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Tales of Alidaire: The Struggle

Discussion in 'Statistical Roleplays' started by Masquerade, Jul 19, 2011.

  1. Mai loathed it. The sneaking made her stomach churn, and she swore she saw a little girl hide from her as if she were a phantom. It was a definite blow to her. Here she was, supposed to be a great and valiant warrior, and she was sneaking around. She thought back to her temple up in the mountains, her masters looking down upon her with the utmost shame. Being the only woman dragon warrior, she had to keep a high status, but it hadn't even been two days and she was acting like a thief, a bandit. And the fact that it reminisced on the more serious subject of how she was there...

    As her and the serpentine humanoid sat upon the castle wall, he began to socialize with her. She knew after her outburst in the meeting room a question like this would come up.

    "No, I won't be alright with it.." she sighed, leaning back, "I don't think anyone understands why I'd prefer not to. It's not like I don't wanna help..." Her gaze shifted back towards the mountains that loomed in the very distance, a sudden feeling of homesickness getting to her. Even though she wasn't treated the best, she still felt more welcome there than anything. Completely accepted. She then turned back to Nothus, sighing as she brushed her dragon symbol clean of any dirt or dust. "I'd just like to get it over with, and maybe I could return back to the mountains... It was a wrong decision to run away."
     
  2. "That adamant about it, are we?" the reptile sighed, scratching the light, fluffy feathers atop his head. She must have had some powerful ethics that she was forced to hold onto. It just served to remind him that there were all sorts of people out there. Still, there was a definite flaw in her thought process regarding this particular situation. He felt like a philosopher, but he wasn't one. He hoped he didn't sound condescending or full of it. "Forgive me for sayin', but I think you're thinking too much about the actual act itself and not enough on the intent. I'm not a ethicist, but I just think that the ultimate good that we're after just has so much weight that there are bound to be some bad costs along the way. No matter how you look at it, there's no way we could save this world following by some scripted code of law," he said, trying to keep his tone light. He just didn't want this to weigh down on her too harshly. It was obvious that she was troubled. If his words could gift her with at least a bit of a clearer mind, he would be satisfied. And he definitely hoped his words weren't misconstrued.
     
  3. Mai looked at Nothus as he said this, feeling something thump in her heart. Something she never knew she felt. She turned away as she openly accepted his advice, rolling it around in her head. There it was again. She could feel it, a transformation inside her. She quickly pushed it down, feeling fear upon the strange new feeling. But... it felt good. She shook her head, trying to keep it under her mind, but it rose and enveloped her in a new sensation.

    Nothus is right.

    She felt the reality of it hit her like a bullet, all of the things taught throughout her life just.. tossed out the window. Everything I've been taught all my life... could it be wrong?... She nods to Nothus, attempting to keep her gaze down as she rolled this confliction about in her mind. "I... I understand..." she whispered, sighing and looking out across the castle field. "It's the only thing I've been taught, though... How am I to know what is right?.."
     
  4. "The ones who taught you taught you right," Nothus quickly interjected. "But this situation is beyond the scope that they trained you for, is all. You're a very good person and a skilled warrior. Don't let yourself get thrown into a tizzy by this kind of stuff. Chances are that when all of this is over, things will go back to the way they used to be. You won't have to think about things like this ever again," he said, hoping to ease her worries. She definitely had a ton to think about. Nothus almost felt sorry for her. He never had to worry about morals; he could always say Masquerade would fire him if he refused to cooperate which would obviously be a joke because Masquerade didn't really want to be doing this either. They both were deadset against joining the assassins, but when things get as dire as they did, something has to be done. It nearly seems that standing by and doing nothing would be worse than just letting the city and the entire continent of Dalmaschior crumble to dust underneath the crazed Albert's rule. Surely Mai had thought of that, too. Or, at least she would be thinking about it now.

    "Somethin' else you need to keep in mind is that even though you've been taught stuff, the decisions you make are still yours to make based on your own judgment, ya know?" Nothus added with a comforting grin. "It's all up to you, girlie. Your life. Your rules." Now that was something he considered a good philosophy. There was nothing like being completely unbound, free to do as you wished within reason.
     
  5. Mai listened to the serpent's words, feeling her head nod in agreement. It did make perfect sense. She felt his words echo in her mind. Your life, your rules....

    She looked at Nothus and smiled, a smile that was more joyful than she'd ever given during her involvement with this group. She could feel the constraints of her teaching be little more than guidelines. Apparently like they should be. She could feel the very weight of it lift as she figured out the feeling the felt.

    Freedom.

    She nodded to Nothus as she beamed. "Thank you, Nothus." she said, looking out upon the field once again. "I suppose that what I'm doing now is by the goodness of my volition... I just hope what I am doing here is the best for this city. I just hope that this will help retain the honor I swore to hold."
     
  6. Nothus allowed his grin to grow as he saw Mai smile at him. "That's more like it, girlie. You're welcome. I'm sure you'll be satisfied by your actions when you see how much good it does. We all will," he said, taking one of her hands gently and carefully into one of his talons. "And you should try smilin' more. You have a nice one," he added with a slightly raspy laugh. He watched as couple more clueless patrolmen walked by shining their orbs of light in random directions to try and spot possible intruders, but they never thought to check the top of the perimeter wall. Sorry excuses for patrolmen, they were. "Keep your wits about ya when you go into the castle. With all this talk of magic, there's no telling what you'll find in there. It'd be shame if somethin' happened to ya," he advised her, his voice as cautious and gentle as the grip he had on the woman's hand. "I know you don't get along with 'em that well, but you've definitely got some capable allies supporting you. They're willing to go to whatever means to get things done, so I think you can definitely count on them. Just keep in mind that we're not all exactly 'for' this assassin business, including those others that sorta just got roped into it."

    Fate worked in mysterious ways. Talk of weird voices guiding them to reach Alexandra and save her? Crazy talk. He remembered talking to Masquerade about it. The baker seemed to easily believe them which wasn't much of an oddity; Masquerade was already a strange fellow who thought about things in a rather interesting and sometimes preposterous manner. Nothus remembered just shrugging and going along with it. If Masq was right though, it meant that there would probably be something huge within the castle--something Mai and the others would need to be prepared to face.
     
  7. Mai felt the scaly touch of Nothus' talons against her own silky hand, feeling her cheeks burn slightly as he complimented her smile. This serpentine humanoid was definitely something of a person, probably the nicest being she'd met. Funny how one not human is the benevolent figure, she thought.

    She nodded to Nothus' head of warning, pulling away and gripping the handle of her new weapon, its blade pulsing with earthen power. "Do not worry, Nothus," she replied, "I have been trained all of my life to face foes that will attempt to be stronger." she then smiled again. "Attempt."
     
  8. "Then you'll be just fine, eh?" Nothus didn't feel any more need to worry about the woman. With the kind of resolve she possessed, she would be perfectly fine. Taking satisfaction in that, Nothus shot his gaze toward the castle gates where he recognized a woman that looked like a mere civilian running up to a couple of guards posted by the gate. Nothus signaled for Mai to get down and follow him as he crept low across the wall to get closer to the gate. From their new position, they could see the woman in a panicked state, grabbing at one of the guards' arms. Her face was a picture of horror and she rambled quickly about some kind of commotion going down by the courthouse, making sure to mention that it might have been assassins. Nothus would have been worried, but the woman was an assassin herself working for Nigel. One of the guards shot a blast of red mana into the air and a loud siren began emanating from somewhere within the castle. A large squadron of soldiers burst out of the main entrance and trundled down the front path leading out of the gates. The two guards that had been stationed by the gate joined the massive entourage. Quite a few of the knights stood out amongst the others--they were definitely of the High Order. It looked like the castle was going to be left completely unguarded! What folly. The space became quiet as the huge group of guards marched into town in order to try and capture the assassins attempting to take Allera's life. "Stay in this spot until you see your allies. I mean it. I've got to take off and make sure Nara and Nerra made it back to base all right." He leaned in and pressed his scaly lips against Mai's cheek before pulling back. "Just for luck, girlie. See ya soon," he said and laughed before taking off into the sky, his large brown wings spreading out majestically as he soared off back to the cathedral. There were a few items left behind where he had been stationed only a moment before.

    Items found:
    ---Sun's Vigor x1
    ---Winter's Brutality x1
    ---Earth's Adamance x1
    ---Spring's Soul x1
    ---Autumn's Wind x1

    As soon as the magistrate fell, Nara shot towards the door. "Nerra, fucking hurry! We've got to go! Aina is on her way to the guards at the castle!" the assassin shouted at her sister who was making her way from person to person, healing them of their mortal wounds. If they were caught here, they would die. Period. No jail. Dead. Leaving Nerra behind, Nara rushed to the front door of the courthouse and peeked out. No one seemed to have truly noticed any commotion which was a good thing. The streets seemed relatively empty and she was glad no one took the risk of being out at night.

    "There, you're all set," Nerra said softly as she put the finishing touches on Alexandra, helping the noble to stand. Everyone else had already been treated to the best of her abilities and even though she had ignored Nara shouting at her earlier, she knew her sister had a point. Both of them had to jet. "Don't forget to avoid the main path to the castle. Take as many alleys and side streets as you can. I've got to go. Good luck." She bowed deeply to them and took off, nodding to Nara as she reached the front door. Both of the assassins vanished fast, dashing as quickly and stealthily as they could back to their cathedral base.

    The group had little time to recover their senses even though their bodies had been healed, but they knew that their chance would be wasted if they lingered. Staggering down the hall and out the door, the group took off in the opposite direction of the main road to the castle with the plan to travel in a semicircle through the town until they reached the castle gates. The roads seemed absolutely deserted, but ruckus could be heard coming from the castle as guards surged through the streets towards the courthouse. The alleyways were even more deserted save a stray animal or two searching through the day's garbage in an attempt to find a quick meal. It took them a while to reach the gates, but when they did, they were blessed by the sight of it being completely quiet. Not a single guard had been left behind and the gates themselves were left wide open.

    Alexandra panted wildly. She had just been brought back from unconsciousness and forced to dash as quickly as she could to get to this point. She was on the verge of collapse again. "W-well...at least we made it," she managed to say, gasping for some air. "Where's...Mai?" the noble asked, looking around for their final companion who was supposed to be staking the place out. It was too dark to see anything though. She hoped the girl could see them from her place. Alexandra didn't want to risk calling out for her.

    "Who is Mai?" Kat asked since they seemed to have come to a stop. She didn't seem too bothered by all the running, but she had a bit of a sweat going, that was for sure. "Another member of your motley group?" she questioned teasingly.

    "Yes, she was supposed to be staking out the castle in the case something went wrong," Alexandra explained.

    From nearby, a curious bystander peered at the group of strangers. What were civilians doing at the castle? Were they really civilians? So much had happened in the day. An attempt on Albert's life. A dragon was loosed in the city, presumably by the same ones that attempted to take Albert's life. And now, here was this ominous group of people standing before the vacant castle gates. It almost seemed....too convenient. Their timing, that is. It might be worth inspecting while they were still there...
     
  9. What an eventful day it had been. An attempt on the king's life, the guards suddenly being pulled away to a supposed conflict at the courthouse... and now this. Two stark white-tipped black canine ears pressed forward to catch the conversation. Something about... staking out the castle. How fascinating... The kitsune thought amusedly. His silvery eyes looked over the small group as he considered. The opportunity was too good to waste. Strytor always did crave a bit of excitement in his life, aside from occasionally teasing a human who couldn't figure out what to make of a boy with fox ears and five tails.

    Suddenly he stepped out into more open view, though still behind the group. The white-tipped tails fanned out, bushy fur barely separated and making the tails look like a giant gray folding fan, at least from the front. Their tips still folded down out of habit. And then the nogitsune spoke. There was no throat-clearing, no coughing, not even a chuckle... though Strytor's expression was definitely one of curious amusement. "And what is a group of girls such as yourselves doing at the castle?" He inquired, voice sanguinely smooth. "Haven't you heard this place hasn't been too safe as of late?" The amusement was now clear in his tone. He could draw no conclusions, but their presence was questionable in and of itself...
     
  10. Mai dropped into the field after Nothus, and with relative ease as well. The wall was nothing compared to the ledges she jumped off back at her training area. As she hit the ground, she quickly stuck herself against the wall, in the safety of the shadows as she crept along with Nothus. Honestly, she didn't feel too bad about it, but it still made her feel dirty being under the absence of light. It was like being forgotten or non-existent, even if that's what they were trying to get at.

    Mai turned and nodded to Nothus as he told her what she should do. "I'll be fi-" she suddenly stopped as the serpentine figure leaned in and planted a soft kiss upon her cheek, causing her to freeze rigidly, feeling herself burn under her skin. Nothus was really being affectionate to her. She smiled as he took off into the air, amazing wingspan spread out as he disappeared into the sky. She quickly took her focus back to the situation as he had left, looking upon the items in front of her. She swiftly gathered them up, placing them into her pouch before nearing the gates slowly. The guards and knights seemed to keen on getting through the gates to even think to notice anyone farther down the walls. As the last knight made his way out, Mai quickly dashed to the edge of the gate, staying in the shadows silently as she awaited those she kept as allies.

    Her heartbeat quickened as she heard loud footsteps across the cobbled pavement, heavy breathing accompanying the sound as it grew louder and closer. Could it be them? Or even worse.. could she have been found out? She shook her head, pushing that thought down. She didn't want to think about taking on the whole castle armada by herself. The footsteps stopped, heavy panting becoming the dominant noise as these figures seemed to be taking a rest.

    "W-well...at least we made it," a familiar voice said to her allies. She sighed as her name was mentioned. It was them. She stopped a moment as she heard another unfamiliar voice, one she had never encountered. A replacement?...

    Then an even more unfamiliar voice called out, one of confrontation. Shit, he'll ruin the plan! she thought, gripping her hands into tight fists. She quickly pulled herself from the wall, walking nonchalantly to mingle into the group, slowly moving to the front. "I highly doubt it's anything you need to be aware of," she replied bluntly, placing a hand on her hip. "I suggest you take your... five tails, and go back home."
     
  11. A final roar out from the magistrate, coupled with the healing magic of Nerra, was enough to restore Helena's consciousness. She blinked rapidly, her wounds having healed. "Th-thank you..." she muttered, still ashamed that she had fallen to something as petty as Allera's brute force. Her companions, however, did not seem to be in much better shape. She glanced around the now-empty courthouse, knowing full well that it was time to be going. Distantly, she heard the familiar voice of Nara, telling her sister to "fucking hurry!" This caused Helena to smile, in spite of herself, as the young white mage finished her duties and was on her way out.

    "Don't forget to avoid the main path to the castle. Take as many alleys and side streets as you can. I've got to go. Good luck."

    And with that, the two assassin sisters were gone. Entirely out of view of the companions, and an eerie silence fell over the hall. Stay back much longer and the guards'll be here... Helena thought to herself, pushing off from the wall which she had collapsed into. "Guess we'd best be on our way then." She stated plainly, averting her gaze from Kat especially. The rookie bowman did not want Kat thinking that she owed Helena any favours or anything; her companionship was enough. Besides, she's got her own mental battles to tend to. She shrugged, saying no more, and turned away from her companions. She stretched her legs, getting ready for a sprint after her body had fallen so uselessly against Allera. She was cramped up a little bit, but that wouldn't stop her from keeping pace with any of the others.

    They began at a brisk pace, sprinting swiftly through the streets of Archaea. It was definitely an interesting route they had chosen to take, and certainly not the most direct... But then again, that's what we're supposed to do. Her resolve unwavering, Helena continued to run just a small distance behind Alexandra, who seemed to be leading them. She spat once in disgust at the rubbish-seeking animals, scouring the trash. "Vermin." she stated plainly, looking on as they continued their business. "The people of this land are gonna be similar, given time." She then realized that it may have been mildly insensitive to say, what with Alexandra being the niece of the Chaos Knight himself. "Nothing personal, m'lady."

    Coincidentally, once they reached the agreed point, Alexandra asked about Mai, who in turn made her own appearance. "Good to have you back, o' ye-of-higher-morality." Helena bowed mockingly, still finding the hesitation that Mai had shown earlier a subject that would provide much humour. "Ready to get back on with this sh-" she was abruptly cut off by the appearance of... a boy. With fox ears. And what the hell is this? Helena thought to herself, an inquisitive look on her face, bow immediately in hand once more, with an arrow nocked almost instantaneously.

    "Careful, fox-boy. You don't know what you're treading into." she squinted, closing one eye for better focus. "If you're 'ere to cut us off... well, better men then you have tried." He seemed almost... amused, by the presence of the group. His tone kind of pissed off Helena, having obviously been listening to the conversation. Was he a spy sent by whatever it was Masquerade hypothesized was controlling Albert? Or was he really just some innocent bystander? Doubt that. Don't see many fox-boys around town.
     
  12. Alexandra became instantly worried when she heard an unfamiliar voice. A lingering guard? Wouldn't that Sirius guy have warned them of something like that? Maybe he wasn't really a threat, though it seemed the other girls, including Mai who had revealed herself at last, thought he was. She moved her hand to the hilt of her saber. "Is that the way you conduct yourself before nobility?!" she scolded the guy with the tails in exasperation. "Before you stands Her Royal Highness, Alexandra Valentine, niece of His Majesty King Albert Valentine, Chaos Knight of Dalmaschior. There should be no reason to be suspicious of myself OR my company. I and they are welcome to this castle at any time regardless of the danger," she said, tapping her foot impatiently upon the ground. "The real question is what are YOU doing around the castle when it has been so dangerous as of late? Hm? Never seen the likes of you before. Regardless of what we're doing here, Helena is right. You'd best turn back."

    A slightly bemused look crossed Kat's face as she realized that the boy wasn't entirely human. She felt an instant kinship with him and sidled next to Alexandra. "Your Highness, perhaps you and the others could serve to be less...hostile? This fellow is clearly outnumbered and, to be perfectly honest, he doesn't look like he could take on even one of us, let alone all of us. We're obviously dealing with a curious civilian, am I correct?" she shot the question towards the boy who had shown himself. He was either stupid or he had some balls. If it were the latter, she would have a bit of respect for him. With how tense everyone was, just one wrong move on his part would get him killed a hundred times more quickly than Allera.
     
  13. Strytor grinned as the new human joined the group and hostile eyes turned to face the nogitsune, this was becoming fun. A dance with danger wasn't uncommon to him, and as proven by him still being alive and the way he was speaking, his slick word choice usually carried him out of it. He had fought before, too, but... He waved a hand almost dismissively at the archer aiming at him, ignoring the arrow. "Fox-boy?" He asked with a slight laugh. "I would feel insulted if I had not been called worse in my time." He paused, his ears flicking towards two of the others-- How interesting, the lady Alexandra was involved with the group. Even more interesting, one of the others was almost defending him.

    "My apologies, Your Highness, but how could one immediately recognize that you are the lady Alexandra when you speak of staking out the castle? You are acting more like a thief sneaking in than a noble who belongs here." A chuckle. "No offense." The silver-gray eyes turned to the one girl who seemed to be defending him, rather than lashing out in what appeared to be defensive hostility. "To answer you, on the other hand, I am indeed merely a curious bystander. I mean you no harm so long as you do not give me cause to fight you. Why would I when I am outnumbered, and even Her Royal Highness stands before me?" His tone was sardonic, almost taunting, but it was clear that he meant no harm. He stood a bit straighter now, the strange jewel-like orb seeming to bounce in the air at the tip of his central tail, as he observed the group more closely now that he was viewing them for the front. They didn't look like bandits or anything, but they weren't exactly looking like normal civilians, either...
     
  14. "Excuse me," Hikari's voice joined, her tone sharp however direct as she stepped forward to join both Lady Alexandra and Helena. She give a quick inspecting glance at the alleged "fox-boy". And indeed, much to her surprise, he had five sizable tails--a fox's?--spread in a fanning position, and a couple of animal ears resting on the sides of his head. She returned her attention to the other two women, her eyebrow raised for a few seconds. Hikari continued, nevertheless, "I don't believe it's necessary to be this harsh. He is outnumbered, yes, and his timing might have been imprudent," she gave emphasis to the "might", glancing at the stranger once again, "But I don't think it's the right moment to start making any enemies, is it?"

    And that said, leaving her words to sink in, the White Knight turned to the stranger again, blue eyes looking over before speaking. She could not help but raise an eyebrow again. He definitely isn't human... or is he? she pondered in the instants it took her to speak again, "And on the other hand, who exactly are you?" she picked her next words as swiftly as well, "And what are you here for?" Although he appeared to be the type to not to do something ridiculous and rash, his tone and even expression hid a certain... intention. Had he found out what they were truly after? Hopefully not, Hikari's thoughts trailed off.
     
  15. Mai simply ignored the apparent lash at her pride from the archer as she had pushed passed to the front in order to confront the stranger. The others replied as well, their tones as defensive as well. Her gaze looked over the strange hybrid humanoid, a look of judgement quickly befalling before he spoke.

    She silently sighed to herself, listening to the words of Hikari and the words of the strange new ally. They indeed were correct. Slowly she stepped back into the group, settling between Hikari and the strange new woman. She might as well take the chance, leaning over and whispering, "So, how did you get pulled into this?" with a joking tone. She then glanced at Helena before turning back. "You finding her a challenge to take ranged combat with? I find it hard to take any combat with her."
     
  16. Bow still in hand, Helena cast a sidelong glance at Hikari, who was suddenly entering the discussion. "Well, look who finally decided to grow a bloody spine." she stated, rather bluntly. "Hikari, look around! Do you see anyone else? Hm?" she let the tension on her bowstring fall slack, so that no accidents would occur, and then gestured sharply up and down the streets. "No, because everybody else has gone away. Shit's deserted. Now, it sort of raises th' question of 'hey, what's some weird fox-kid doing sneaking around?'" She looked back upon the mysterious boy. I don't care what this kid calls himself, if he waves his hand at me again, there's gonna be an arrow decorating his gullet.

    Kat, however, was also seeming to take the fox-boy's side. "Kat, you aren't SERIOUSLY telling me that you don't think he's more than some sort of 'curious bystander,' are you?" She looked at the woman in exasperation, focusing on her for the first time since they had left the courthouse a good ten-twenty minutes prior. "Look kid, you've got a slick tongue, I'll give ya that. But why the hell should we believe you're not some sort of informant? If you're not looking to fight Alexandra, then how could you allegedly not recognize her? We're just heading inside. That's all." She lowered her bow, finally, and narrowed her eyes, glowering at the stupid fox... thing in front of her.

    He had waved his hand at her, almost as though he was trying to wave off the threat on his own life by pissing Helena off even more. "I hunt your bloody relatives, kid. Watch where you're stepping. You're lucky that at least my allies trust you." She cast a sidelong glance at Kat; pretty much the only one in the group she trusted at any length... though even then, it was tough to tell how far that trust would carry. Mai seemed to be whispering something to her. Helena shot an inquisitive look, before speaking, "If you trust the kid, I'll let you deal with him. If he steps outta line, though, or he proves to be some sorta spy... This arrow goes flying where it wants." she stuck the arrow back into her quiver for emphasis, turning away from the group again. Bastard's lucky I didn't let it fly now...
     
  17. Strytor listened to the white knight's words and took the archer's tirade with a look of vague... content? It seemed to be an expression similar to yet seperate from his seemingly perpetual amusement. When the archer finished speaking, the two ears twitched in her direction for a minute before the kitsune looked more directly at the white knight. "To answer you, my name is Strytor Verano. Call me Stry, it's easier. Or you can call me fox-boy, I don't care." He gave a sardonic chuckle. "However, the proper term would be 'kitsune'." Then he looked at the group more in general, answering the second question posed to him. "As for why I am here... I assure you, I spoke truth when I said I was just a bystander. The happenings of the castle interested me, so I decided to take a look. When the guards got pulled away to the courthouse and this place was abandoned, I simply chose not to follow the action. I'm not foolish. I won't go where there are possible assassins just because everyone else is."

    Now he looked at the archer. His amused grin had faded somewhat into a faint smile that rested on his otherwise more serious expression. "At the risk of being shot," He began, his tone dry yet earnest, "any possible idea in my mind that you were simply civilians has been torn to shreds by your words. Why react so defensively, even going so far as to imply that I could be an 'informant', unless you are up to something not entirely good?" His ears flicked again; it seemed to be an unconscious habit on his part. His eyes remained curious as he looked at the archer, but that was about it. "Not to judge, of course, but while your reactions would have frightened any spy, it does not help your cause. Just something to consider." He actually sounded as if he was trying to be helpful by chiding her. Like he had said, he wasn't foolish.
     
  18. As much as Alexandra hated it, the boy seemed to have her pegged. She shouldn't have mentioned the stakeout at all, but that was a blunder that couldn't be taken back now. No longer gripping the handle of her saber, she seemed to relax, but only just a bit. This was a situation she did not need to have to deal with right now, nor any of the others. They were in the middle of a mission so important that the very fate of Dalmaschior rested so gently in their hands. Just a single screw up could send their entire prerogative shattering into a million pieces. The noble sighed not really knowing what to do. It would be so easy to just run him through with her saber, but that was something an assassin would do, and no matter how important her task, she wouldn't just extinguish life in such a wasteful manner...unless he purposely got in the way. Her thoughts momentarily flashed back to the paladins she had exterminated, along with Nanila--the most painful loss. Well, we're almost there. We just have to hang on for a bit longer and then all of this killing will stop and maybe this country will be able to settle back into peace like it had before, Alexandra thought as she remained silent. She was somewhat grateful for Helena's support; she knew the stakes of everything and was willing to go to whatever means necessary in the case something should happen. She may not have fathomed why Kat or Hikari were so quick to trust. Perhaps they were....who knows... She found herself waiting for the fox boy to answer Hikari's question since she was pretty keen on hearing the answer to that and probably would have asked it herself should she have gotten the chance to do it first.

    "I might not trust him fully, but you all were so quick to accept me," Kat countered, thinking back to her own appearance at the courthouse, granted she had appeared willing to help them out with the battle they were facing, even going as far as launching the first blow. She was about to turn on the boy, but the other woman that had joined them, the one Alexandra had mentioned to be Mai, whispered something to her. "I decided to join their efforts of my own accord. I wasn't roped in. As for Helena, I'm glad to have her as a companion in battle. She has proven strength beyond compare--something to admired, yeah?" The arcanist shrugged her shoulders before turning to this kitsune who called himself Stry. "You keep forgetting that what we're up to, good or bad, is none of your business," she put simply. "Or, perhaps it is now. We can't very well let him go. We either kill him or take him with us so we can keep an eye on him."

    "Well, we all were just civilians before fate seemed to shove us together," Alexandra said solemnly. She eyed Kat for a moment. What she proposed was true. There was no way this guy was going to get away from them, and killing him seemed to be a waste. "Maybe fate had it out for you too. If that's the case, maybe we should take him with us, as much as it pains me to say because I frankly don't like him."
     
  19. Hikari frowned. This woman was getting on her nerves. She lowered her mace as her hand fell back--she did not realize she had involuntarily lifted it throughout the scene. "Of course, Helena," she chose her own words carefully to avoid provoking the Rookie Bowman, although she was just nearing the edge of doing such, "If you would realize what you're doing is making us seem unnecessarily suspicious," she glanced at Lady Alexandra again. Helena had said too much. Her eyes rested on the fox-tailed stranger again, rather casually continuing with only a second of pause. "Which we aren--"

    "...any possible idea in my mind that you were simply civilians has been torn to shreds by your words. Why react so defensively, even going so far as to imply that I could be an 'informant', unless you are up to something not entirely good?" She was cut short as the "kitsune", Stry, continued. Well, fuck. She glared at Helena once, and only once as Kat spoke once again. The grip of her mace tightened as the Arcanist considered killing him. An innocent. she mentally added with a notorious bitterness.

    Hikari considerably relaxed when the Noble suggested bringing him along their mission... something which he had been dragged to without even wanting to in the first place. Or did he? She couldn't place it, but this Strytor still seemed suspicious, as much as a "curious bystander" he claimed to be. "And this mace will be swung where it wants." the White Knight spat, to seemingly nobody in particular, but Hikari knew she would know.
     
  20. The kitsune gave a slight chuckle, despite the talk of killing him. It wasn't as if he wasn't concerned. Staying calm in the face of danger had always been one of his strong points. Joining this group? It was an intriguing concept, even if certain people in the group didn't like or trust him. But it would satisfy his curiosity, which had only increased during the conversation. They were definitely acting off, and this interested him. "A fascinating possibility," He chimed in once the others had stopped speaking. "As the alternative is death, this may seem obvious, but I think I would like to join you." His grin widened slightly. "It's the least I can do for holding you up."

    Strytor took a few steps in approach, though he kept a slight distance out of consideration. He was a stranger to them, and they were armed to the teeth. As had been shown, they were willing to kill him if he stepped out of line; as had been said, Stry probably couldn't even take on one of them. So until they trust me a bit more, best not act too rashly, He thought to himself, before nodding and turning his metallic gaze towards each of the others in turn. "As it seems I am to join you ladies for a time, might I have your names? Just makes things less complicated."
     

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