Trials and Travels (Semi-lit)

[Silver_Voices]

Promise looked up at the moon as Tractus talked about it's mythology. She was never interested in the as much as she thought she should have. It shed light on the night though she never gave it much thought. It guided her during the night in her many travelings. She gazed at the moon and sighed. "It is lovely. I think it's beautiful." The moonlight spilled over the whole city, and the cold only made the night even more enjoyable. "It makes everything it touches beautiful."

[gistofeverything]

"It makes everything it touches beautiful." Tractus looked at her, and didn't see Promise at all. He saw a goddess who was sitting there in her place. His breath went away from him. He was starting to get nervous again... He could care less now, though. "Promise," Tractus said, in a deep, dark voice, "you don't need the moon to make you beautiful. You are already a goddess." Tractus was slowly losing control of himself as the moon guided its influence over him... Edited April 21, 2012 by gistofeverything

[Silver_Voices]

A goddess? She couldn't imagine anyone seeing her as an immortal figure. "No... I don't think so. I'm far from it." Promise turned to look at Tractus. The silver light masked his face with a shadow. Tall and lean, he was like an unmovable pillar. She thought she might be... dare she think... attracted to him? Like a moth to a light. But would the light burn?

[gistofeverything]

"No... I don't think so. I'm far from it." Tractus saw Promise look towards him. He couldn't tell what emotion was in her eyes. She had passed his tests... Was she the one he needed to continue? He was not sure. He produced a small circlet from his pocket and showed it to her, smiling. "Promise, this is a circlet that will symbolize our friendship, and our bond as such. This will keep you safe as long as you think of me. Will you continue with this, Promise Serae?" A silvery aura much like moonlight started to surround him as he spoke...

[Silver_Voices]

Promise paused as she saw Tractus pull out a circlet. Was this... She didn't understand what was going on. He offered it to her, speaking words with a hidden meaning.

"Promise, this is a circlet that will symbolize our friendship, and our bond as such. This will keep you safe as long as you think of me. Will you continue with this, Promise Serae?"

Promise looked up to his face as he spoke her name. A glow seemed to come from Tractus himself. Her eyes lit up, illuminated by the aura and brought light to her confused expression. "I'm not sure I understand... Tractus. What are you asking me to do?"

[gistofeverything]

"I'm not sure I understand... Tractus. What are you asking me to do?" Tractus smiled widely. "Simply put, Promise, I'm asking you if you wish to love me in return. This circlet will signify our bond and relationship. When you take this circlet, you will be accepting these terms. Will you love me as I love you, Promise Serae?"

[Silver_Voices]

Promise took a ragged breath, obviously conflicted. She stared at the circlet, a million different thoughts running through her head. She didn't know if she could love him the way he loved her, but... for his sake she'd certainly try. But... He didn't know anything about her. He didn't know her secrets. She bit her lip and looked away, not able to face this person who was offering their love to her. "You don't know who you're asking..." She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her tears not to spill over. "You don't know what I've done." She made a fist over where her ice burg mark was and felt her frantic heartbeat. "My heart... Is cold, and hard. Like ice. I don't think you'd be happy with me."

[gistofeverything]

"My heart... Is cold, and hard. Like ice. I don't think you'd be happy with me." Tractus shook his head. "Promise. This is why I put you through my Tests of Acceptance. If you knew what my life was like, Promise, you wouldn't be saying these things..." A tear fell from Tractus' eye, and his his hair shifted so that his mark of stars was visible. "Promise. I think that you are the one person who will truly understand me for who I really am. I thought Luna was, but it was all lies... Promise. I love you. Unconditionally. From the bottom of my heart. Do you understand that?" Tears now flowed from his eyes. "Do you feel the same?"

[Nasa13]

The night was always beautiful before the sunrise. Eirikr sat of a rocky out cropping, a bundle of black and red cloth in his lap. His left glove was off as he poked and pulled a needle through the cloth. It was a project that meant much to him. As he worked Eirikr kicked his legs and whistled a traveling tune. There was also another reason to sit and work; he didn't want to wake the old farmer up before morning.

 

After finally tying off the thread Eirikr held the cloth out in front of him. It was rectangular, resembling a flag with a thick red stripe down it's middle. Satisfied with his work Eirikr carefully rolled it up and slid it into a side pocket on his pack. With any luck Yuaki would prove to be trustworthy and not tell the others of his escape.

Edited April 23, 2012 by Nasa13

[gistofeverything]

resembling a fag with a thick red stripe down it's middle.

((/flag/))

Edited April 22, 2012 by gistofeverything

[Silver_Voices]

((LOL, Nasa, Gist! ))

Promise looked up briefly at Tractus, spotting the mark of stars on the side of his face. She let out a small cry before biting down on her tongue, then took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "You... love me? Unconditionally?" She put a hand over his, ice cold and trembling. "No matter what I've done? No matter who... or what... I am?" She reached over with her other hand and cupped his in hers, gazing at the ring. She paused, then looked up at his face, her own tears gleamed int he moonlight, dripping down the side of her face. They reached just past her mouth the froze in place. "I don't feel the same now, Tractus," she halted mid-sentence to control her voice. "But I feel as though I could if I had time..." She tightened her hold on his hand, an imploring expression on her face and silently praying he would understand.

 

((Must... Edit... Color!))

Edited April 22, 2012 by Silver_Voices

[gistofeverything]

"I don't feel the same now, Tractus, but I feel as though I could if I had time..." Promise had taken his hand, and started to gaze at Tractus with an imploring expression. Tears flowed down her face, as well. Tractus nodded, and let his pent emotions dissipate into the night. "Here, then. I can wait - we will get to kow each other better, and, in time, you might develop feelings for me as I have for you..." Tractus let out a small sob and smiled at her, placing the circlet onto her ring finger. "Let this circlet show our bond as friends, as comrades, and our differentiating feelings. I call on the Goddess as my witness. Promise Serae, I declare my eternal, unconditional love to you. Even if you do not ever feel the same." Tractus kissed her hand, and looked into her eyes, dripping tears onto her hand.

[Silver_Voices]

Promise nodded, her bottom lip trembling. She managed a smile as he placed the ring on her finger. "I'll keep it always." It reflected the moonlight and looked like sterling silver, though she couldn't tell exactly what it was made of. Her cold hand trembled in Tractus' grasp, and his warm exhale tickled her skin. She put her other hand under his chin and lifted his face so it was on the same level as her own. She paused for a moment, gazing into his eyes. He seemed so sad, so alone... Was there no one in the world for him? Was she truly the only one? She stroked his cheek with a thumb, still lost in though but also lost in his eyes. What could she do for him? She didn't love him... But maybe with time, she might.

 

She leaned forward, leaving only a small space between them. She looked down, almost shyly, then back up. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek then shifted to lean against him. She tilted her head against his shoulder and gazed up at the moon, her eyelids starting to droop. "It really is beautiful..." She made no effort to resist her body giving in to the stress of the day, shutting down bit by bit. Her eyes shut completely, and she drifted off to sleep.

[gistofeverything]

Tractus felt Promise lean against him. "I'll keep it always." Tractus watched her gaze at it, and then, unexpectedly, Promise leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. His skin was now a flaming red - he was very embarassed! "It really is beautiful..." She leaned her head against his shoulder, and gazed up at the beautiful moon. Within minutes, she fell into a deep sleep - she must have dome some hard work today... Tractus stroked her hair as he gazed at the moon, wondering what this might turn into, and he thought about Isa and Aketsu and their company. Would they be startled about this sudden change in Tractus? What about Luna? What would she think...? Tractus closed his eyes, and fell into a dark, dreamless sleep, ever wondering what could, and might would, happen.

[LoveLost]

TIMESKIP

Noe had listened to all that Kai had said feeling energized with each word. To be honest, she still did blame herself, but with him telling her that she was alright, how else could she not be? Noe cawed loudly against the day and flew up above the clouds. it wold take time for them to get there and as long as they were safe, Noe would be fine.

 

Her wings flapped strong and hard against the wind as the night soon came. she could feel Kai fall asleep on her back and knew that he was exhausted. As she flew through the clouds and into the night sky, she glanced back to see his arm. it was truly stunning to her because she knew him before he had his arm, and even now. There would probably be a transition time, but for now, the mission had to be concentrated on; Kai wouldn't want it any other way.

 

As the sun just barely started to make the sky blush, Noe landed outside of Cumulus as gently as she could. It was hard considering that this was only the second time she had truly landed. Once she was sure that no one had seen them land, she gently leaned Kai up against a tree even though she was sure that he was probably already awake. To shift, she walked behind the tree and quickly transformed into her human form. She looked exceptionally pale, but knew that that was because of how hungry she was. To keep herself from passing out, she nommed on a piece of jerky as she pulled some clothes that she had grabbed, on. Unfortunately, those clothes were Isa's.

 

Instead of a skirt, Noe walked out from behind the tree with brown leather pants that could be tucked into her nice boots. The shirt was one that looked, well, she cut it in a few places to make it look like the gypsy griffin clothing. She had to tie up her hair and wondered if Kai could make some sort of earth thingy to hold her hair up, but in a black color. She didn't try to take out the beads or decorations of feathers and beads in her hair because she knew that she couldn't anyways.

 

"Kai? Are you feeling alright?" she asked through a mouthful of jerky and dried vegetables. Her hair was up, revealing the tattoo on her collar bone, and the shirt was down slightly in the back showing the edge of the wing tattoo's.

 

 

Isa woke up slowly at first then jolted awake. today would be the day that they were to take care of their enemies bodies even more. Last night they had taken care of a few, but not as many as there were. Isa was sore from digging as well as helping heave grown men's bodies wherever they needed to go. Leith had been quiet the entire time as he helped them bury the men that had killed his brother. She had tried to talk to him, but the sadness in his eyes was something that she didn't think anyone other than Queen Viosa would understand. She stepped out of her tent and looked around to see if anyone else was awake, hoping that she could catch a moment with Aketsu.

 

Aamina stood outside of the hotel, guarding it. She was still in her visage created by earth and magic to make sure that no one knew that she was a young girl. She had her black, light absorbing armor on that was made for the special guard of the Shadow Queen which made a few stare at her in fear just because of how dark it was. No one had ever seen the special guard for the queen nor would they ever want to see a full grown member.

 

When the sun was fully up, she walked into the hotel and up to the top floor where they were to stay. She knocked firmly on each of the doors then stood outside of the door belonging to Lord Jahanshah and his friend Aoi. The young man made her nervous, but what did it matter when her Lord trusted him? Not much was the answer. the one thing did worry her though, she ahdn't seen Renzo as of late and she hoped that he hadn't turned them in; now THAT wouldn't be worrisome.

Edited April 26, 2012 by LoveLost

[Silver_Voices]

Isis

 

Isis woke the next morning, his leaves scattered from his nights tossing. He glanced out the thick curtain of the willow trees, seeing Isa stepping from her tent. He breathed out with something between a yawn and a sighed then stood, feeling a little better and stronger than he did the night before. He had strained himself so much he hadn't realized how weak he was. He parted the branches and stepped out, blinking in the sunlight. He waved to Isa in greeting, his other hand shading his eyes against the bright rays. He couldn't remember if they had been introduced at all, there was a lot that happened yesterday. So much happened yesterday... He shook away the thought and plastered on a smile. "Morning, Isa."

 

~~~

 

Promise

 

Promise awoke, only barely aware of the rise and fall of Tractus' chest. She sat up slowly, glancing guiltily at him before swinging off the sill and back into her room. She subconsciously rubbed the circlet with her thumb, not really wanting to look at it. Before leaving the room to look for either Jahan or Aoi, she found some spare parchment and a quill, determined to write a message for Tractus to find.

 

Dear Tractus,

I have something I need to do, but I'll be back for you. This is important, and you can't help me with it. Please, don't come looking for me. I'll look for you. I'll come back. I won't forget you, and I won't abandon you.

Signed, Promise.

 

She sighed and placed it on the sill where she was previously sitting, giving Tractus one more glance before leaving the room, intent on finding Jahan or Aoi. They couldn't be too hard to find, right?

[gistofeverything]

Celeste~

 

As the morning star rose into the sky, Celeste wearily trodded out of the palace. Closing the gate behind her, she looked around to make sure that no one saw her. She held a pouch full of gold, which might pay for breakfast this morning. She was disgusted with herself, but this was the only way that she'd be useful to her Lord Jahan... She sighed, and she felt of her face. She felt of her cheek, and winced. A small bruise had formed there since that man had hit her last night. It might form a mark... I hope no one notices... She was also very, very tired, and she could feel the skin under her eyes starting to sag. Tiredly, she shambled to the inn. She grabbed the door handle, pushed it opedn, and fell to the floor, the pouch bursting open, and gold spilled all over the floor...

[LadyNatasha]

((waiting to see what Lach says before I post as Jahan :3 ))

 

~Aketsu~

 

Aketsu had awoken before the sun rose; it was hard for him to get any sleep, after burying so many bodies the previous night. He then proceeded to see how much would have to be done to bury the bodies now that the morning was coming. He knew it would be a lot of work, but at least with Eirikr there it would go faster. However, when he had arrived at the field he had been somewhat shocked to see that half the bodies were already buried with their identifications on their graves, and another fourth were already in their graves waiting to be buried with the dirt and stone that was piled up beside them. The fourth that weren't in their graves were next to open holes that were the right size to be graves. At first Aketsu thought Kai might have done it, but then he remembered that Kai and Noe left to rescue Loren. That left only one option; Eirikr had worked through the night, probably by himself, and had done this. He had cut their workload down from seven hours to two. They would be able to leave far earlier than before.

 

Of course, Eirikr was nowhere in sight and Aketsu couldn't remember where Eirikr had set up his tent. Since it was still dark out, he hadn't wanted to bang around and find out where. Aketsu sighed and trudged back up the hill towards the main camp. The night had been cold, so at least the bodies wouldn't stink like they had the first day... at least, not for the first hour. When Aketsu arrived back--the sun was rising now--he was pleased to see his lovely Isa was already awake. A moment later he noticed that Isis was as well. He was amazed at how well Isis was handling losing his friend Zepheena. It probably helped him to make her into a... tree...

 

Which was something Aketsu couldn't understand, being a Wind Elementian. But he didn't need to understand it he knew, and so he set the thought aside and approached Isa and Isis with a smile on his face. "Good morning, Isis," he said with a dip of his head. Then he turned to Isa. "And good morning, my Ray of Sunlight." He took her hand and gently kissed it. "Did you sleep well?" The question was directed towards both Isa and Isis.

 

~~~

 

~Yuaki~

 

Yuaki awoke with a little gasp. Her eyes were wide and they darted back and forth in her stone tent as her shaky voice mumbled something inconceivable. After a moment she got a hold of herself and shuddered, letting out a small sigh. "Just a nightmare," she whispered. The earth tent was dark, filled with shadows as the first rays of sunlight hit the side of it. Somehow, the darkness didn't comfort Yuaki. She clenched her teeth as she realized she had been sweating. No, not now. I will NOT lose it now. Three years of work will not be lost with a raindrop's crash. I am NOT being buried, the walls are NOT closing in, and I will NOT run out of this tent and panic!

 

She took several deep breaths and found herself feeling better. It had only been a nightmare, nothing real and nothing dangerous. She leaned against a wall of the tent as she packed her things up. Eirikr... he had been digging the night before. She had sensed it, felt it, more than anything else. It bothered her that her shadows had been so attuned to what he was doing. Usually she kept them hidden within her or let them spread thin enough that their influence was nothing more than a negative feeling in the mind, no more perceptible than waking up on the wrong side of the bed; so natural one would simply think they were having a bad day. But they had followed her curiosity and followed Eirikr as far as they could reach. She had withdrawn them during the night... or so she had thought. But dreams of being buried alive while all her 'friends' looked down at her with a look of shame and pity was not a pleasant or common dream, and she wondered what was to blame for it.

 

She remembered Eirikr's letter now and sighed quietly; she couldn't let anyone know, not now. Back at the Elementian Academy she would have easily tattled on anyone who wanted to skip class and entrusted her with such information. But she would have done it in such a discreet way as to not get herself in trouble with them. She hadn't cared about friendships very much back then. But Eirikr... somehow she felt he was similar enough to herself that she didn't want to betray him. It was as though she felt if she betrayed him, then some force of nature would betray her. Or maybe it was more than that and she wouldn't admit it... but she didn't care. Eirikr was a traveler, only concerned about his city. Yuaki was an outsider, only concerned about her mission. Peace... world peace. That's all either side is heading towards, isn't it? But can Shadows ever be accepted by Light, or will Light ever be respected by Shadows? Yin and Yang, Shadows and Light. This is why I hate philosophy. Yuaki gave a small snort of indignation towards her least favorite class and crawled on her hands and knees out of her tent, where she sat at the entrance to get her bearings.

[Silver_Voices]

Isis looked up as Aketsu walked towards them. He dipped his head slightly in greeting. "I slept. That's enough for me." He paused as young girl crawled from a shelter that looked more like a pile of rubble. He tried to recall her name from the day before. Going back, he remembered waking... A kick in his tent, voices of the plants, looking up in the bright sunlight... Zepheena's relieved face... He brushed the image aside, hoping the tears he felt welling wouldn't be visible to the others. No, he had to remember her name. The happy face, cheery smile, large blue eyes... Yuaki Xa. That was it. Turning away from Aketsu and Isa, he waved. "Good morning, Yuaki," he hailed her. "Did you get much rest?"

[lachrymation]

Naomi walked at a quick pace to the hotel dining area, but paused before going into the room. Peering inside, she could see Jahan sitting at a table, looking at the other way, then turned suddenly away from the door. Would she really do this?

 

Last night he had told her a few things. The first was mainly that if she told anyone about their plan and their being in the city, the city could get overtaken and destroyed. There would be no one for her to tell anyways, since she had no friends, but she could see why. There was a point, that the Light Alliance was going around arresting people who were merely associated with the Shadow Alliance. She had watched a few of the arrests before, from the alleyways and had always felt terrible for them. Now that she had learned that they were actually trying to help her city she felt even worse. If the city would be safer, she could actually help?

 

Naomi felt a small feeling of unease creep at the back of her neck. Would helping the Shadow Alliance really make a difference? She had an unsettling feeling that she'd just be a burden, and if she didn't join them, she felt that they'd be even more burdened, since they would never be able to tell if she would give their plan away or not. Besides, she had a strange feeling that she could trust him. He seemed like an honest person.

 

Taking in a deep breath, she peered into the room again. He was looking her way, now, and she smiled shyly, then went to join him at the table.

 

"What can I help with?" She asked.

 

(Everything she says comes out as a whisper, just so y'all know. )

[LadyNatasha]

~Yuaki~

 

Yuaki yawned loudly and glanced at the neat earth tent behind her. It had her name on it, and she wondered what she would tell the others about that. She fancied making up some story about winning a bet and so making Eirikr carve her name on the front of her tent, but she decided maybe she'd just tell the truth; she didn't ask him to, he just did.

 

"Good morning, Yuaki," a tired male voice called out. Yuaki looked up to see the Plant Elementian standing a few feet away from Aketsu and Isa. She thought about it a moment and remembered that he had come with Zepheena... she was dead now. "Did you get much rest?" Yuaki studied his face a moment. Then she hopped to her feet and yawned, shaking her head. "Nope, and good morning Isis," she said as she walked towards him. "I'm a little claustrophobic, especially in dark areas, but it usually doesn't affect me when I'm near the outdoors. That's why I..." she paused, realizing Isis didn't come from the academy and wouldn't know of Yuaki's infamous habit of sleeping next to open windows every night, no matter the weather. Instead she shrugged and changed the topic.

 

"So, what do you do for fun?" Perhaps a random question, but everyone had something they did for entertainment.

 

~~~

 

~Jahanshah~

 

The day was quite lovely, and things were going according to plan; although he wasn't sure where his criminal ally Renzo had gone, he was certain Renzo was having fun doing things according to plan. He was certain, because Betzalel hadn't brought other reports. Aoi was probably working with Promise (he hadn't seen either of them since the previous night, but he made no assumptions) and Aamina was probably out working with Celeste. That left Marcus and Skylar, who were always together anyway.

 

Everyone was paired off and out preparing the hearts of the people of Cumulus, hearts that had been restless for a secure position in the Alliances for some time. Terra was proud of their independence, but Cumulus wanted security. Security was exactly what the Shadow Alliance could offer them; there was no way the Light Alliance would immediately attack or declare hostilities against the city. Politics were more complicated than that, for there were many Elementians that once lived in Light-Alliance cities and had Light-Alliance Elements within Cumulus. Those people wouldn't want to just get up and leave. There was much to think about, so much to think about; so many politics to be considered along with logic and the emotions of the people. It made Jahanshah tired just thinking about it. Tired, and bored. He was by himself now.

 

He turned towards the entrance again and was surprised to see Naomi peering around the corner. At first he thought she might be foolishly spying, but then she smiled and came out from around the corner. Naomi... he had casually asked the inn-keeper what her name was. The man had seemed cautious to answer, but Jahanshah had claimed he wanted to meet her so he could play with her and her friends. The inn-keeper had accepted the childish answer, and although it hurt Jahanshah's dignity it was worth it. Jahanshah allowed Naomi to approach, and he returned her smile. She came and sat at the table; about that same moment, Daedureth sent a humming shadow up Jahan's side.

 

"What can I help with?"

 

Her voice was so quiet that Jahanshah had to think twice about what she said. He was somewhat surprised that not only was she not going to get in their way, but now she wanted to help. He was suddenly quite happy, for he had been bored sitting by himself. He hesitated as he thought of what to say. "Well," he said with a smile, "first of all introductions are necessary. My name's rather long, so you can call me--" CRASH!

 

Jahanshah leapt to his feet and his sword hissed as a sudden crash occurred at the entrance and gold spilled all over the floor. The few other people in the inn stood up, startled, and the inn-keeper paused his work to look as well. "Celeste!" Jahanshah dashed towards her, extremely concerned with her condition. She had literally fallen through the entry and landed stomach down. Jahanshah knelt next to her, ignoring the gold; none of the people around bothered getting up to help or snatch a gold coin.

 

"Celeste?" He carefully turned her head to the side and looked at her. He couldn't see any external injuries except for a bruise on her face. Had someone hit her? He suddenly felt angry, very angry that this would happen to one of his team. But he looked out the door and saw no one there that could have hit her. The bruise was well formed... she had been hit some time ago... he shook his head. He was no good with medical analysis. He turned towards Naomi. "Naomi, what's wrong with Celeste? What... who did this?"

 

A fat man in the corner grinned and chuckled, knowing perfectly well what had happened. However, he didn't say anything because there were some others in the room that he didn't want knowing his business. He just watched, quite amused at the scene before him.

 

~~~~

[Silver_Voices]

((He and Zepheena actually were at the academy. They just left before they graduated.))

 

Isis wrinkled his nose slightly, sympathetically. "Sorry about that. I know how that is, though. I hate tight spaces." He peeked into the small cave-like shelter. It was pretty dark. And small. He would have hated to spend the night in there. He leaned in to get a closer look as Yuaki spoke. "So, what do you do for fun?" He jerked his head up, only remembering his head was close to the roof too late. He thumped against it painfully, then backed out and rubbed as the sore spot, looking rather abashed. "Heh. For fun? Well... I used to play hide and seek. Talk. Make things with plants. Bracelets, necklaces, tiaras..." The longer he spoke the weaker his voice became, but he was able to stay composed. This was no time to break down, but he couldn't keep talking. He cleared his throat. "And you?"

 

---

 

Promise walked out into dining room, looking around for a sign of the orange hair, when she heard a crash and Jahan's voice calling out someone's name. She ran over to see a girl laying face down, just over the threshold of the door. Jahan had knelt down next to her, so she had to be an acquaintance of his. He looked up to another woman and spoke to her, calling her by name. She stepped over slowly, not knowing that Jahan had come with a group. She didn't know if she'd be accepted by all these people. She cleared her throat quietly and knelt on the other side of the downed girl. "Jahan? What happened?" she whispered quietly.

 

A quick glance at her injuries and the gold on the floor, she had no idea what was going on, but if she had to, she'd be able to land a guess as to what had happened with the girl. She pulled the small bag from her hand and closed the hole, pinching the cloth together with her finger tips. With her other hand she started picking up the coins from the floor, dropping them into the pouch. She tried to silence the small clinking sound the made as they hit each other, waiting for Jahan's reply.

[lachrymation]

Naomi rushed to her feet the moment the girl had entered through the door. She looked as if she was in a terrible condition. Naomi ran a quick gaze over her; bruises She knelt down near the girl and checked her pulse. She was just fatigued. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to the boy and said urgently, "We need to get her to a safer place." She tried to help the girl up but then she fell back, her breathing suddenly heavy, and she closed her eyes for a split second, to catch her breath.

 

--------------

 

The morning came around quickly. Aoi had came back from the city; he was there all night acting out on the plan. He guessed that the rest of the group would be in the dining room, and so he headed there right when he entered the hotel. He located Promise first, then the rest of them. He could see the girl with the green hair and Jahan crouched over Celeste, who was sprawled on the floor. Aoi didn't know her very well, but he knew there was something definitely wrong. He crouched down next to Promise and asked her, casually and softly, "What happened here?"

[Nasa13]

"So how much do you think should I set aside?"

 

The old man was irritating at best. Eirikr had found him out in the fields hauling feed for the livestock. After greeting the old farmer again he picked up a bag of feed and helped the farmer with the task. After that they moved to repairing fences, still keeping quiet. It was only when they stopped to rest that Eirikr broached the subject. Since then the old man was unwilling to leave to much aside for Eirikr's "friends".

 

"Just enough for 10 people to go on for a couple of days. Anything you can give. I promise you will be repaid when I get back to Terra." Eirikr didn't want to say he was begging, so he came close.

 

"And when will that be? I can't wait forever, and neither can the weather." Snapped the farmer, arms crossed. Eirikr couldn't stand there and argue all day. Grumbling he pulled out his coin pouch and tossed it to the farmer. The old man gave him a smirk before shaking out a handful of coins. The bag was returned and the two shook hands on the matter. As he left Eirikr tipped his hat and shouted to the farmer "Just look for a girl with a happy face, cheery smile, and large blue eyes she goes by the name Yuaki."

[Silver_Voices]

Promise spotted Aoi kneeling behind her from the corner of her eye. She didn't have to confirm his identity with a second glance. "Good morning to you, as well." She greeted him. Shaking her head, she sighed quietly back at him. "I don't know what happened. I just came in a second ago. Who is she, anyway?" She collected up most of the coins and looked around to see if she had missed any.