive forms to start from, at least if her own reading on the techniques were true. Either way ...

"I want to explain something, though," Joanna continued, standing up from the floor, "The Goddess changed light magic. She changed it during the battle in Urquium so that the avians could begin training for what's coming. That's why chrysalis exists. If you're going to kill people, I implore you to use something else." She knew that might seem a bit odd, but she had no intention of handing out lethal weapons. The old ones were just fine for that purpose.

"Well, I've always viewed Light as a more utilitarian form of magic. I know it has a lot of destructive potential, but my mastery of it simply isn't high enough to toss Aureola around. If you're worried about me using chrysalis to kill, I wouldn't worry too much. The amount of shit I'd need to be in to even come to that sort of conclusion is... unlikely." Angelica replied with a light shrug. The Avian's insistence on non-violent methods was certainly resilient, though she wondered if it could last through their upcoming trials.

"That's ... good to know," Joanna said, deciding to move on now that she had some semblance of assurance to work with. "I won't say my way of training to use magic is the best, but Liam's making quick progress." Granted, it would have been strange if he wasn't, given his heritage, "and more importantly, it will save energy. You will need to cast occasionally, though ... just to make sure you're not stuck anywhere."

She walked the very short distance to the table that had the box the emblem used to be in, as well as a few other uninteresting items. Joanna picked up the box and returned to Angelica with it. "I'm practicing, too. I'm not actually a chrysalis master ... not a real one, anyway, but I know it well, as if I've always had it at my beck and call." Her body just had to catch up now, apparently. Joanna gently opened the box, having at some point unsealed it. Inside were six glass like containers, so thin and faint that they could easily be missed entirely if not for the light illuminating them from inside. Inside each of the polygonal cylinders was a small orb of light, some form of spell contained and preserved within. "See? These are from my progress checks."

A few notable things came from Joanna as she began to show off her progress so far... she didn't feel like a standard teacher, which despite knowing the art better than anyone due to preceding events, Angelica supposed was fair enough. The remnants of her earlier practice was also interesting, light units given a crystallized physical form was something that scholars hadn't believed physically possible, the best that the volatile things could achieve being an unstable plasma.

But the most interesting was the box she had kept them in. That was the box that had housed the Emblem, but if it wasn't anymore, where was...?

Angelica paused for a moment, her vision lingering on Joanna's new accessory, a golden choker... how suspicious.

"Well, that makes sense well enough. It's a completely new thing, even if knowledge was implanted within you, taking your body through the necessary motions takes time. It's the same reason why a mind mage can't implant their spell library into any apprentice with magical potential."

"Exactly," Joanna agreed, "I still have a long way to go, myself. For now though, I know I can help others along, too." That said, she should probably introduce Angelica to her new training regimen. "Well then," she began, closing the box while stepping back a couple of paces, "are you familiar with meditation, at all?"

"It's not something I've dabbled in much, but I know the basic theory. Empty the mind and allow the spirit to wander free of it's mortal chains, that sort of thing. It does seem like an odd way to learn magic, though." Angelica replied, cocking her head a bit at the suggestion.

"I guess it would take some getting used to," Joanna admitted, "but it's a good way to train, especially if you're learning something new. The fewer distractions the better, I think." She slowly sat back down on the floor, placing the box off to one side, and inviting Angelica to take the other. "Once your mind is calm, you can start practicing your casting without using much energy." There was much more to it than that, and it was merely the first of many exercises, but first things first.

"Well, I'll try anything once. Let's see how effective your method is." Angelica replied, sitting down next to Joanna, glancing over at the Avian... that necklace had to be it, didn't it? But if she brought it up too early, the cleric might just freeze up and not say anything at all...

"You'll need to be very patient," Joanna gently warned, "but I'm sure it will work." The avian took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it go. "Do a few of those to get ready, then close your eyes ..." Joanna's, of course, were already closed by that point.

"I wouldn't worry about that." Angelica replied, allowing her breaths to slow down and closing her eyes, taking only a moment to steady out into deep, measured breaths.

Joanna waited three minutes, almost to the second, before continuing with her instructions. "Now picture a perfectly flat square in your mind. Put it right in front of you. Focus on it. Reach out and feel it with your power. Don't move your hands or anything else. Handle it with your aura and nothing else ..."

Silently acknowledging Joanna's instructions, Angelica continued the exercise, envisioning a box as instructed... though it took a few attempts to stop it from materializing as a certain not quite so flat box, she soon had it smoothed out, and began to reach out to it with her aura.

"Now ... gently release it into the void." Joanna waited a few seconds, making sure her newest pupil had ample time to dispel the mental image, completely. "Now, again. Imagine a new square, four edges at equal distance, perfectly flat. Reach out and handle it just like before. Make sure it's perfect." The avian hoped the exercise wouldn't become too tedious for Angelica in the long run, but this was a necessary first step, and would require repetition nearly into the quadruple digits to help make the shape a natural and consistent one outside of quiet and peaceful exercise. There was also a second shape Joanna needed to add into the exercise, but not until the general pacing was set and her pupil knew more fully what to expect.

"You have to repeat this, again. Admittedly ... a lot. It's an exercise, the same as training your muscles. It's okay if you need to take a break every now and then, though. Just make sure you center yourself before starting."

Repetition, huh? Well, she was used to that much at least, and this exercise hadn't become difficult, at least not yet, so there wasn't any reason to throw a fit about it. Taking in Joanna's instructions, Angelica kept repeating this box production wordlessly.

While Angelica practiced, Joanna took a few minutes to do so, herself, though given how much further along she was, her shapes were more numerous and consisted of both squares and triangles. Liam soon returned and Joanna had him return to practicing, as well. As Joanna's only 'full time' student, Liam was almost as far along as she was, and would be able to put up some very effective barriers at this rate.

Liam raised an eyebrow at Angelica's presence, but decided not to remark on it as it might disrupt her concentration. He began envisioning and creating differently shaped barriers, starting with the simplest and working towards more complex shapes in a regimented fashion- the dimensions changing only slightly each time.

Ah, so she had put it off too long... Liam's return would make any inquiries about the Emblem more difficult, but it was too late to do anything about that now. She'd simply have to be more careful about it when the topic came up...

Neither of Joanna's seemed to require a break, even after another hour of practice, which was good. They could both progress more quickly with more time invested. Of course, Joanna herself had been at this all day, and actually could do with a short break.

"I'm going to step out for a few minutes, but I'll be close by." She could do with some water, come to think of it ... "Well, I'll be close by after I get myself a drink. No need to stop on my account, though."

If anything, this extended meditation was good for one thing, that being a foil to her more... distressing conversation earlier in the day. It seemed Joanna was to step out for a moment, but as her instruction wasn't truly active in any way at their current juncture, it didn't change much... actually, if she was stepping out... opening her eyes and moving properly for the first time in a short while, Angelica looked towards Joanna.

"In that case, I think I'll join you in getting a drink."

"Alright," Joanna agreed, wondering if Angelica was getting bored, was actually thirsty, or just had the sudden urge to do something else. Nothing seemed much more likely than anything else, so Joanna decided to wait and see, heading for the nearby door and opening it for Angelica.

Well, Joanna was agreeable enough, which was good. Standing up from her meditating position somewhat stiffly, Angelica followed after the Avian cleric, stepping through the door that had been held open, regarding her with a quiet thank you as she drew close.

For a moment, Joanna wondered if she was being thanked for holding the door or ... something else. Adhering still to her wait and see approach, she quietly shut the door behind them and slowly picked up her pace toward the staircase that led down to the lower deck and dining area. "So, are things going well for you, so far? I know there's a lot of repetition, but some things just can't be skipped ..."

"Well, I haven't made any tangible progress yet, but that's to be expected. Magic in itself is repetition, so I'm not overly bothered by it, and meditating doesn't bother me... it's better than other reasons to have to sit motionless and keep your breathing low." Angelica replied nonchalantly, figuring now was as good a time as any to breach the other subject.

"That's a nice necklace, by the way. I haven't seen it before... where'd you get it?"

Joanna had a couple of amusing short answers: Emperor Antares, and Ra, but she figured the former wouldn't make a lick of sense without explanation, and the latter wasn't as considerate as simply giving said explanation. "It's the Fire Emblem ... or Fire Choker, I suppose," she giggled. "Ra convinced me to keep it here in this form. I know it's dangerous, but," she shook her head at the thought of the emblem sitting back in the old box, "there's no use hiding anymore, not with what we're about to face."

"I wasn't expecting you to give me a straight answer, to be honest. Ra certainly gets around..." Angelica replied, trailing off for a moment as she subconsciously rubbed at her shoulder, stopping after a few moments.

"Be careful. He's rather dangerous on his own, even without giving you ideas."

Joanna wasn't particularly inclined to give a straight answer, admittedly, but withholding information like this from everyone as a precaution, while for the most part acceptable within altan teachings, wouldn't leave a good taste in her mouth. It most certainly wouldn't be a sign of strength on her part ... only warranted caution.

"Did something happen between you and Ra?" Joanna asked. Angelica's warning sounded like it was coming from experience.

"Something is... certainly one way to describe it." Angelica replied vaguely, her hand once again instinctively going to her shoulder as she answered.

Joanna winced, following Angelica's hand back to her shoulder. "Something physical?" Ra almost certainly had the capacity for violence, though it seemed odd that he might go after Angelica. It was also strange that if that was the case, there hadn't been a bigger commotion.

"Physical? No, I wish it was that simple. I had thought you might have been able to make sense of it with your connection to the Emblem, but if not, that's fine. It was a whim anyway." Angelica replied, shaking her head. Physically, she was no worse off for wear, and she didn't even feel different, but... that golden light was troubling, especially when, at this time, she had no idea in what capacity Ra would even attempt to use it.

Joanna frowned, realizing that whatever Ra had done to Angelica, she couldn't sense it. That meant figuring out what it was by reasoning alone would be difficult, or maybe even possible. "Did he hint at anything ...? I take it he didn't explain it outright ..." Presumably if he had, they wouldn't be having this conversation. Either that or the explanation didn't clear up anything.

"He pushed some strange golden light into my shoulder, and said that from now on, his words are, as he put it, my divine mandate. He hasn't actually told me to do anything yet, so I can't even know whether he's talking shit or not." Angelica replied with a scowl... it seemed that Joanna couldn't feel anything after all.

That sounded like an infusion to Joanna, but if that were the case, she should be able to sense something, anything of emblem origin from Angelica. It was troubling that Ra had indentured the mage, seemingly on a whim, but not very surprising given his authoritative personality and general handling of Amon. "Did he say anything else? Did he at least explain why he may give you orders?" While it wasn't surprising, it was still strange.

"He did it to help me unlock my potential... possibly. He also said I may have already been close to doing so on my own and that he was to hinder me as a method of amusement... I wouldn't be surprised if that was true. To deny what it is that I would wish for." Angelica replied, shaking her head slightly.

"I wasn't sure if you would know anything or not, but you seemed the most likely. Amon is out of the question for obvious reasons... Ra would prevent him from saying anything he didn't want me to hear, even if Amon himself was aware of the answer."

"So he was serious, then," Joanna mused aloud, remembering Ra's goal of helping to cleanse the group of weakness. "Dead serious ... well this is starting to make sense, except for your shoulder. That I don't understand, but he did say he was going to address the group's weaknesses. That's why he wants me to wear this," she said, indicating the emblem piece around her neck.

"Well, it was worth a shot. I suppose all that's left for now is to actually get some water." Angelica replied, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"At the very least, if I do anything odd, it's probably Ra's doing."

"Really?" Joanna asked, her eyebrows jumping at Angelica's warning, "You're going to obey him?" She could at least agree on getting that drink, though she was still surprised.

"He said no disobedience would be tolerated... if you can't sense... whatever it is that he did, then I won't know whether I'm going to listen to him until I know what's going to happen if I try not to." Angelica replied with a further shrug.

"It's just a precaution, is all. I don't know enough about his power to know what will happen."

"Whatever he's capable of," Joanna noted, "is powered by the emblem." There had to be limits to what Ra could do, but he was awfully good at disguising those limits. "I'm not sure why he would use you for his own amusement, or even what he finds entertaining, but please be careful."

"I always am... not enough the first time it seemed, but I'll manage, somehow."

[scorri]

"Hmm? Oh, Eva, yes what did you..." Hoshi trailed off, turning slightly pale as the man revealed himself as one of the emperor's Hikibain. And she had barely acknowledged him. Still, he didn't seem upset. Well of course. He was more interested in what Amon was saying. She was lucky. But in the future, if she saw him, she would need to make sure to treat him with more respect. Right, Eva. "Err, right. What did you want to know about exactly?" Looking over at the men discussing the situation, she gestured to a spot slightly further away but still close enough that Amon wouldn't worry about them. "Perhaps we can talk about it, uhm, over there?" Anything to distance herself a bit from the Hikibain.

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

"All right? I..." Lumi hesitated. She barely knew the avians. On the other hand... she barely knew the avians. Out of everyone in their group, they might be the least biased about her personally staying or going. And they were peaceful... It's not like they would judge her for leaving a battle. Right? "Not... not exactly. I... was horrified and terrified by everything that happened back when we first were reaching the ships. That magic... I... expressed these fears to Pete. He and I had been traveling together for so long, I thought he could help. And... he told me I should leave. He's trying to protect me I know but I can't... Everything he said made so much sense. I don't want to be a burden on everyone. So I'm going to ask the captain if I can stay on board until she returns to Ursium. That's all."

[Mercakete]

This man was fine just being referred to as "Amon," then. Well, he'd oblige him. Regarding the Ursians' interaction with the Neviskotians, though... That was strange. Why were the Neviskotians retreating to Kigen instead of to their home country? That wasn't the sort of question to ask Amon and his people, though. Really, it sounded like they had just been herded along by the battle. It could have very well been that they had been fleeing to Kigen in the hopes of getting away from it, while the Ursians and Neviskotians continued their unexpected course to Arugai.

"I see. Did your ships leave Urquium, too, or did you set out from somewhere else?" Daichi asked.

[Snike]

As soon as Mr. Kazemi, or Kazemi-san, as he referred to himself, went ahead and bowed, Pete realized his mistake. Merz, he really should've paid more attention. But, at this point in time, it was too late to correct it. So, as a result, the armored man hid his embarassment behind the frown he had on earlier, and avoided eye contact as Amon and the Hikibain discussed the naval battle. Not that he had much to add, so much as to wonder about what was going on.

The Kigenese man's title, Hikibain, must have been somewhat important, given that he had a group of soldiers under his command, and Hoshi had stopped mid-sentence upon hearing the word. But then why was he hanging around here, if he was such a big shot? And why was he interested in Bert? Something didn't add up.

[Xinnidy]

Hmm, that man, who'd introduced himself as Mr. Kazemi, performed a slightly different bow. Perhaps that was different because of his standing? Thales would have to ask Haruhi later. On the other hand, the man himself acted fairly friendly with the group, and his demeanor quickly made Thales relax. "We should find Norbert sooner or later, anyways. He is still part of the group." It was weird to reassure a team mentality when he himself was so new to them, but Thales figured those who came had a stake they placed on this mission to stop the fallen. Norbert seemed passionate enough, as well. The mention of something that was shocking for Norbert to hear did pique Thales' curiosity, but the man did not expand on that.

Thales knew Kazemi's title was something big, aware enough of military titles to infer thirty years of service with a unique sounding title and a posse of his own meant he was likely a big shot here. It'd be good to stay in his good side, Thales made a mental note. When Kazemi asked whether they also came from Urquium or no, Thales instinctively nodded, but left the speaking for Amon, lest he mess up something the nomad intended to say.

Also, it'd just be rude to interrupt him.

[Mercakete]

He didn't want to halt Amon before he even answered his question, but he saw the short man nod anyway. And besides that, he'd mentioned going after Norbert. Daichi frowned at the short man, but not in a hostile, or otherwise angry way. "Ah, excuse me, Amon, but I should probably clarify this."

Then, to those gathered on the whole, he humbly addressed the issue of the wayward pegasus rider. "I am sorry to be the cause of such confusion. I also do not presume to give orders to any of you, as it is not my place. However, I do wonder if letting Norbert return on his own would not be a better course of action, unless one of you is capable of helping him through this confusing time." Sympathy and regret again became the predominant emotions on Daichi's face. "The last time I saw him, he had not yet been born. And his mother died before she could tell anyone that his father waits in Kigen, so he never knew about me. But we have only just met, and it is all such a shock for him to meet me so suddenly."

[Nanami Touko]

Hoshi paused... And went pale? What did that mean? Was something wrong? Eva stared at her before the woman clued back into reality, offering to talk about things a bit away from the discussions. That was fine, but... "Is he someone really important? Or, does that... Hibiki whatever title matter a bunch? I might've said some pretty stupid stuff if it does... Nothing about the group! Just... About myself. Ahhahaha..." Eva took a step, ready to follow Hoshi, but she kept realizing just how lucky she really was that this man was so well tempered...

---

"<It's not about him, Rin... H-Hey... Geez.>" she stood up as Rin lifted her, sighing. "<I said some stupid things to that woman he was talking about... Lumi. All because I was mad at myself, and letting it out on her... Just... I'm stupid. That's all there is to it. I should probably apologize to her, but she doesn't even speak Kigenese. Why does Common have to be so stifling...>"

At least Rin was taking going with her seriously. Haruhi was about to lead her back onto the ship, when she spotted said teacher, talking to... She had no clue who that person was, some tall... Lady? She had the legs for it... "<That's her. The short one with the black hair. Talking to the tall foreigner... I don't really want to interrupt, but if you're set on getting this done now, go ahead and walk over. Hoshi seemed really nice when I spoke to her... I can't imagine she'd be bothered by you. No attacking.>"

[Ether]

Wandering closer to the gathering in time to catch the conversation easily enough, Angelica decided to interject after a few moments.

"A Hikibain is a designated slayer of Fallen and demons. It short, it means the Kigenese military felt it fit to label Kazemi-san as a certified badass, and he has some notches on his belt." Angelica noted, since Eva made it clear she didn't know what the title meant... which was obvious enough, but some of the others seemed a bit confused as well, so may as well clear things up.

***

"<As long as I go over with you it should be fine, right...?>" Rin replied, before looking more closely over at the gathering, and picking out a few annoying details.

"<On second thought, I don't want to deal with a military dog right now. You see them too, right? Leader looks like a big shot.>"

Edited August 22, 2017 by Ether

[Mercakete]

The conversation veered towards his status as a Hikibain after that, though none of the discussion was directed at him, specifically. And while he didn't understand all of the words and phrases used, the explanation sounded...incomplete. It made sense that the foreigners wouldn't understand much about the Hikiba.

"A Hikibain, specifically, is a member of the Hikiba," Daichi elaborated, "We are a special group in service to the emperor, and answer directly to him. You are right, Miss Angelica, that we specialize in slaying demons, but it is more complicated than that." His expression grew very serious. "It is a very dangerous job. In order to even qualify, one must be able to kill one of the Fallen without assistance. We have more strict requirements than most soldiers, in both loyalty and in fighting capability. Much honor comes as a result, and I am proud to have earned such a position, but what matters more to me is that I can use my full ability to protect my people."

He had pulled somewhat into his personal thoughts, there, for a moment, Daichi realized. Focusing more on the group again, he offered them another apologetic smile. "But, yes, we are called to battle to deal with the more troublesome demons." His expression relaxed again. "Most of us can be found around Kigen, or near the south, where most of the fighting is. It may seem strange to you that I am so far north, knowing our role, but this part of Kigen is my regular post. I am assigned here: to the northern border, in order to ensure we are not taken by surprise from this side." A frown came to his face. "Unfortunately, there was a recent sighting of demons to the west. They destroyed an entire mercenary company, leaving only one, known survivor. The demons, who were led by a prominent Fallen known as <The White Devil>, escaped. I am currently coordinating with a general from Kayoyama to search for them and to make the north safe again."

Daichi gave those gathered a reassuring smile. "But you do not need to be afraid to travel. We have not seen demons in the north since that time, and we are working hard to ensure this region is safe."

[scorri]

"It... it's like they said. He is in a very respected position and he deserved more honor than the bow I gave him conveyed. Had I seen his tattoo I would have known but..." Hoshi was clearly flustered and quickly bowed more deeply to Daichi, barely listening to the rest of what he had been saying. But when the important of what he said hit her, she glanced over at Amon. "Demons..." They could be guarding the location of the gate... Hopefully Amon will know the right questions to ask. I do not believe the Hikiba will easily involve foreigners in their fight, especially not with the number of women we have but...

She took a deep breath and turned and smiled at Eva. "Right, sorry." Walking in the direction she had indicated earlier, she took a few more deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I am sorry, I, uhm... It is not easy for me to be back here. And especially for our group to have been greeted by someone like him... Still. Tell me what you wish to know, and I will help you as best I can."

[Mercakete]

Daichi gave Hoshi a sympathetic smile. She'd been in quite the rush to get away from him, it seemed. He felt a bit bad for making her so uncomfortable, but it was a difficult thing to help, especially when explaining the situation to foreigners. He was proud of his station, yes, but he also often preferred not to talk about himself like that. Just because he had attained such a high status didn't mean that he was arrogant. He preferred a more tranquil environment than the attention that came with the station usually garnered. <I will have to reassure her later. Right now, she has a friend to take care of.>

At least he could clarify the situation to her fellow group members. A little embarrassedly, Daichi set about that task. "Ah, it's true that I have earned and inherited much honor for myself and for my family, but you do not need to be uncomfortable around me. We are speaking informally, are we not? So please relax. I did not mean to cause distress."

It also occurred to him that Hoshi's mentioning of his mark may have been confusing. So, raising his left arm, he pointed to the kanji tattooed on its back. "This is the mark of the Hikibain, by the way. If you see someone with this, then that means he is a member of the Hikiba. It is illegal for anyone outside of the Hikibain to bear this mark, so you can be certain of who you are speaking with." Daichi lowered his arm again. "I am being informal, but it is true that if you meet someone with the mark, then you should show him respect."

[Xinnidy]

"Ah? So you're his..." What Kazemi implied was... surprising. Thales didn't know much about Norbert, but his father being someone important in Kigen would doubtly be a gamechanger... not that Norbert seemed to know, from Kazemi's wording. I... yeah, it probably came as a shock, then? Maybe it's not smart to go after him right away. Norbert was likely busy sorting out his feelings. Hopefully for the better.

Thales' eyes shone as he learned the role of the Hikibain from Angelica, and then had it expanded on by Kazemi himself. "I see..." That allowed a ridiculous opportunity for them, if they could get on this man's side somehow. Or even if he just pointed us to a willing Hikibain... It was unlikely, but Thales needed something to latch onto. "Are you the only one in the north?" It was perhaps sensitive information, but in that case he could shut down the question politely. Kazemi seemed like a nice enough guy.

[Mercakete]

Daichi nodded at the short man's question regarding the Hikibain's locations. "As far as I am aware, yes. If any of the others were sent up here, or if any of them came here for their own reasons, I was not informed. The last report I received specifically said that I was the only one in the north, which was not a surprise. Very few incidences of demon attacks are ever reported in the north, so one is usually enough, and this is my usual post. Everyone else is probably somewhere in central or southern Kigen."

[Nanami Touko]

All of this explaining was luckily not going over Eva's head. The long and short of things was that Daichi was an incredibly important person, working directly for the emperor... Who was like, Kigen's ruler, or something? And he hunted demons and fallen. Wow... I... Wow. "Hoshi, you really don't know how lucky I am that I ran into as nice a Hikibain as I did... If he wasn't as tolerant as he is, we'd probably be in a fight, right now." Eva mentioned her little mistake as they walked away, glad to know now to jump at that the deeper they got into Kigen.

"Uh... That's fine. I get that. I think... So, Mr. Kazemi explained some. Like, the people here aren't into public displays of affection; no kissing, no hand holding... And I said I'd ask you about any more cultural stuff I should know as we go along. I figure you're the best person to ask about it... Being Kigenese." Angelica seemed to know some of it as well, but what better than to get rules from the source?

"So if that's alright, is there anything else I should know other than to keep what's going on between me and Angelica quiet?"

---

"<It should be fine... Oh, come on, Rin. She's walking about from them, and they seem engaged with that blonde guy. As long as you don't do anything ridiculous, we won't draw attention, right?>" Haruhi decided to head over to Hoshi, with or without her friend, poking her head into the conversation. She didn't get a lick of what the tall woman was saying, her Common not only solid, but accented. That was a lost cause. <Looks like it's another round of someone translating for me... Hopefully it isn't necessary.>

"<Teacher... Er, when you're done with this... Woman...>" She was certain that the tall one was a woman, her voice was too feminine to mistake... Right? <Foreigners...> "<Do you mind if I have a word? I have someone I need to introduce.>"

[Ether]

"Basically, Hoshi." Angelica began, following along after Eva and the aforementioned Kigenese woman before she began to speak.

"Eva here managed to miss all of my hints not to, and told our Hikibain friend in plain common about our relationship. If we hadn't met the most lenient... and partially out of touch member of the entire organization, we'd likely be in the middle of a fight with the local militia. Just... show her the ropes, since she doesn't want to take my advice on the place of women in Kigen." Angelica concluded with a sigh and a shrug, as Haruhi came over to Hoshi as well, with an unknown woman in tow.

***

Well, at least this Hoshi had broken off from the Hikibain... it seemed she was in the middle of talking to some foreigners, so Rin opted to hang back a bit until addressed directly, standing a small ways behind Haruhi with a relaxed stance.

[scorri]

"Ah... ah? Wha?" Hoshi stared at Eva, then over at Haruhi and her friend and then back at Eva and Angelica. "Wha... Why would you.... <Yes of course I can...> Why would she?" Hoshi stopped talking, staring at the ground for a few long seconds. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at Haruhi. <"I will be with you and your friend in... a bit. This may take a while. She revealed that she was... involved with Angelica to the Hikibain. Everything is fine, but she needs some things explained.">

Turning back to Eva, she gave a small terse smile and started speaking quietly and rapidly. "So. Yes, uhm, revealing that you are in a relationship with another woman was a bad idea. Even to just a normal person, much less a higher official or soldier." Letting out a small exasperated breath, she rubbed her forehead, thinking for a few seconds before continuing on. "You need to understand... Women here... We are not worth as much as men. We are simply servants to be used for whatever a man needs. Do not speak out against a man. Do not try and speak over or question a man... We are here to accomplish something... And... and if one of us were to insult the wrong person, we could be treated as ignorant foreigners and the warning that needs to be given could be ignored. And... And there's enough of a risk for that already. Uhm... Interacting with people in this group should be ok... But just... be careful. And... try to let the men of the group handle most things..." She was regressing. She felt her gaze being drawn back to the ground, the urge to fold in on herself and try to make herself invisible growing. Just even thinking about all the rules that dictated how women should behave here was returning her to the child that she had once been, growing up scared and useless.

[Nanami Touko]

"Angelica, you know I don't do hints in Common well. If it was so important, you could've just been blatant in Neviskotian... And I remember the conversation quite well. You didn't. You did bark something about being second class citizens, though..." And now she was getting looked at by Hoshi like she'd done the stupidest thing possible. "It wasn't like I was parading her around, I just introduced her as my girlfriend. She is. I shouldn't have to be ashamed of that..." Apparently Kigen thought otherwise.

Haruhi wasn't quite sure what to make of the conversation still, but Hoshi seemed really bothered. Wait, what? Involved? Haruhi didn't know the taller woman, but she looked at Angelica with a really confused half-glare. That wasn't right. Two women? That... What? "<Uh... Alright. Have fun explaining things to the weirdos...>" She stepped back and folded her arms, not quite sure what to make of either of them now. Angelica had seemed really intimidating, but now... It was pretty stupid of this group to bring two crazy women into Kigen.

"Yeah, he explained that. Public affection is bad and all, don't go telling anyone, what..." Eva had tried to interrupt when she got the same sort of thing from Hoshi, but the explanation went deeper than that, and not in a way that made her any bit happy. "Wh-What're you talking about? Servants? What?" That... That was crazy! Absolutely crazy. How could anyone even think that? "Whoa, slow down. Mr. Kazemi was nothing but polite to me. I talked to him about Norbert, we shook hands, he even bowed to me several times. You're really gonna tell me he's just some strange outlier? That everyone else here is going to look down on me like I'm half their worth... Just because I'm a woman? You, too? What the fuck?"

Eva felt her hands tightening into fists, shaking her head and trying to calm down. "Okay. Just... Hoof. Someone's going to have to keep me on a leash, because if anyone steps up to me and tries something like that... It isn't going to be pretty. Just... Wow, I'm mad. Hoo, boy..."

Edited August 24, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"I was trying to stop him from being suspicious... and yes, Eva. Kazemi is a massive outlier, that was why I was trying to stop you... that's just how things are, here." Angelica replied with a sigh as reality sunk into Eva's head, and the Neviskotian rider grew angry.

"And if you cause a scene, you'll not only ruin our chances of being taken seriously, you could get us all killed. So for once, you're going to have to swallow your pride, or I'll have to take you up on that leash... as long as you let Amon and the others do the talking, it should be fine... most high ranking Kigenese officials won't care enough to bother talking to you to insult you." Angelica continued, shaking her head, not really caring about Haruhi's worsened perception of her... the young mage didn't seem to hold her in high regard anyway. Though the other issue was that Hoshi was quickly growing timid whilst explaining things... that wasn't good. Reaching over and squeezing her shoulder to try and snap her her out of it, Angelica gave what comfort she could.

"Keep your head up, Hoshi. It can't be easy coming back here, but we've got stuff to do. And we need you at your best. Eva's not the only one who doesn't know how things are around here, judging by the guys copying your bow."

[scorri]

"Eva it's... It's not quite that bad... We... we have men in the group. We will be considered to be... protected by them. Uhm... People can't just order you around but... But you need to be careful. Especially around higher ranked people like Angelica said..." Speaking of, Angelica was squeezing her shoulder now, which was only making things more uncomfortable. Shrinking out of that hold, she took a small step back and tried to continue.

"It's... No. Not easy. Uhm... I was... Right. Eva you just need to be careful. Try and stay quieter. It... it helps you don't speak Kigenese. Maybe try and speak more in Neveskotian if you're getting frustrated... But even that has risks. Especially if you sound angry... Just... Just let the men do the talking for the most part. Ok?" She tried, and mostly failed, to smile at the wyvern rider, hoping that she would maybe calm down slightly.

Edited August 24, 2017 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

"<Then you'd better find a strong leash because I'm losing all that good mood I had earlier. How does a place get like that? Doesn't Kigen have enough problems with the Fallen on their doorstep that they can seriously hold onto this sort of... ridiculously outdated culture? Isn't it just going to make life harder with the stress of what's just beyond the border? I don't... Fuck.>" It made no sense to Eva, who was just winding herself up, uttering a groan and shaking her head again.

"Well, thanks... I guess. Better to find out now than to just have it happen and get us all into trouble without knowing. It's still stupid. Like... Incredibly stupid. How backwards do people have to be?" The only thing that would make this worse for Eva would be if someone tried to justify it to her. She seriously hoped no one ever did.

Haruhi watched the taller woman get increasingly upset. What were they talking about? Well, whatever it was, it didn't matter... Probably. "<Uh, teacher, if you're done with the crazy woman, I have someone I have to introduce. Is that alright?>" She looked over her shoulder at Rin behind her, wondering what she thought of the whole conversation... Did she understand Common, actually? Haruhi hadn't thought to ask since there had never been a need for it, in their travels.

[Phoenix]

Little Opportunities

Lumi was staying behind? The pegasus rider had been curious about the avians still being on the ship, and likewise, Joanna was curious about Lumi's situation. She certainly didn't look like she was at peace with her decision to remain. Since they were heading in the same direction no matter what at this point, Joanna decided to try and see what was going on while addressing Lumi's questions, both the standing and retracted one. "We're going to see the Captain ... essentially," Joanna nearly shrugged at her own statement, "I think she's down in the hold, but we won't know until we get there. If you'd like to come with us, that's perfectly alright with me. I am curious, though; Liam and I are only staying behind to speak with the inspectors and put down any suspicion of us being fallen in advance. Why are you staying, if you don't mind me asking?"

Big Opportunities

Amon had hoped to find a good point to interject about Urquium, the port they'd set sail from, but he'd forgotten about the question that prompted that information in light of something more interesting and arguably more important. If this man, Daichi Kazemi, was Norbert's father, then where the hell was Norbert? Where had he run off to at a time like this? "Ugh, not right now," Amon groaned. Hopefully he would come back before they cleared the away from the docks.

It wasn't long before Daichi explained his role and the role of the other Hikibain in greater detail. He also retreaded some old information Amon soon recognized as Weyland's fallen capturing shenanigans. Amon recognized it because he had been there and seen the fallen and their demons, firsthand. With Siv back in their hands, there likely wasn't any reason to expect demon activity in the north. Then again, that was one potential location for the siege gate they were looking for. On the other hand, if there was no activity in the region whatsoever, it could also mean the siege gate was elsewhere. Amon made a mental note to get a hold of a map as soon as possible and start trying to pick some good regions to investigate. In the meantime ...

"Kazemi-san," Amon winced, not sure he really wanted to insert another unexpected meeting into their busy schedule, but fearing there was little sense in not grasping the olive branch they just received, "would it be possible to speak with you in private at some point today?" He had to leave them a little legroom to get their feet on the ground, at least. As long as Weyland Enterprises was safe enough, they could at least gather themselves, come up with a plan of action for getting the Kigenese on their side, and then get to work. "We needed to get in touch with someone who had the Emperor's ear, and a Hikibain seems like our best option, right now. I promise it's not a waste of your time, but we really shouldn't talk about it out in the open, either."

Edited August 24, 2017 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Well, that was surprising. This caravan needed to convey something to the emperor himself? That was such an odd, large, and sudden request, that at first, Daichi was just trying to figure out if he'd heard that right...or translated it right. The request itself would have been easy to answer otherwise.

Fixing Amon with an extremely puzzled look, Daichi carefully responded, "I...can possibly meet with you again, today... The Ursians' and the Neviskotians' battle may result in other meetings for me, as well, but...what is it that you need the emperor to hear? Are you not a convoy of mercenaries and merchants?"

[Phoenix]

A Big Problem

"We're ..." how best to put this? "We do have merchants with us, and some in the group are mercenaries, but we're not here just for trade and money. I can't get into the details yet, but we're here to help the Kigenese solve a ... really big problem, hopefully before it 'manifests.'" Ra certainly liked to use that word, and it was apt here, Amon bitterly noted.

[Mercakete]

Well, that was interesting. It seemed like this group had more to it than it seemed. Daichi wondered if the mercenaries and merchants were at least partially around to disguise them. Hiding in plain sight, with an unspoken half-truth... Let people assume what they would. And, thinking back to his earlier suspicions, was it really a coincidence that the Ursians and the Neviskotians were fighting so close to them for so long? There wasn't much use in questioning them again about that. He'd just seek out the Ursians' and the Neviskotians' prospectives on what happened between Urquium and Arugai between now and this upcoming meeting with Amon's group.

For now, though, this sounded important. What problem could this southerner have been referring to? And if they had a message for Emperor Yamato, who was the message from? Just what intelligence did they have that Daichi's own people didn't? Whatever it was, it was undoubtedly a sensitive matter.

"Ensuring my people's safety is my purpose," Daichi slowly replied, carefully considering and reanalyzing Amon's words. Then, focusing a scrutinizing gaze squarely on Amon, Daichi asked, "Where would you want to meet?"