The Sentence - IC

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While she was in awe of this colossal flying machine, whatever it was, Kanade still managed to direct her people to start cordoning off more dangerous pieces of wreckage and direct curious onlookers away from any dangerous areas. She had a duty to the people, and she would uphold it. She greeted Lyssa in a friendly manner, once she ran into the Lady. She didn't say much when she spotted Aesil, merely looking gloomier than usual as the usual regrets flew through her mind at losing someone she'd considered a friend, of sorts. She certainly didn't want to encourage Lyssa to run off after the girl, whatever the case.

Once the two young ladies from the crashed ship, if ship it truly was, introduced themselves, she bowed, and did so in turn. "I am Lady Kanade Kondou, Knight of Aesil." She felt it was prudent to maintain formality for the time being. "Indeed, she is the Queen of Drisbane, not a princess," she explained. "We'll be happy to bring you to an audience with her."

She gestured for one of the guards with her, and sent him off back toward Drisbane with the message that the strange object was some sort of ship, according to those who were riding inside it. And that some of the people from this ship wished an audience with Queen Efrida. It would be best if the news arrived ahead of the actual people in question.

She studied the two women standing in front of her, carefully considering the both of them. She couldn't quite place their armor or clothing, and, eventually, curiosity got the best of her an a question escaped her lips. "So...that thing was a ship? What caused it to crash so? And, for that matter, where are you and your ship from?" Make that a few questions. Of course, the answers would be useful when presenting these foreign guests to the Queen.
 
Eleena
Aaaaahhh, things were getting way too crowded. "Yeah, shitstorm. ... Is that what you call interesting things?" She scratched the back of her fuzzy blue head with a gloved hand. "Well, peaceful days are pleasant too. ... It's just things aren't over until they're over. I guess." Words Eleena. Learn to use them better. Ah! Right! This was the woman who was usually mean! ... Cool. ... More and more people came. Aaahh, this was beginning to hurt her head. Even civilians started showing up. What if this was some sort of invasion you dolts!?!? What if enemies were attack from beyond the sky!? ... No, from beyond the stars!!

... Alas, that notion only kept her excited for a few minutes. You know, this was an awfully light shitstorm. Something needed to happen. "Ah, hey Halberd. --..." Yeah. He's turned kinda... Well, she had plans if he turned rogue. Step 1: Get Sarah. Step 2: Tell her Halberd thought she was pretty. Step 3: Watch as she takes him down, marries him, and turns him into a housewife. ... Hah. Maybe she needed to work on that a bit. ... There was no doubt that Eleena realized she had grown stronger. A new type... But she never thought of herself as a hero. And because of that, she had no right to save Halberd if he turned. Against him, it would be nothing but a fight. ... And he deserved more than that.

For some reason, the thought of Sarah and Halberd cuddling in bed made her brow furrow.
... Maybe it was because Sarah had the figure of a man.
Two men.
Yuck.
Well... at least it was slightly better than two women.
​
"Ah--!" Oh! People appeared from the ship! Awesome! She smiled through out the introduction of Okine and Ferenfel. Hah! Wow. No way were these guys villainous. ... UNLESS! Unless this was a devious scheme! What if they were acting like this to cover a more heinous attitude! Fiends! Well, no way was she gonna let them get away with that! She wasn't gonna lead them straight to her leaders! No! ... But well, she didn't want to be rude if they weren't acting. ... Ah! That was perfect.

... Wait-what? The blue hair turned at Natalya's words. There was a third guardian here? Eleena looked around for the person Natalya had mentioned. When her eyes caught sight, a strange jolt went through her body. Huh!?! So he was a guardian? ... She hadn't paid much attention. As a man... he was much different than Halberd. Maybe that was why? With a few steps and a stern gaze, she walked up rather closely to Aiden. Her two hands gripped his shoulders.

​
"I can feel it. We're compatible, you and I. My panties have never lied before.
So, please, become mine and I will become yours!
I can feel it in my groin!
We were meant for each other!
DON'T BELIEVE IN ME! BELIEVE IN MY PANTIES!
BELIEVE IN THE PANTIES THAT BELIEVE IN YOU!!"
...
"That said, I'm only willing to get knocked up once.
So if you want more than one child, you better try really hard to get twins."
​
Eleena let go of her fellow Guardian, letting out a relieved breath. Ah! Today was a good day! Thankfully, she had managed to settle her future as a woman today. So no need to worry about that anymore. As for the new arrivals, her previously formed idea seemed good enough, so she took the lead. "Alright! Halberd! Future Husband! You two take those two to Sarah's bakery! They're probably hungry after all this. I'll go back and notify the guards so the atmosphere isn't so tense. I'll also go and get Mimo or Tycen, then we'll all meet up at the shop. Sounds good, right? Okay! I'm off!"
​
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​

Eleena waits for no man! The decision made, she got clear of the throng of people, waving at the two strangers in farewell. ... Well, she stopped once she was free, getting low and readying her legs. ... Maybe it was for the husband who's name she didn't know, or maybe it was to show the people from the ship what she was made of. She was showing.

With a loud "WHOOP!", the girl was off, racing through the outskirts of the city at speeds that were, quite frankly, terrifying for even herself. In no time she was back in the city, giving the local guards a very quick debriefing. Like before, they had little to no chance to respond before she was off again. Her next stop was Sarah's bakery. She narrowly dodged a hug. No time for a dislocated arm right now, sorry Sarah. Eleena let her know of the situation and that she'd have guests. ... and that she shouldn't try to make friends. Because honestly, that might scare them away.

And then off to the Guardian's Headquarters! Whoosh! Past that guy carrying all those papers! Jumping over the guy with toast in his mouth late for work! Running too fast to be hit by Japanese Truck, [Who was very mad that she stole his lunch and made fun of his name the other day!] Finally! She managed to make it to the upper offices, knocking on ALL the doors. "Foreign Guests from the air thingy! Six people! Splitting to the three factions! We get two! Mimo! Tycen~~! Invited them to Sarah's for some food, Halberd and some guy I don't know are taking them there now! Also that some guy I don't know is my future husband! Ah, you probably know him. He's a guardian. I just haven't seen him around is all. I'm not really good at looking around. Oh! And we shouldn't bring Carol in case they have NEFARIOUS PLANS! ... They seem nice though." Hopping up and down with a bounce each time, there were no words for her recent actions.
​
Well, it was Eleena. Perhaps that was the only way to describe it.
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@Reanimator Bob @Jakers @Asuras​
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Truth be told, Aiden wasn't paying any attention to what was happening with the members of his faction. The two ladies who had approached them were not nearly as interesting as the massive ship that lied in ruins before him. The entire time. At this point his curiosity had taken control of his body as he craned his neck to get a better view of the mechanical innards of the mechanism. He is no master of mechanics, but if this truly was a flying ship, then it must require a crippling amount of energy. Magical, or otherwise. If he could learn how they managed to generate so much energy, then he could only imagine what he could accomplish in his own study. He was about ready to just walk inside the smouldering mass in hopes of understanding how it works.

He had only moved an inch, before he was grasped from behind. Eleena had spun him to face her, and was now staring directly into his eyes. "I-Is something wrong Lieuten-..." The words had barely left his mouth before he was cut off by her. He was expecting her to give him orders, or tell him not to go inside or something. But that didn't happen. He couldn't have seen this coming. NO ONE could have. Not many people have their superior telling them about their panties. But to have them yelling in in your face, claiming that they feel in their groin that you two are meant to be together?! They hadn't even spoken to each other! And here she was. Giving him some strange perversion of a love confession.

But just as spontaneously as it had started... It stopped. And she was gone. But not before calling him her future husband... Did she even know his name?... In his confusion he turned to Halberd. "I... eh... Um... But... Is she usually so... Blunt?" It was then he remembered that she wasn't the only one to not know his name. He hadn't introduced himself to anyone in his current outfit. "Well, um... I guess with all the attention drawn to me, I kinda have to introduce myself. I'm Aiden Renmor. I'm a scholar, and new recruit to the Guardian's, It's nice to meet you." He turned to the two foreigners who had just arrived. "Though I wish it was under better circumstances for you two." He gave a chuckle, hoping to change the subject and focus away from himself. "So, uh, Lieutenant Halberd, should we do as Lieutenant Eleena said, and take them to that Bakery?"
 

Halberd
HP: ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋​


Halberd watched the two foreigners plainly through grey-blue eyes. A pretty casual introduction for someone who could've died, or crashed straight into the fucking city if they weren't careful. Also, the hell was with this Ferenfel's ears?
"Well, if it's Guardians you're after, I can only direct you to Lieutenant Eleena Ijin, Lieutenant Callous Butchery-"
"Hallus. Burgundy." Halberd muttered through gritted teeth. He'd expected this when in the proximity of Natalya, but it was still hard to deal with her. He didn't hate her back, even after the things she'd said, so his best option was to just ignore her. She just couldn't accept... who he was. He didn't care if he looked like a bad guy, he was doing what was right. When he'd tried to explain that to her, he thought that she - of all people - would understand. But no. And now they were here, where she refused to even look him in the eye.
Damn it, why did it make him feel... so...

Thoughts of old ties were interrupted by Eleena being... Eleena. All the stuff she was saying mostly in way over Halberd's head, although he caught out words such as 'panties', 'husband', and 'groin'.
"I... eh... Um... But... Is she usually so... Blunt-"
"-Yeah. Meet Eleena. You'll get used to her eventually." Halberd replied simply. "I think she likes you. But don't bother trying to run." The girl was the literal definition of unpredictable. And childish to a certain extent. What concerned Halberd the most however was the fact she was still getting faster. Her speed was almost... frightening... at this stage.

With that, she ran off, suggesting the bakery to be a good place to start with these two foreigners. It'd do, but Halberd wanted to get down to asking these people serious questions at some point. Everyone else was being a little bit too calm about the situation, in his opinion.

Once this guy, 'Aiden', was done with his introduction, Halberd looked at the two women in silence for a moment.
"Okine and Ferenfel, huh." He said slowly. Considering these were people who'd got to Drisbane by crashing an airship in the middle of valuable farmland, there was no way in hell he trusted them yet.
"Well, yeah: we're Guardians. Girl who ran off s'called Eleena, and I'm Halberd." He said plainly, giving the slightest of nods. "Welcome to Drisbane. Don't cause any trouble."

"So, uh, Lieutenant Halberd, should we do as Lieutenant Eleena said, and take them to that Bakery?"
"Yeah. Not that she gave us much of a choice." Halberd snorted. "Also, cut the 'Lieutenant' crap. Just call me Halberd." He added. Before he turned to leave and lead the Okine and Ferenfel to the bakery, he looked over his shoulder at Natalya, who was still facing away from him, before looking at the ground for a moment, biting his lip before he began to walk back to the dusty, darkened streets of Drisbane.

As they walked, Halberd gave them basic information about Drisbane's current situation, giving a brief overview of all the factions, their leaders, and explaining Goetia's downfall and Kalieb's treachery. ...Kalieb. The thought of that coward made Halberd snarl. If he even made the slightest move to try and get Carol again, he'd make every effort to find and end that bastard.
"So. How'd you people end up crashing? Driving a flying boat into a farm won't go down great with the locals." Halberd asked Okine & Ferenfel, eyeing the streets as he walked.
 
After a brief wait for the Second Winds, as Junkiro decided to call them, the two who had recently acquainted themselves with the Palacians returned, asking for guidance to their faction. Their names were...well, no less interesting than he had anticipated. Apex Storm was an interesting name...even Virod, as the man was called, seemed to take note of it. The dragon was right-what ARE people named for? What is a Junkiro? Or a Kokusho? The dragon was certainly insightful, if on trivial matters at the least. Either way, it intrigued him. A large crowd of civilians and Champions had started to gather as well; he noticed both Guardians and Aesilians in the mix. Best not to interact with them right now; they seemed busy with their own groups of Second Winds.

"Of course, we can lead you to our faction. Please, follow us, and please mind the vegetation." Junkiro nodded at Kokusho, and then called out to Aesil, still at the ship's door. "Come on Aesil, we're headed home, okay?" With a smile, he started walking with Kokusho, traipsing over the vegetable patches as quickly as he could, making sure not to trample any more crops.

Once they had made some distance and were beginning to near the gates to the city once again, Junkiro finally started to relax. He glanced at Kokusho, feeling a light blush come to his cheeks. Over the past six months, he had spent more time close to Kokusho than he had in a very long time. The two of them had grown much closer over that time, training and exploring together, just a pair of Champions working together to a common goal. Over that time, Junkiro had come to enjoy her company a bit more than usual. Her free spirit and playful attitude melded well with his own personality, and he'd be lying if he said she wasn't good-looking at the least. So why was it so hard to take the next step and say something?

You've just gotta say it. Just ask her to do something, just her and you. It's all you have to do. Even as he glanced at Kokusho, willing himself to ask her, he realized he was staring at her. She glanced back at him; he quickly lowered his gaze embarrassedly. Instead, he turned back to the white-dressed man and dragonoid.

"Say, while we're walking, w-why don't you tell us about your homeland? I wasn't even aware that this place called Second Wind existed, if that's what you called it, right? There must be all sorts of stories you could tell us! If you can make flying machines like that thing you crashed in, how advanced are you guys?"
 
It was a monster. A dragon. A humanoid lizard with massive wings that stood a few heads above Aesil. And yet, despite that massive height, the scaled beast didn't look all that physically impressive. Its muscles were sinewy and concentrated, no fats at all…yet it made him look almost skeletal to Aesil. A curious creature, to be sure, one that Aesil didn't actually consider eating from the get-go. Maybe it was because they were both inhuman existences, but hm…did he also eat humans?

That curiousity, however, was driven away as other champions arrived from the city to investigate. As she turned around to catch a glimpse of them, her amethyst eyes caught that of Kanade's and Aesil turned away instantly. Why was she there? Wait, no, of course she would be there. She was a champion, just like herself. It should have been expected. It should have been, and she should have left before then, but…
Aesil snuck another glance the pink-haired idol, before slowing down her heart rate and pressing herself against the shadows. Her body melted away as she erased her presence, all the way until she disappeared from sight. Leaning against the dying airship, she watched, silently, as the dragon and the white man introduced themselves, one by a title, and another by a name.


Apex Storm and Virod.


Not outlandish, but still, foreign.

Individuals from a foreign land, bearing foreign clothing and coming in a foreign vehicle. If it wasn't for their disarming smiles, Aesil would have thought of them as dangerous…but even with those smiles, there was no trust there. As Junkiro and Kokusho began to lead the two back to the city, Aesil followed a few paces behind, her hands hidden underneath long sleeves. Unlike the others, she made no sound as she stepped through the vegetable patches, and, chances were that they wouldn't see her even if they turned around and looked for her. Rasoba's instruction was good, and her personal talent was even better. The walk continued on towards the city, with Aesil doing her best not to get noticed by any more of her former comrades, before Junk brought up something.

Well, less like he brought up something, and more she realized something.

"Kazuma Tadayoshi."

She personally didn't interact much with that person (or any person in general), but Rasoba did talk to her about all the fancy mechanized weapons that the person made, and if someone could understand how that red-metal beast worked, it would be him.
 
Lyssa simply glanced at the newcomers stoically as they exited their flying contraption, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of a two-legged dragon in their entourage. Her stony face wrinkled a bit in displeasure as she saw Aesil among the Palacian champions already at the scene, but she deliberately stopped her hand from going anywhere near her sword. This was neither the time nor the place to confront the traitor. Her day would come eventually, but not now. Not when there was more important work to be done for her queen.

"An honor." Lyssa responded to the female knight, shaking her hand firmly. A knight much like her, then. "I am Lyssa Elspeth, Knight of Aesil. We shall escort you as honored guests to the queen." She said as Kanade began to handle the talking. Still, with all of her questions, she had missed one crucial inquiry.

"And where were you headed in the first place?"
 
The arrival of the citizens of Drisbane looked like it would make a mess out of an already confused scene. After the incident involving the demon, she hadn't expected them to be so willing to thrust themselves into the maw of uncertainty. The crimson vessel could carry anything from a plague to an army of demons, and if it was dangerous then hundred would die before it reached the city walls. Still, with an irritated sigh at the noise they were making she decided that it was no longer her duty to concern herself with them. One of the perks of being irrelevant, she supposed.

Despite that, her hands were still at her blades as a hole opened up in the side of the metal monstrosity, but no screams heralded the arrival of an invading army. From what she could see, they were just people. She wondered how many there could be on a vessel of that size, and where they could have come from. The loss of knowledge and experience had been another price of the Sentence which they had yet to recover from. She wasn't surprised as she watched a pair of the foreigners approach the group of champions. She couldn't help but laugh internally during their introduction. They had been on Drisbane's soil for minutes at most and were already aware of how insignificant Goetia had become.

She turned to Natalya, leaving the foreigners in the hands of the Guardians. "I think mundane circumstances will be difficult to come by today, but no, I don't have any plans," she said, paying little attention Eleena's antics. "Of course, we may receive orders from Frua later..."
 
"Well, look at this. That thing was actually in the air? Imagine the power we could hold if such a device would be ours! Nonetheless-" Speaking to Aurora, Este was now interrupted by one of her subordinates. He was either pretty smart considering the armored woman was with Este or just suicidal by default. Giving him a grim look her face soon changed to something akin to mad happiness. "Well, that was about time. For the time being tell Wilfred those exact words: We will meet at the dawn of the blood moond." Which basically meant to make their temporary main-base a rather safe hide-out instead of the old mansion... with the exception of the ghouls. With that, she paid the vampire no more attention, sure, his advice was welcome, but it was a eventually she had planned to do anyways. Even if Este had trouble getting all of the other houses under her control again, the Guardians were a threat that all of them would have to face sooner or later regardless of their power struggles.

"Aurora, how about you go down there and collect some information? Maybe even recruit those newcomers for our cause?" The cause being to unify this pathetic city under one, her, rule. Taking out those silly guardians would just be the next step.
 
It was some sort of carrier? Aurora watched from a far distance as people seemed to exit out of what she thought was original a meteor, but no it seemed to be some sort of metallic structure that could fly... well could fly which brought up the question why it was on fire, and why did it crash. She could run after one of the survivors, but well they disbanded very quickly towards groups of people belonging to the four... three fractions. Before she could really decided on a action she turned around to notice someone talking to Este that she didn't know... who was also kneeling to Este. Aurora immediately gave Este a questioning look on what was going on, but before she could ask Este laughed the possible servant off with a mad like happiness as she told Aurora how she basically wanted this flying device in her power.

"That might be a bit of trouble seeing how it seems to be destroyed," Aurora assessed though who knew maybe the thing could still function. At that point Este gave Aurora a command to gather information, and recruit some of those survivors to their cause... yes the people who were branching off towards official Champions of the Fractions. Especially the Guardian branch who Aurora immediately recognized was not people she wanted to be seen by... she was a candidate for a warden spot awhile back of course quite a few Guardian's would probably recognize her.

"Their branching out so that may be a rather large issue. Especially if their aiming to get help from the higher positions of the fractions... yet that might cause a problem in itself," Aurora spoke softly as she look toward the flying device. "For who is to say that one of the fractions might not be ready to break the current peace, and use these foreign folk to completely take over... might be wise for us to first disrupt any communicate, and divert them from at least the Palace, and Aesil fraction," Aurora added looking at Este.

"Then again maybe we should at least see what these people are about before assuming they will help us, or can help us. So I'll go find one of them if I can, and see what I can learn about them. I'll leave the diversions to you... and your contacts that we will need to talk about later," Aurora said with a mellow look sure Este was a Vampire so it wouldn't be shocking if their other vampires around, but at the same time Este was aiming to take control of Drisbane, and to settle her score with the Guardians who had killed her sister. If Este had other forces about working behind the scenes Aurora needed to know.

"I wish you luck milady," Aurora spoke as she started to head down further into the crash scene to see if she could find any of these foreigners willing to speak. With her unnatural eyes she started to look about as the citizens helped out with putting out any loose fire still about. Yet the closer she got to the ship the more she started to focus away from the smaller details as the ship was now in finer detail up close.
 
Kazuma sneezed, almost dropping the tool in his hand, and almost spitting out some of his suit's wiring. He was working on his suit for a while when he heard the airship crash, he would have ran outside to see it, but his hands were full with the repairing of his suit. If it was going to be the end of the world, well, him going out to look wouldn't change that. He may as well keep tinkering with his suit. The elbow had become a bit stiff, and upon inspection, the problem was a bit more complex than "just oil it a bit." The kinetic energy gathering mechanism in the joint had become a bit too tight, the gears having gradually tightened themselves onto the frame until they were all but immobile. And of course, the gears were in the most inaccessible part of the joint. He had to practically remove the lower arm to adjust the gears. So, of course, when the alarms had been rung and the champions called, Kazuma had the lower right arm of his suit detached and sitting on a table, and the magical wiring of it in his mouth so both his hands were free to work on the elbow.

Perfect.

The first real thing he gets to do as a champion, and his suit needs maintenance. Well, it didn't really NEED it yet. He could've gone to the crash site and only been bothered a bit by the stiff elbow. It wasn't detrimental to the suit's performance, but he still wanted to get it fixed in case it became an issue. However, he didn't have the option to go to the crash with the stiff elbow. He already had it apart when the alarms sounded, and it would take him just as long to put it back together as it would to finish fixing it. So, screw it. He'd finish fixing it, then see what the commotion was about.

He tinkered with the suit for a short while longer before the culprit of the stiffness clattered to the ground. He kicked the small gear aside and pulled out another from his tool pouch, placing the near identical new one where the old one had fallen from, and tightening the bolt to keep it in place. He then gave the gear a few turns to ensure that it spun without spinning the bolt, and that the bolt was not too tight that it inhibited the gear's motion. Satisfied with the new gear, he took the wires from his mouth and fit them back where they went before grabbing the housing for the mechanism and replacing that as well. He then took the lower right arm of the suit and began bolting it back into place, careful to keep all the wiring from being jostled around too much. But really, what was the point in being that careful with the wires? The suit was made for combat! The wiring was durable! But, he couldn't bring himself to not be gentle with his creation.

Once the wiring was set, he stepped into the suit, spreading his arms to either side to line them up with the suit's limbs. He slipped his fingers into the gloves at the end of the arms, and closed his hands into fists. The movement activated mechanisms in the arms, metal rings closing around Kazuma's biceps and forearms to hold him into the metal exoskeleton. He then reached behind him, pulling the suit's belt around him so he was strapped into it at the waist. Even though he knew that his katana was there, he still had to look to make sure that the weapon was hanging at his side. He then reached behind himself again and pulled the leather harnesses over his shoulders, latching them together at his chest before pulling leather strips up from his belt to latch in at the center as well. Once his torso was thoroughly connected with his invention, he grabbed his dual pistols and put them onto the harness, latching them on with some leather and small metal clasps. With his guns in place, he flipped two switches, one on each leg. This triggered mechanisms in the legs similar to the ones in the arms, metal rings wrapping around his legs to secure his limbs against the exoskeleton.

Now fully strapped into his suit, Kazuma moved around a bit, making sure that the suit moved the way it was supposed to. He found comfort in the soft whirring sound the suit's backpack made as it changed his movements into magic energy. Ever since he first put the suit on, he loved that sound. It meant that all systems were operational, and the suit was ready to go. With his suit ready to go, he turned to exit his workshop, prepared to face the world as a champion of Palace.
 

"Aye, it is a ship," Beni said closing her eyes, "Made by me and my family some years back." Nitanna smiled.

"We're from all over the place. No one of us, save maybe Okine and Beni, are from the same lands. We've been picked up along the Red Crane's journey over the years," Nitanna explained. She crossed her arms together and looked to the city beyond, "All of us are refugees, more or less."

"Opportunistic adventurers I like to say," Beni said, snapping her fingers. Nitanna glowered at her friend and shook her head. Beni shrugged before passively fixing her goggles.

"Our destination, unfortunately, was quite a ways away from here to the south east," Nitanna answered Lyssa, "Though due to unforeseen changes in... borders... we were stricken heavily by enemy forces and had to land elsewhere."

"Managed to keep the fat ship aloft for twenty times as long as it should've been, thanks to myself!" Beni proclaimed, crossing her arms in pride. "We would've been screwed out in the wilderness, but I managed to keep the engines running for another day, carrying us all the way out here. Thank god for boonie towns." She recieved a swift jab to her shoulder from Nitanna.

"I apologize for the vagueness of our journey," Nitanna said, bowing her head, "We merely wish to preserve the majority of information to your leaders. All shall be revealed in due time, should your Queen divulge the information to you two. It is merely for, caution's sake. We cannot be too careful now, given what has happened to our plans. We hope you can understand." She bowed her head again.



Despite her intrusive attempt at notifying Mimo and Tycen of the newcomers with such speed, Eleena was ultimately unsuccessful at even finding them, coming across empty office rooms. Warden Mimo's location, ultimately, was revealed as soon as Halberd had turned around to begin leading the Second Wind duo to their Borough; she was standing right behind him already, catching his movement with a hand to his chest as if to prevent him from walking right over her.

"I figured I might find you here. I don't suppose Eleena is around anywhere?" Mimo asked, looking about. "Listen, I know this thing here is pretty spectacular, but we've got a lot more pressing matters to attend to," she said sternly. "An homage to former days," she began, "Need to deal with some more vampires." Ferenfel's blushing face disappeared as she suddenly seemed surprised.

"Oh! Vampires! That sounds serious..." the elf stated. Mimo looked around Halberd to Okine and Ferenfel with raised eyes.

"And who are you two?" she asked. Before Ferenfel could open her mouth again, Okine shot a hand up to her face and silenced her.

"We're survivors from the crashed ship. We're called the Second Wind's, a traveling family of sorts. We've been instructed by our leader to try our best to meet with these so-called 'faction heads' your city's got," Okine explained. Mimo shook her head.

"We don't have the time right now to entertain foreigners, I'm afraid. Perhaps you two would be more successful finding information with these two ladies?" Mimo acknowledged Galina and Natalya with a head nod, "They're part of the Goetia faction, and likely far more enjoyable to be around and learn from." The two Second Wind girls turned to Galina and Natalya with blank stares.

"Halberd... And you," Mimo pointed to Aiden, "Aiden is it? You two come with me. Where is Eleena again? We need her as well." Mimo urged the two Guardians to follow with a nudge to Halberd and Aiden's back. "I need to brief you two back at the office."

As the three Guardians left, Natalya and Galina were left with Okine and Ferenfel. Okine leaned on her hip as she lifted her chin to the Goetians. "Virod didn't mention anything about any Goetia faction. Are you guys really a faction?" she asked.



Kokusho pounded a fist into her palm as Aesil mentioned the other Palacian boy's name. "Good thinking!" she said to Aesil, "If there's anyone we know who might be able to help with their big flying mechanism, it's Kazuma!" she exclaimed. Apex scratched at her jaw.

"Well, well, I'm not so sure about that," he said. Kokusho turned her head up to him.

"What? Why not? You don't know how great he is with mechanical stuff!" she defended the boy mechanic.

"We can hazard a guess," Virod said quietly, "Does Drisbane possess any airships of its own?" When Kokusho pondered for a moment before shaking her head, Virod smiled. "Exactly the reason behind my friend's doubts. This airship is an extremely complicated device, or rather, collection of devices. It is unlikely your friend will be able to help, much less fix it. We'll have to leave Beni to herself if we want it fixed."

"Even then, Beni doesn't have the materials or the shipyard to make repairs," Apex mentioned, "We'd be better off making our own smaller one, shameful as it is to abandon the ol' red Crane. Damn Eudasti," he grumbled under his breath. As the group continued into Drisbane's streets and further towards Palace's Borough, Kokusho mentioned a few minuscule factoids about the city, sparking a few conversations here and there until they came across a familiar and coincidental face; down the street, Kazuma roamed about.

"Speaking of...!" With a wave and a yell, Kokusho called out the fellow Palacian. "Kazuma~! Over here!" Virod leaned over to Apex's shoulder.

"The boy seems skilled enough to make a suit. I presume he has the skill," he said to the dragon.

"Mm, but neither the experience nor the knowledge," Apex grumbled, "He might make some pleasant company for Beni though." Virod and Apex turned to each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

 
Kanade nodded. "I understand your concerns. There's little I can do to allay them, but I won't pry, if that's what you're worried about. It isn't my duty to question things too closely. We'll escort you to the royal palace, now." She started walking, and motioned for the visitors from the airship to follow her. As she walked, she did her best to point out anything of particular interest as they entered Drisbane proper and made their way toward the First Borough and the Queen's castle.

"So...you keep referring to this city as a backwater," she said to Beni. "I suppose that means wherever you're from, it must be the height of civilization," she sounded just a little sarcastic. Maybe the disparaging of her home had managed to tick her off a bit. "I do hope we'll have all the amenities you're used to." And even if they didn't, there wasn't much she could do about it.

She let the travelers think what they may, and turned her attention toward Lyssa. "What do you think about all this, Lyssa," she asked. "I really can't make much of it, but I get the idea it's the start of something big. We haven't really had contact with anyone from abroad since the First Sentence, have we?" This alone was probably concerning. And would make these new arrivals overnight sensations on that merit alone. And that much attention could be good or bad. Hopefully these people could take care of themselves, in case anyone decided to attack them, for whatever reason. Though if not, they probably would have guards wherever they were, anyway. "At least we speak the same language."
 
Well...there was the million dollar question...What was Goetia these days anyway? And what was that about vampires? It seemed Halberd and the others had a fight coming up...Wrenching her head back to the question, Natalya did her best to answer. "Well, yeah, I guess we are. We've been one of the four major driving forces in Drisbane since before the Sentence, but that all changed about 6 months ago. We were a faction that sought arcane knowledge and power, but some took that to an extreme. Our then leader, Kaileb, sought to stir up discontent between the other factions and turn them on each other, while manipulating even those who served under him to his own ends. Eventually, it came back to hurt him. Galina and I, name's Natalya by the way, along with a couple other Goetians and the Guardians, went hunting Kaileb, though he managed to escape. Meanwhile an alliance of Aesil and Palace fought their way to the Madurn Sanctuary, a place that we kinda treated as sacred, and wrecked it with magic." Better to keep quiet about the demon, Natalya thought. "Anyway, following that we had a bit of a change of priorities. We lost several of our strongest, either killed or run into hiding, and decided we had enough with the darker facets of our faction. We started hunting them down, and now our library's more a place of communal learning. We still have our own borough though. I'm sure Head Librarian Frua would be interested to speak to you, maybe an exchange of information?" Tinette would probably be quite interested too, if she could be bothered to take human form for long enough.

Looking back over her shoulder, Natalya watched Halberd's back as he walked away. Should she say something? What if that was the last time she saw him? Natalya knew personally that Halberd could handle himself in a fight, but vampires were a dangerous prospect for anyone to face. Natalya swallowed, shook her head, turned back. No. In front of these strangers, in front of half of Drisbane? She couldn't even get the words out when they'd been alone. Now was possibly the worst time. Natalya motioned for the strangers to follow her, hoping against hope she wouldn't regret her decision.
 
Kazuma couldn't help but be a little taken aback as he saw the strangers walking beside his fellow Palacians. He was even more taken aback since one appeared to be a draconic human, and a very tall one at that. Kazuma couldn't help but think that the scaled man would be rather terrifying if he was an enemy. However, he didn't seem to be acting aggressively towards anyone he was with, and the fact that he was laughing at something certainly helped him seem a bit less threatening. However, Kazuma decided that he'd keep his guard up around the dragon.

The white clothed man beside him seemed significantly less threatening, and Kazuma immediately had a million and one questions on his mind to ask the man. He was clearly from a place outside of Drisbane, and the mechanic wanted to ask him all sorts of questions. Why was he in Drisbane? Where had he come from? What was his home like? What kind of culture did that place have? Did they have factions like Drisbane, or did they live under some sort of other system? What was their technology like? Oh, he so desperately wanted to pick the man's brain. There was so much he could learn.

However, learning could wait. The more important questions were "Who are you?" and "What was that massive crash earlier?" Kazuma could only assume that the crash was somehow related to the pair's arrival. It was too much of a coincidence to have new people appear in the city and have something as strange as the crash happen in the same day. They absolutely had to be related somehow, and there was absolutely no doubt in Kazuma's mind that they were. He assumed that he would find out soon enough, and made his way over to the group as they walked towards him, his suit whirring lightly with each step he took.

"Hello!" he called as he walked over, waving back to Kokusho. He could hardly contain his curiosity about the newcomers, and wasn't sure he'd be able to contain his curiosity for very long after meeting them.
 
Lyssa kept her expression neutral as Nitanna and Beni went on, only dropping into a frown as "enemy forces" were mentioned. Shaking her head, she glanced back to address both foreigners, though focusing mainly on Beni. "When you meet with the Queen, do have a care as to what you say. It would be improper to tell the ruler of this city that she governs a backwater, especially if you wish to petition her for aid." Lyssa said with a tight smile before Kanade pulled her to the side for a moment.

"What do I think?" She murmured quietly as Kanade finished. "I don't like this. They mentioned enemies. If they were followed by these enemies they mentioned, we may have to enter a fight that isn't our own." Lyssa shook her head as she stared at Kanade. "We only just won the city six months ago. I should be out there bringing Aesil back in, rather than playing diplomat with these people! I saw her today, damn it!" She hissed, making sure it was out of earshot of the duo that they were escorting. With that said, she fell back in line and gave the foreigners a guarded nod.

"Sorry about that. Just going over some security concerns."
 
Vampires. Blood sucking people with sharp fangs that go around all "Bleh bleh!" and count or some shit like that. "Really, More pressing than this, cause I don't know. A giant flying ship did just crash. That seems pretty big." Oh what's the point. That's not gonna happen... Damn it. All he wanted to do was learn about the flying machine. It intrigued him so much. What wonders lied inside it's crimson melting hull? For some reason he felt he would never know. But this is the price he paid for joining the Guardian's. He can truthfully say that, thanks to them, his physical capabilities have grown exponentially, so it hasn't been a total waste. But he still wanted to know about that ship!

As for Eleena... "I believe Eleena ran back to the Borough in search of you and Tycen. If we hurry she may still... On second thought she is probably on her way here right now, if you're here." He hadn't payed much mind to it, but she is quite fast. It's unbelievable that the human body is capable of even keeping up with that pace. Strange as that was, you kinda have to admire that speed. Now with the matter at hand being the vampires, and not the amazing flying contraption, Aiden turned to Halberd out of curiosity. "Vampires, huh? Guess you've fought some before. They act they way you'd expect, or..."
 
"You wouldn't mind if I happened to join your little entourage perhaps," Aurora called out to Natalya once she was certain the Guardians had gone far enough to a distance that her voice wouldn't be heard by a... particular member of that group... her reunion with family would have to wait, and for now she had just walked into a situation that could help her kill two birds with one stone. She had already realized that the only people who had been inside that ship had effectively already regrouped, and aimed to seek help from the higher ups of the fractions... just like she had assume they would. What she wasn't prepared for was that a few surviving members of the now much smaller Goetia Fraction were now in her sights... they could take her to the current head of the Goetia. Her motherly nature was easily hinted in her voice as she bowed politely to the group.

"I am in need for a audience with the Head Librarian myself, and well as embarrassing as it is I have no bearings on the layout of Goetia's Borough," she explained... the Librarian she could possibly answer a few questions for Aurora that had been nagging at her every since her had went inside the Madurn Sanctuary. Their was something she needed to know, and seeing how two survivors of the flying device were now interested in heading that way she could also learn a few things about them. With her unnatural eyes locked on Natalya she gave a rather innocent pleading look for help.
 

Halberd
HP: ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋​


Halberd scowled. Wonderful... more vampires. Aggressive ones too, by the sound of Mimo's voice. At this point, however, it was just another day at work for Halberd. Giving nothing but a plain nod, Halberd was a little irritated as he was nudged, but was used to Mimo's slightly condescending behaviour by now. Reaching in his coat, Halberd checked his supplies. A full canteen of strong alcohol - check. A couple handfuls of throwing knives - check. Matches - check. All he was really missing was something like a net, but it was enough to dispose of the vermin that threatened the innocent in his city. Fucking vampires... he'd yet to see one who was sentient.

Halberd moved the matches to his front pocket, and licked his lips. His eyes grew more serious. Aiden might've found a ship crash lovely and interesting, but vamps definietely took a priority. Each second wasted here could be a second that an innocent person was slowly being sucked dry.
"Let's go."

He wasn't exactly Eleena, but his movements had grown much faster and precise over the months. His confidence for fighting these vampires had got to a point where he almost found it a chore... unless these vampires were a cut above the usual. All that sparring... particularly with his most challenging opponent, Natalya, had helped him grow stronger. Halberd bit his lip, before furrowing his brow a little, and speedening the pace of his walk to the office. He probably wouldn't see her again. For now, he just had to forget. But this just made his already shitty mood intensify. As much as his emotions were eating away at him, protecting his city had to be a priority for now. Not that he expected her to even look at him, let alone listen to him if he tried to talk things over with her... God damn it. He wished he'd said something, at least...

"Vampires, huh? Guess you've fought some before. They act they way you'd expect, or..."
"If you expect them to act like manipulative, murdering stains of shit on our city, yes." Halberd grumbled coldly. He tightened the grip on his axe. "Just don't hold back. I've been against some before; taking them prisoner is a shitty plan. Here." Halberd threw Aiden a box of matches. "They get up again sometimes."

Halberd paused. Blue Bolt could run around the city in a matter of minutes... when she eventually figured out Mimo wasn't there, she'd probably run back again. Something didn't feel right.
"Eleena should be back by now. Not like her to be late." He muttered.
 
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Although it seemed that her plans to catch up with Natalya had been cut short, Galina appreciated being treated like Goetia still mattered. Even if it was only because Warden Mimo had more important duties for her champions to attend to. Vampires? She thought, remembering a scene that unfolded six months ago. Hopefully they had nothing to do with Astra. One cryptic mission had been enough for a lifetime. Turning her attention to the others, she nodded in agreement with Natalya's summary of the situation. Frowning at the mention of Kaileb. She had been hoping that six months spent hunting his loyalists would lead her to him, but she had no such luck. He was still out there, and she knew that he still had allies. Unfortunately, she suspected Clanna of being one of them. Her particular set of talents would have been effective in keeping Kaileb ahead of his pursuers.

Rather than dwell on him even further, Galina tried to focus on the two foreigners and, at the very least, prove Mimo's compliment to be true. As they began to head towards the city, she remembered Halberd's unanswered question. "What happened to your ship, if you don't mind me prying?" She asked.
 
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