[So! You guys are someplace!] [I kid. You're in a nearby inn, relaxing and dealing with gold and stuff.] [It's minitime! Go for it.] * Ariake is leaning back, slightly sleepy after a mediumish meal and a certain amount of alcohol. * Tia is skipping circles around the common room, apparently in a good mood now that she's eaten. * Istvan has made his way out of his armor, and is well into his meal, as well as a respectable amount of alcohol. Every so often, you'll see him rub at his chest where he was recently impaled. * Seylin has finished her meal, as she really doesn't eat that much. She's still seated at the table, though, and is looking at the others as if to make sure they're all well. * HKenji is just finishing up the decidedly small meal composed mostly of bread and water. * Tia stops in mid-skip and giggles. "You're funny, Mr. Axe." Tia? When did that axe start talking to you? * Alcinoe is seated and eating a hearty enough meal, but she hasn't said much of anything. She seems rather angry, all told, and isn't directing her attention to anyone. On the bright side, she thought to heal herself after that fight. * Patrick already ate. He's smiling, although he does show some interest in the talking axe. Umm, I think it was when we saw Mr. Huge Stone Man Thing. * Will is still eating. He has worked up a big appetite after all the adventure he's had. Hmm. What's he sound like? He sounds...mmm...kinda gravelly, but nice. ... the axe talks? * Tia turns to Istvan and nods, beaming. "He said he'd be my best friend ever!" That's the axehead we found in the dwarf cave, right? Did he give good advice? * Tia nods to Istvan, then to Kenji. "He told me where to hit Mr. Huge Stone Man Thing." * Tia then whispers, "He's a little embarrassed about the butterflies, though." * Alcinoe looks at Tia curiously but still doesn't say anything. ... that's definately a dwarf in there. Really? * HKenji shrugs. "Sounds like an ancestral spirit. You should honor him as best you are able." Dwarven axe. Belonged to the guy in charge of the stronghold, who, if I remember what I read right, was a major of the major clan family. Plus, only a dwarf would know where to hit a stone golem to do the most damage. * Will looks at the axe funnily. "Your telling me that there's a dwarf trapped inside the axe?" * Istvan pauses for a moment. "Apologize to him for the butterflies, Tia." Sure, happens all the time really. Where do you think all those talking weapons come from? "All those"? How many are there? Don't know. Never met one yet. According to my mother, more than you want to know. ^_^ Such things are not unknown, though it is not truly a... dwarven soul, in this case, trapped in there. Does she have one? * Tia nods. "I apologized earlier, but he kinda grumbled at me. I don't think he's that mad, though." Could see about gettin' them removed if he don't like it? * Patrick grins. "Or make them butterfly axes?" * Tia immediately shakes her head. "I like the butterflies!" Tell him I'll carve a couple of dwarven sayings into there for him when we get back. Maybe his clan name and sigil. * Tia grins at her axe. "Didja hear that, Mr. Axe? Isty says he's gonna carve some dwarven sayings on you when we get home." * Tia blinks. "Oh, I don't have to talk out loud? Okay!" * Will finishes eating and scoots over closer to Alci. * Tia hugs her axe. "You're the bestest axe ever, Mr. Axe!" * Tia grins at Istvan. "He says I can keep the butterflies if I like 'em that much!" * Istvan grins. * Seylin giggles. * Patrick chuckles. * Alcinoe sighs and sets her fork down, as she just finished eating, too. "Ah'll be in mah room." That said, she scoots back and gets to her feet. * Will smiles. "Sounds like you two are getting along just fine." * Tia blinks as Alcinoe leaves. "Huh? Did I say something wrong?" I don't know. She seemed pretty unhappy, though... Necromancers. Even when they're not around, they can ruin a good time. * Tia scratches her head absently. "Wonder why? Maybe she really wanted to hit Mr. Bad Necromancer, too." * Patrick grins. "Maybe." * Seylin hmms softly and looks off in the direction Alcinoe went. * Ariake grins at Mr. Axe, and then looks concernedly in Alci's direction. She's a bit behind events. Is she okay? * Will looks towards Alcinoe's room. "I wonder what's wrong..." * Seylin stands up and heads for Alcinoe's room. * Tia looks confused, but she follows Seylin. * Ariake gets up and follows, too. Alciiii? * Patrick raises an eyebrow, getting close enough to Seylin to mutter a whisper. * Will stands up to follow too. * Tia reaches Alci's door and gives it a couple good raps. * Istvan looks around the table, and sees only Kenji and Patrick left. "So... this gives you another year, right Kenji?" If I were inclined to take it. * Alcinoe opens it a crack and looks out. She seems surprised, then when she notices all the people who came with Tia, much less so. "What?" * Seylin shrugs at Patrick, then watches as pretty much everyone else beats her there. ^^; * Seylin sighs and sits back down. * Tia peers at Alcinoe through the crack in the door. "Are you okay?" She sounds concerned. * Ariake nods. "You seemed upset..." * Will nods too. "Is anything wrong?" I didn't think they were all gonna follow me... Hmm? Wasn't the whole point of this to get you another year of freedom? Aside from the fact that beating on necromancers is always a good thing... * Seylin rests her arms on the table and her chin on her hands. Naw, nothin's that wrong, an' Ah'm about as well as ya can figure. Anythin' else? I would have destroyed this necromancer regardless. It was a matter of duty. The fact remains that though I have a year, I have no reason to use it. * Tia thinks for a moment, then shakes her head, though she still looks worried. "Just wanted to see if you were okay, Alci. You seemed kinda unhappy." And every reason to go ahead with the wedding as soon as I can return home. ... mmm. * Seylin sits bolt upright in her chair. "Seriously?" I'll say this, Kenji. I'm not that fond of you. You know that. I know that. But... 'Cause Ah ain't happy, all right? Why do ya need ta send the whole town ta check on me, anyhow? * Patrick nods. "It's quite simple..." * Tia looks a bit hurt, and she takes a step back from the door. "Sorry, Alci. I didn't mean to... Just wanted to see if everything was okay..." * Will looks chagrined, "Sorry Alci. Was just concerned..and..uh..." You piss me off, but you're a damn good fighter. Good talker. Good battle tactician. If I'm gonna be stuck doin' this adventurin' thing, you're the kinda guy I want at my side. * Ariake shrugs. "What can I say, Alci? We were just a bit worried."" * Tia turns and quickly leaves, running back toward the common room. * Tia plops down heavily near Seylin. "Alci's mad at me." * Alcinoe watches Tia go, then sighs. She looks to Ariake and Will. "Someone go ta tell her Ah'm not mad at her, okay?" And, in case you hadn't noticed, this crew has a distinct lack of leading-type personalities. * Ariake nodnods. "Will do." And heads off after Tia. Thanks. * Alcinoe looks at Will. * Ariake waves over her shoulder. "Sure thing. Feel better, okay?" * Alcinoe nods to Ariake. "Ah will. Just give it some time an' all." * Seylin looks over at Tia. "No she's not, Tia. At least, I don't think she is. She's just not in a very good mood right now. I was gonna talk to her, but... she'd rather be alone." * Ariake comes back into the main room, catching the end of that. "Don't worry, Tia, she isn't mad." Long story short... much as I wanna slug ya sometimes... I think we need you. * Tia nods. "I didn't know. Guess I was slow like usual." She twiddles her paws. * Will looks kind of unsettled as he tries to explain why he's here. "Um. Yeah. Hope your ok..." * Seylin pats Tia on the shoulder. "It's okay. She probably wouldn't have wanted to talk to me, either." * Alcinoe rolls her eyes as Will doesn't seem ready to leave, grabs him by the arm, and just pulls him in the room. * Ariake sits back down again, and sighs. "Stressful little adventure." * Tia nods and looks only slightly comforted. * Patrick shrugs. "All adventures are at one point." ^_^ You. Need me. * Will is tugged into Alci's room. * Istvan eyes Kenji. "Yup." * Tia glances over at Istvan and Kenji, wondering what they're talking about. * Seylin looks a bit confused by the multiple conversations, so she settles for sitting in her chair and folding her wings against her back. I never wanted to be an adventurer. But I am. So my main goal is to make it through my adventuring career alive and with all my major body parts. I'm gonna do that, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need you around. * Ariake nods. * Tia settles herself by the fire, sitting with her paws tucked under her, like a cat. Why? 'cause the day I let Patrick lead me into battle is the day I give up forging for knitting. * Seylin giggles at that last bit. Why go into battle at all? * Patrick laughs. "What, you think I'm that bad, huh?" I'm an adventurer. Even if I didn't wanna go into battle, battle would come to me. Why are you an adventurer? No choice in the matter. * Ariake raises an eyebrow slightly. * HKenji quirks an eyebrow. * Patrick smirks. "I didn't have a choice either. Family tradition and all. Still, it's more my decision what I do than anyone elses." The times one is utterly without choices are surpassingly few. * Tia has an ear turned toward the conversation, but she is unusually quiet. And here we are, two guys without choices at the same table. Go figure. You truly expect me to believe that? * Seylin is also unusually quiet. She plays with a strand of hair that came loose from her braid. * Tia takes out a soft cloth and sets to work polishing Mr. Axe. I think the lack of noise means yes. * Ariake is still leaning back, spacing out a bit. "I'm mainly along for the learning experience, and to help out...I don't think this is going to be my line of work. I know I have no sense of tactics at all." * HKenji snorts softly and stands up. Doesn't matter if you believe it or not, frankly. Why I'm stuck doing this is irrelevant. You may think it is irrelevant. I, however, do not. I am. And I'd like to survive it. To do that, I'm pretty sure I need you and your skills around as long as possible. * Tia finally speaks up as she turns her head to look at Kenji. "You're not going away, are you, Kenji?" Because this group has no leader. Hell, we're barely a team. We're a bunch of chickens running around with our heads cut off. * Seylin looks up. "You think we're that bad?" You're the only one with any kinda organizin' skills. You speak, people listen... at least in a fight. * Tia blinks at Istvan. "We are? We don't really look like chickens, though...well, except maybe Sey, 'cause she's got feathers." * Ariake shrugs. "Wak." * Istvan looks over at Seylin. "We've been getting by 'till now based on the fact that, individually, we're all really good at what we do." * Patrick eyes Ariake with a grin. Sooner or later, though, that's not gonna be enough. Hell, we've already seen it not be enough. * Seylin looks back down. "Vall." And the immediate aftermath. * Ariake nods. * Tia turns back toward the fire, her wings hunched. I pay attention in battle tactics class, but I ain't no leader. Sey, Ariake, I don't think either of you wanna be leader. Tia is... Tia. And I'd hesitate following Patrick to the bathroom. And you would follow me? * Seylin smiles a little. "He usually doesn't trap the bathrooms. And you're right. I know I'm not really cut out to be leader. But... I just feel like I haven't been doing enough somehow." * Ariake nods. "Me neither." To a social event? No. Into battle? You've survived this long while doing some thing that, at the time, seemed remarkably stupid... something's looking out for you. Figure if I'm gonna follow anyone, might as well be you. * Tia says, without turning, "The professor said I should do what Kenji says." * Patrick smirks. * Seylin looks down at the table again, winding her hair around her finger. Her wings rustle slightly. Truth is, you've got a head for leadership Kenji. It'd be a shame, for us anyways, to see it leave. You say these things, but how can I believe you? You have already shown that you do not trust me. * HKenji gives Seylin an especially cutting glance, here. * Seylin visibly winces. W-what did I do? * Tia turns and blinks at Kenji and says quietly, "...I trust you." * HKenji just gazes evenly at Seylin, not saying a word. * Seylin looks distraught. "What did I do? Tell me!" I didn't mean to do anything wrong! No... I believe you didn't. Nontheless, you did not believe me when I said that I would hurt Tia, either way. What? I thought you were going to talk to her about it! I thought you wanted me to talk to her first, and then you were going to talk to her about it afterwards! * HKenji says nothing. I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! * Seylin is practically in tears now. I guess I misunderstood. * Ariake looks on in moderate confusion. "..." * Patrick shoots Kenji a harsh glance and puts his hand on Seylin's shoulder. * Tia glances away awkwardly and clutches her greataxe for comfort almost as if it were her plush bear. I never said we had to trust you personally, Kenji. Like I said, I still think you're an ass. I trust you professionally, though. For me, there is no difference. Please, Kenji. I didn't mean to... Sure there is. Calm yourself, Seylin. There is nothing to forgive. I don't trust you to set me up on a date. I do trust you to keep me alive in a fight. But you don't think I trust you! And that's not true! I do! Besides, I'm just speaking for me. The rest of these folks do trust you. Like the lady's saying. * Ariake nods. "I'm a loner by nature - I don't trust much of *anyone* personally. But you're the most competent adventurer of us all." I am no adventurer. That's funny. You act like one. No, I act like a samurai. You simply cannot see the difference. * Ariake shrugs. "True." I guess there's a lot we don't know or understand... * Will walks back into the room and listens in on the conversation after finding himself a chair to sit in. True. Is there a way we can find out more? Short of actually having been born and lived in your country? * Patrick shrugs. Where there is a will, there is always a way. We have a Will. *points* ... ... That was terrible, Istvan. I didn't actually expect someone to do that. * Will blinks. "What's going on?" * Seylin laughs. "Istvan, no." * Patrick grins. I know. But this conversation is getting too damn grim for my tastes. Needed something to lighten it up. * Tia turns. "Oh, hiya, Will." * Seylin looks back at Kenji hopefully. "Are there books? I really would like to know, so I don't make mistakes again in the future. Because I'm trying to do better. Really, I am!" * Will waves to Tia. "Hi Tia." You will need to translate them... but there are books. I do not know if they will help, but if there is a chance, then I will take it. * Seylin smiles gratefully. "Thank you. I promise I'll study them carefully." * Tia looks to Kenji hopefully. "Does that mean you'll stay, Kenji?" No. I still see no reason to delay the wedding. * Tia looks down. "...Oh." I would, however, ask that you accompany me home, that you may be there for the wedding. * Istvan points to the rest of the group. "They're your friends, and they're asking you to. That ain't good enough?" * Tia trembles and blinks wetly. * Patrick shrugs. "To him, duty comes before everything else." * Istvan grunts. "As for coming to the wedding... I'm not inclined to, but if everyone else is going, I will too." I think it would be good for us to do so... Since you asked us to... I will. * Patrick smiles. "Jadel speaks of the place a lot. I wouldn't mind taking a trip there myself." * Tia seems to be fighting an internal battle as her expression fluctuates between sadness and indecision. * Istvan frowns, then makes a spitting sound. "... lemme know what you guys decide. I'm gonna go look at the holes in my armor, try'n get an idea how much work patchin' 'em up is gonna be." * Istvan gets up and walks back upstairs to his room. * Will finally gets the gist of the conversation and nods. "I'm going since I'm your friend. But don't think we've given up on you yet Kenji." * Ariake nods. If you still wish to stay near me after the wedding... perhaps something can be arranged. The full details are not known to me, after all. * Seylin just nods. But she looks a lot better than she did a few minutes ago. * Patrick smiles at Seylin. * Tia doesn't meet Kenji's eyes, but she says softly, "I'll go too." * HKenji walks softly back to his room, smiling deviously as he whispers, "Where there is a will, there is ALWAYS a way." [Mini End!]