[System]
Age: 16

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Appearance:

A bright eyed girl from the Steppes of the Northeastern highlands, she carries with her a brightness and optimism that would lead one to believe her a simple runaway girl with dreams of adventure. Her complexion is tanned from her time spent under the open sky, and she seems to be in a perpetual good mood, judging from her omnipresent smile. She is of a lithe build, and has a slightly bowlegged stance from her life spent riding on a horse. Her arms and legs are fairly toned and muscular for her frame, making her a lot stronger than your average girl from a farm.

She is almost perpetually seen with her hair in a ratty mess, the only restraint to it being her hairband that keeps her bangs from blocking her vision entirely. Her outfit usually consists of a traditional tunic of the Steppe, with large sleeves that give her arms free movement, a black long skirt that has been ripped at the sides to allow her legs more freedom, and a pair of leather sandals. When adventuring, she wears a leather breastplate beneath her dress for added protection.

Height: 5'7"
Eye Color: Amber
Hair Color: White

Personality:
A little ball of sunshine and happiness, there doesn't seem to be much in this life that can get the Steppe Archer down. She carries with her an almost infectious energy that brightens up the room, seemingly always in high spirits.

Her optimism is matched by her keen observation skills. In just a few minutes, she can identify the people in a room at a glance, and tell how someone is feeling by their expression. Despite her perceptive nature, she herself is very blunt, and often unable to think before she speaks. It is not uncommon for something she says to come across as harsh due to her lack of common sense compared to most other people.

Likes: Horses, Sweet Meats, and Flowers
Dislikes: Enclosed spaces, Negative thinking, and Insects
Hobbies: Leather working, Cooking, and Stargazing

History:
On the large rolling plains of the Northeastern Highlands, one is born, lives, and dies on the move. There is no pause available to the nomadic people, with each waking moment spent with focus being on procuring food, supplies, and, once those begin to run low, the focus shifts to uprooting the camps and moving elsewhere on the Steppe. Their society is organized by numerous small "tribes" that have banded together to form a Confederacy, overseen by a leader who rules for a period of ten years after a martial tournament is held between the greatest fighters of the tribes.

Before she was born, her father was heralded as the mightiest man on the Steppe, unbested in archery, and a master of wrestling. On the second year after she was born, he was dethroned and retired to his previous life of being a hunter to provide. In the time she spent with her father, she would learn the art of the hunt, and come to grow into a young girl. Life would proceed as it did, the circle of life in an unending loop, marching onwards with the beat of the people who's lives were spent chasing life. It wasn't all bad, not in the slightest. The meat was plentiful, the hunt was thrilling, and the life lead was one far from purposeless.

Eventually however, the decade-held tournament would be held, and with the rise of a new chief came new and bizarre laws. One of which being that a "bride" of each tribe was to be offered to his son, as if they were pieces of meat to be handed out. And quite unfortunately, she was "selected" as the delegated bride. Rather than accept some impish demand for her virtue and hand in marriage to some spineless whelp, she would instead flee the Steppe with her father and mother's blessings, figuring that she could eek out a living as a mercenary or adventurer.

With no military willing to accept such a young girl despite her demonstrated skills, she was left with no avenue but to become an adventurer, arriving in Palisade town on the Frontier due to its closeness to home.

Adventuring Rank: Porcelain

Equipment:
Nomad Bow: A composite recurve bow of Steppe Archer's own making, made out of horn, wood, and sinew. It is well used from the years that Steppe Archer has spent hunting. Due to its smaller overall size compared to a normal bow, it is ideal for shooting on horseback and while moving, while not sacrificing the power of a full bow.

Nomad's Sword: A steel curved sword resembling a slightly less curved scimitar. Ideal for slashing things apart, or gliding past something with a slash. Has a large enough grip to be two-handed.

Torchfire: A beautiful mature auburn colored horse that Steppe Archer rode into town on. Despite the fact that she isn't able to bring it on many adventures due to the danger, she still insists on keeping it stabled up in Palisade Town, just in case she needs it. She is Steppe Archer's pride and joy, and her greatest asset in battle on a more open plain.

Skinning Knife: A small knife that's sharp enough to cut through flesh. Usually used by Steppe Archer to skin the beasts that she slays, in order to sell the pelts for a sizable sum. Steppe life taught her never to be wasteful.

Steppe Ensemble: Steppe Archer's protective leather breastplate beneath her folk-style dress. Her clothes keep her cool in just about any climate, and the leather armor beneath provides enough protection to shield her from light damage.

Porcelain Adventurer's Tag

Skills:
Horseback Riding: There are few that can match the riders of the Steppe when it comes to equestrian based combat, and as a proud Steppe child, Steppe Archer can ride with the best of them.

Trap Setting/Disarming: Much of the Steppe's hunting is done using traps to catch prey. As such, Steppe Archer is proficient in finding the perfect spots to place traps, whether that be to aid her friends, or harm her foes.

Handy Woman: On the Steppe, work is divided amongst the men and women equally. As such, Steppe Archer is skilled with physical labor, capable of many tasks that many in the realm would consider "men's" work.

[User]
"Well...it would have to be pretty big," Steppe Archer would answer, dead serious in her estimation of the Lizard Fighter's endowment. And, frankly, the comment about a certain kind of "escort" went a bit over her head. Common likely wasn't her first language.

The archer felt bad for their lizard friend though for having to walk...but she imagined the horse wasn't moving fast. Even if it wasn't tied to a wagon, this horse had certainly seen far better days. Before she would take her seat with the cargo, the archer's hand would gently brush against the horse's neck. She whispered something in a low voice to it, feeling the horse could use some nice words to raise its spirits before she would take a seat in the back. Seeing as it was likely that bandits would attack, the archer would already have her quiver off her back, leaning against the dividing line between the driver's compartment and their cargo space. She'd be on the lookout, silently keeping watch. After all, if they got surrounded, they'd be easy pickings.

"Have you ever been attacked before on this road?" Steppe Archer would ask, curious as to how dangerous the road was if such a thing was common knowledge. Or, maybe it was just caution.

[Assistant]
Druid Girl answered a positive, earning her a nod before he accepted the change and potions. He had never heard of an expiration date on these things, so it felt better to have them now, Not to mention...he actually didn't know if Druid Girl had any healing capabilities. His own peoples shamans and druids were capable of healing, but they were elders. He shouldn't apply that to here.

His thoughts were broken up at the surprised exclamation from the farmer, making him raise an eyebrow. He knew lizardmen were rare outside the swamps, but were they this rare? The man was older, but the sun leathering kind of added years to him. But he had never seen one of his people before? Well he was a farmer...

There was some back and forth between Druid Girl and Farmer, making him raise an eyebrow slightly. Their final comments just got a blink of surprise. Sighing he shook his head, humans and their focus on genitals. Druid Girl hid on the other side of the wagon, probably to settle herself down from the ribbing the farmer had given her. The girls could ride, but Lizard Fighter couldn't. Hell he wouldn't have if offered just because that wagon looked like a sneeze would break it.

"That's fine. I prefer walking anyway and if it'll speed things up I'll even push." He stated while the man climbed into the wagon seat. As everyone was getting ready Archer Girl mentioned that his 'tool' would have to be pretty big. Getting a sigh from the large being. "Should I just reveal it so you lot will stop guessing? He questioned, his face deadpanned to hide some of his annoyance.

The Farmer explained the situation, which just got a shrug from the Fighter. If it was a threat he'd deal with it accordingly, like the boars when they were cleaning the ditch. Archer Girl got in the wagon and prepped herself for confrontation while asking the farmer if he had ever been attacked on the road. A good question and one he waited to hear the answer to while he looked at the road and trees ahead. He clearly planned to take up the rear, his long stride would allow him to move to the front if he was needed there.

[User]
"No pushun'." THe farmer said, glancing at the lizardman from the corner of his eyes. "Ol' nag couldn't keep up with ya, so you'd just ram the wagon into her rear if ya did." The man said, explaining that the old mare wasn't in any shape to go any faster than she already was.

Druid Girl had calmed herself down, and clampered into the cart at some point too, sitting opposite Steppe Archer at the back-end of the wagon, using a crate as a back-rest. Her cheeks were still a bit flushed and she was looking off to the side, arms crossed infront of her and a noticeably pouty expression on her lips, showcasing that she wasn't quite over the whole exchange with the farmer from before. Still, at her ally's mention of bandits, the caramel-skinned girl turned her head to more intently listen.

"Had a few run-ins over my years. Mostly just highwaymen though, sayin' they be collecting road taxes for travellin' the path to and from the town. Hah! Like this patch o'dirt could even be called a road!" The man scoffed, spitting a glob of snotty saliva off to the side as the wagon slowly rolled forth.

The horse let out a loud huff from its nostrils, shook its head a little and then kept on trotting ahead. The wagon creaked and popped, and it was bumpy and rattley to sit in the damn splinter-covered thing. Still, it beat walking if you wanted to conserve your strength and stamina. Palisade Town shrank bit by bit as they got further and further away from it, with the forest to their north growing thicker and the grassy hills and plains to the sotuh expanding ever onwards. The dirt road they travelled gradually turned into nothing more than a trail, indicating just how few travellers actually came this far out.

"Still." The farmer said suddenly, his grip on the reins tightening and his eyes narrowing. "With them goblins stealin' from my farm recently, and them rumors about adveturers goin' rogue, I ain't willin to risk my hard-earnings on chance no more." He said, grouchly I might add. "Ain't much of a fighter myself, and the old mare here ain't got 'nough sprint in her legs to run off if we be needing it. So, next best thing to do was to hire on some ... *ahem* Skilled protection. 'Course, guardsmen didn't take the job. Figures. Lousy sods just wanna sit in town and get fat on the nobles paying 'em." The farmer grumbled.

"Goblins have been raiding your farm? What do they usually do?" Druid Girl asked surprised. From what her mentor had taught her, goblins usually would only attack a location if they intended to take it over, or burn everything down and steal the stuff that didn't get destroyed.

"Anything they can get thier ugly lil' mitts on." The man said with a sigh. "They steal my chickens, my tools, materials. Heck, they even stole bits of my fence! They run off soon as I step outta the house with pitchfork in hand, but I'm tired of losing stuff to those disgusting little fiends." The man huffed in irritation. "Never seen more than two or three at a time raidin' my stuff, but they've been comin' around more often as of late. I ain't got time to be patrollin' me own farm and take care of all the chores that need be done. Hopin' some of your kind'll take care of those freaks soon." The man shot an accusing look at the three adventurers, before turning back to focusing on the 'road'.

[Assistant]
"Rogue adventurers...?" the Steppe Archer would ask, her gaze turning thoughtfully to the roof of the wagon. ...She couldn't imagine what kind of circumstances might make someone turn to banditry. Poverty for certain, but to make one's entire living off of ruining the life of another? It felt...craven to even think about. And yet, she knew that some of her own people had likely left their home only to have to turn to that to survive. Steppe Archer was just glad that she, at least so far, had had the good fortune to succeed in her ventures, no matter how...stinky they wound up being.

Then the talk of goblins...the craven species that tales were told of to scare children at night. From what she'd heard from her clansmen however, no matter what quarry, even something one dismisses as harmless can find itself to possess sharp fangs when its life is on the line. She wasn't quite sure if they would be as surprisingly deadly as giant rats or roaches, but she had to assume anything with thumbs and a brain could be more fierce in a fight than any normal beast.

"I'd rather not see it," Steppe Archer would say with a light chuckle to the Lizard Fighter's suggestion of him showing off his twig and berries. "Anyways, you can count on us, Sir. Any would-be bandits will be in for a big surprise if they even try," she would say, stringing her bow and sitting with it at her side, more than ready to protect the cargo if need be.


[System]
Age: 18

Appearance: Rock n Roll

Arcana: Hanged Man

Build: 6'7"/114Kg
Personality: He is a thorough survivor. No matter the odds and no matter the enemies, he finds a way to live another day. For a life steeped in self-defense at an early age, he is still quite astute a student. Always near the top with his grades, it is after-school that he involves himself in a struggle of survival. All the while the failing health of his mother and a young sister compounding his struggle manifold. He is trained to look after himself and those he loves and no matter the odds or the sacrifices he'll see this through.

Background: Being a Gaijin in a strangely xenophobic environment isn't much good for a child. And when you are naturally as close to a bear things get ugly quickly. Born to a mixed couple in the high streets of Tokyo, Alexei hadn't hoped to get a life he got. After his father got killed in a building accident, Alexei all of 7 years was left alone to look after an ailing mother suffering from added dose of depression and a young sister he had to protect. The fact that he excelled in a strict academic system being an outsider was somewhat a cause of displeasure amongst his so called friends. As he hadn't paid heed to budding envy that sowly transformed to hate about the time the family fortune slowly trickled out of the coffers to look after his family.

So young Alexei, took various oddjobs to earn what little he could and help in anyway he can. He took over his mother's trade account, a gift from his foresighted father and at an early age began to study the share-market as closely he can. He knew whatever jobs he did will only barely scrape them through, it was the money from transactions in the shares that will be the major chunk. He also took upon the cleaning duties of the house and his mother since they couldn't afford help from outside.

Then came the decision of shifting to a cheaper locale with an accessible hospital, His sister's good education and development of hobbies and other such things. All the while, the fires that stoked envy in his contemporaries grew stronger. Then an incident happened. Heavily labored as he was, he now had to fight for his skin and his family's. As his sister was the mode to get a decent hit on him. Her Karate instructor, a brother of his classmate tried to molest her and though like many victims she tried to hide it, Alexei sniffed it out.

Heartbreak was followed by a bout of insane wrath as he flew into his dojo and beat the man into a bloody pulp, making more enemies on the way. This meant that it was judicious to leave town and thus, the Dragunovs came to Warakuma. Learning from his experience, he trains himself in jiujitsu at the local dojo, juggles gym, works in a construction company as part-time, manages the account of his mother and is the nanny to his sister along with being subjected to strange dreams and a long nosed Russian.

Equipment/Skills: pack of Luckies, keys to bike, wrist wraps and a zippo.

Persona: Prometheus - Prometheus was one of the Titans to side with Zeus and his siblings in the great war against the Titans, the original occupiers of Mount Olympus. When Zeus won the war and banished Prometheus' brethren to Tartarus for eternity, Prometheus and his brother Epimethius were given the task of populating the earth with creations. Epimetheus, who created the beasts of the world, gave his creations all of the gifts that could be bestowed, leaving Prometheus with nothing to give to Humanity. To compensate, Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus, incurring Zeus' wrath. However, it wasn't until he taught mankind how to trick the gods that he was given his ultimate punishment. Chained to a rock for all time, his liver was eaten every day by a great eagle sent by Zeus. Immortal, he could never die and his liver would regrow. And so he suffered, until the Greek hero Herakles freed him from his torment during the course of his famous Twelve Labors.

Appearance:

Abilities: Agi, Makatranda

Non-Persona Users

Name: Sagat Shrichapan
Age: 17
Build: 6'1"/ 89kgs
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Backstory: The tall dark guy who was mostly avoided of the aura he gave off. Sagat didn't have many friends in Yokohama where his family had lived for three generations. So when the offer of a possible opportunity of taking over a Thai restaurant came to his father, Sagat had hardly anything to lose from the shift. Warakuma was a silent pocket in the interior of Japan and though the people didn't give a oppressive xenophobic feeling like in his birthplace, many people still avoided him. With no underground scene to keep himself busy he took up the charge of server in the restaurant his father was planning of overtaking.

Trained in Muay Boran from a young age, he is a dangerous and belligerent fighter in the ring, his personality changing a lot within the four ropes. He was famous as the 'Daitengu of Yokohama' in the underground circuit back at his birthplace. He has come to Warakuma to change the pace somewhat.

Name: Inoue Matsuhita
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Appearance:
Build: 5'8"/ 59Kg

Backstory: Growing up Inoue was the fat girl that most her classmates made fun off, it gave her a serious complex of her appearance. When in Junior school she tried joining the martial arts club to improve herself she was mocked and mistreated for her bulging girth. Her pride wounded and self confidence down the drain, she came home crying and swore to not go school again. After a few days of constant convincing her mother finally changed the little girl's heart and as an added bonus found her a coach.

Seiji Mitsuhara, was a man of few words and even fewer things to lose. He was a martial artist who had fallen on bad days as he had gone bankrupt by his agent's swindling and was in dumps. When Inoue's mother approached with a earnest request, he thought he could make enough buck to live a average life. He moved to Warakuma and began his mission to transform Inoue.

Little by little as a mallet forges a fine blade Seiji remade Inoue, a prodigy hidden under all that lard. Four years of home schooling and a regimen that made her cough sweat out of her lungs he unleashed her in the Middle school tournament. Her final fight lasted a record one minute and with it her confidence and pride was restored. With a knowledge that those who mocked her could never be where she is and they'd always find a way to show her down she stopped giving a fuck.

She kept on training and slowly her ambition grew, the gruesome world of MMA being on her list next. Her intense home training continued but now she had company at school, two guys who were as far from the norm as oil to water.

[User]
Alexei Dragunov | Tuesday, June 9 - After School

Something was amiss. Alexei couldn't exactly pin it down to anything but somehow he had a weird feeling the whole day. Both the kidnapped had joined back school today and though he had thought of going to visit them, he had thought of attending his MMA club for once. For some strange reason, Sagat didn't seem in the mood today and Inoue had to be somewhere.

She rarely missed a chance to spar with the burly boys, so wherever she had to be must have been really important. Alexei had decided to take a day off from visiting any other clubs of his interest and decided to go to the Agriculture Club instead. He knew Harvester had convinced the Kotori to be a part of the club and it was a place where he could check on her again. This whole day had been a bit uncomfortable, perhaps it was worry of some kind eating at his psyche. Alexei wasn't sure.

Slowly, he trudged to the Agriculture room. He could make out two distinct female voices and a male boisterous one. Surely, Matt had a few followers. Seeing how he too was a foreigner. His club hadn't seen the kind of attention some others had shown. Alexei knocked lightly on the door to announce his presence.

"Hello!" his low voice thundered. As the others turned to take notice, his phone beeped.

A message from Elena.

"No practice today. I'm going to see Mom. Love E."

Alexei gave it a glance and slid it back into the pocket. His stomach still rumbling faintly. Something was prying at his nerves. But checking on his benefactor came first.

"How are you, Shirohane-san?" he asked politely.

[Assistant]
Warakuma High - Manga Club
9/6/2015 Tuesday

"It's fine, I don't come around here too often", he reassured Ryan. So Akane was either late or doing something else today, he decided to get one of the manga books that were neatly on the shelf and started reading, though before he could pick, Akane had arrived. It seems today was going to be a pretty quiet club day. The rest of the day went by pretty normally when Akane arrived, mostly just talking about the manga they were reading, or had finished reading, or were thinking about reading. After club was over everyone headed home after saying their farewells for the day.

Warakuma Mall - Afterschool
13/6/2015 Saturday

Today was an early day for school, so Rui decided to head down to the mall area and check out if there was anything new at the shops there. The rest of the week went by pretty unceremoniously, and without much incident, he heard from Kami that police were confused, they weren't sure whether to take these disappearances seriously or not, since some were short enough that it could merely have been a runaway and wasn't kidnapping. Basically, for them the case was all over the place. They think it's not related to the kidnappings last year.

In any case, it was likely Rui was going to just head down to the arcade to finish up the day after browsing the shops in the area.

[User]
Shizuka Otonashi || Warakuma High || June 13 SAT: After School
The rest of the week for the freshman went pretty uneventful, other than the occasional staring towards the agriculture club president during meetings without realizing it herself. Kotori seemed to have caught on without either of them mentioning anything but the raven haired maiden was glad nothing seemed to have changed in the club. Not much changed even with her relationship with the president, though they both knew of their mutual feelings towards one another at least.

Today happened to be a day free from club meeting and part time work at the cafe so the girl found herself at the door to class 2-2. Why, one might ask. While the rest of the week might've gone uneventful for Shizuka, a gossip about a certain person she knew was being spread among the student body. It was not a pleasant one at that. Out of concern, the underclassman decided to pay a visit to that one upperclassman.

Before peeking her head into the classroom, the freshman called out in a hesitant voice as she slid the door, "Is Saji-senpai available...?"

[Assistant]
Ayano Wakahisa: Warakuma High - After School
13/6/2015, Saturday

The past few days have been rather uneventful, after getting her bearings together, Ayano's life slowly returned to normalcy, well as normal as one can get when they just experienced something that was quite literally an out-of-world experience. If it was something worth mentioning though, the girl found herself acting quite more happy and upbeat after the experience, making a small number of friends in the process as well as spending less of her time in the web, although she does spend still quite a hefty amount of time on the web, it wasn't as bad as before. As the day came to a halt, she looked out the window and pondered to herself...What should she do after school?

Humming to herself, there wasn't particularly anything planned at this time, so maybe she'll just lounge around and browse at the mall or something. There wasn't a meeting with the club today, she did miss out on the past meeting though. She shrugged, saying that she'll attend next time.

Ayano Wakahisa: Warakuma Mall
13/6/2015, Saturday

The girl's eyes dart from left to right, looking at various book titles. A new, good book would be nice, but she didn't exactly have some money with her, so she might as well scour for it and plan to buy it in the near the future. Although right now though, not a lot of eye-catching of titles, it might have something to do with the fact she's in the Romance section and romance is something that she tries to distance herself from, the girl was stumped for a minute, why did she even think of browsing this section? She shook her head and quickly moved to another section, continuing her search.

[User]
Alexei Dragunov | June 13, Saturday - After School

He couldn't shake the unease he had felt this whole week. It was like some ghost was sitting on his shoulder, whispering malice in his ear. Not even regular puffs of his favorite Luckies could soothe his brow. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day as Saturday was service day at Sagat's restaurant and Inoue had strangely been busy whole week. His meeting with Kotori too had not revealed anything new.

He felt a strange itch, a forboding of something bad about to happen. His first priority was Elena. He rushed out of the school, sprinting his way to the parking lot to pick up his bike and zoomed to his sister. He was at the site within a few moments. Waiting a bit impatiently at the gates as juniors came out. Some giving him a sidewards dismissive glance, he glared back at them to make them skittle away like rats.

Soon Elena appeared, seemingly busy texting. Not watching where she walked. Alexei watched her calmly, holding back his first reaction to warn her of misstep.

His phone buzzed as she looked up, a palm coming over her lips to show her surprise. She started into a light jog as she saw him soon coming up to the gates.

"You came here, Ni-san!" she asked surprised.

"Yeah! had nothing to do. Thought, should take you for some shopping." he replied.

A small gleam appeared in her eyes before she asked in a half smile, "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing. One of your dresses has faded quite a bit, thought you needed one." he said non-chalantly. As the one who washed the clothes at home, it was not surprising that he was aware of the wear-tear of everything that was in Dragunov household. Elena shrugged at his response, trying her best to hide her delight. It was always good to go shopping with Alexei, he wasn't a bit hurried and allowed her ample time to try almost the whole shop. With a spring in her step she followed him to his ride and they were off to the mall.

--- Warakuma Mall: Shopping Center.

Alexei had thought that keeping her in front of his eyes would calm the foreboding he felt but it had only worsened. He felt a bit weak, thinking about what if she got taken in front of him. As he walked a pace behind his kid sister, he warily looked around, hoping to catch anything out of order before it became a problem.

He asked her to try different dresses as he went to check in to his workplace in the next building. Surely, nothing would happen inside a crowded mall.


[System]
Appearance:

 She's 5.8 ft tall.

Age: 29

Sex: Female

Class: Mercenary Engineer

Psyker Powers: None

Equipment

Armor:
 -Reinforced leather jacket, pants.
 -Custom Armor plating – Created by using parts of salvaged imperial power armor. Multiple modifications and corrections were made for it to fit its new role. Barely resembles its origin.
 -Armored leather boots with inbuilt powerful electromagnets.
 -A pair of armored gloves.

Weapons:
 -'White Skull' Las Pistol – a heavily modified version of the standard issue laspistol, this work of engineering has been created by Vala herself. It has almost triple the power draw of a normal laspistol, making it more useful than it's original, but it depletes powercells quickly and the wear on the weapon is increased, making the need for replacement parts quite frequent. She has created only 3 of these with the other two now destroyed. It's kept on a holster on her right hip.
 - MAG Autogun MkIV(Shelly) - An autogun that fires hexagonal solid projectiles. The projectiles are about 6 cm in length and 0.7 cm in diameter. She acquired this specific gun or at least what was the remnants of a gun while on one of the many lawless space stations scattered across the fringes of Imperium space. After a lot of tinkering and experimentation she managed to create a workable and actually useful variant of it. It has the same range as a standard autogun. Its flat projectiles/slugs are propelled using a system of incredibly powerful electromagnets. The rifle uses standard powercells. Devastating against lightly armored targets as causes both blunt and puncture damage with each slug. Lacks penetrating power against heavily armored targets, though still hits like a hammer. The rifle has 10 slugs per clip. Held on the right side of her back with a magnetic buckle.
 -Modified Assault Shotgun - Has a shorter Barrel and only holds 3 shells. It's sturdy and does the job it needs to. It kept on the back of her waist with a magnetic buckle.
 -Autopistol – Held in a holster on her left hip.
-Short straight sword – She keeps it for when she's out of all her other weapons. Kept in a sheath across the left side of her back.
 -4 small frag grenades.

 Other equipment:
 -A forearm mounted grappling hook launcher – uses same electromagnetic tech as her rifle.
 -Known to also carry portable set of tools during missions.

Notable Deeds:
 As a merc Val cannot really boast with deeds such as those of the soldiers of the Imperium, but she has stacked up a small list of accomplishments non the less.

 The Kroozer Gambit

 Hired by a Rogue Trader, away from the notable trade routes, Vala and her crew were tasked with bringing down a ork Kroozer that was discovered waiting in ambush for an unsuspecting transports. The Trader didn't want to damage his own vessel so he hired mercs to be his scapegoats while his ship would pass the sector, hoping to escape paying.

 Her crew immediately got suspicious of it and forged a plan to both do the job and get paid. Since what they had was a old modified transport ship, they pretended to be a random unsuspecting pray while a Vala and 4 of her crewmates took an assault boat. When the Kroozer moved to intercept their transport along with it's fighter escort, the assault boat rammed to the engine room. Following a lightning fast gunfight, they set 5 heavy explosives across the engines and left the ship just in time for the bombs to explode and cripple the vessel. During that time, their transport had led the escort wing straight to the Rogue Trader's vessel. Without support from the Kroozer, the trader managed to deal with the fighter escort. Their transport ship had susptained medium damages, but they got paid non the less. She later heard that an imperial Dauntless stumbled upon the Kroozer and destroyed it. Surely the Rogue Trader had taken all credit for disabling it…

 3 days of darkness.

 Vala's crew had been forced to land on an uninhabited world when they came into confrontation with a light corsairs pirate vessel. Luckily for them the elder ship wasn't heavily armed and after an incredible accurate hit on their part, both vessels were forced to crash land.

 Vala's armed transport had taken a serious beating and given the degree of the damage it would have required at least a week to repair. Without given much choice in the matter they were forced into a fight for their lives. After 3 days of almost constant battling with the corsairs, Vala's crew managed to repel the enemy and grant her enough time to finish the repairs in a record time of 3 and a half days! They lost 5 people in that event, but finally managed to escape the planet.

 Death to the Infidel.

 While on a break from missions and traveling towards a nearby lawless space station for refuel and repair, Vala's transport suddenly shook heavily from the impact wave of an immense explosion. By the time they saw what was going on, the transport was knee deep in a chaos attack of two Infidel class escorts on the pirate station.

 The station's weak shields were quickly down, it's frankly old weaponry couldn't match the two escorts. As the transports around it were destroyed, Vala's ship found itself with no place to run. She and other 5 of her 15 crew members barely managed to get to the assault boat that also doubled as a escape capsule before their transport was blown to bits by 2 torpedos. With the destruction of the station, one of the Infidel class ships left to chase some ships that managed to escape the initial barrage while the other one stayed behind to finish wiping the place from anything that moved. Without place to land anywhere in the assault boat's range there was only one option left. They used the debris as cover from the batteries, they boarded the Escort's engine compartment like they had done in the past with the orks.

 It was a slaughter against the chaos marines their weapons didn't really carry much punch. It took Vala mere 2 minutes to set all the explosives and move back to her assault boat, but by the time she pulled the boat away from the chaos ship, she was the only one left. Alone and heavily wounded she watched with a big smile as the explosions took place, rendering it motionless in space… She laughed loudly as Imperial ships started warping about the place, probably having noticed the chaos presence.

[User]
Once it was confirmed the Judge was indeed supposed to be here, and only then, did Ansgar lower his hellgun from being centered on the Arbites male. While most wouldn't have expected much when firing on carapace without things like the space marine Bolter or weapons dedicated to punching through armor, the Krieger had personally put such men down, carapace clad and even in power armor, with well placed shots and a bit of blessing from the Emperor. The latter targets, though, usually required sheer volume or well placed shots against the weaker points in the armor, something that was studied and briefed extensively by the survivors of the Krieg born regiment as they continued pressing forward. Every encounter costed men, but rewarded in knowledge in how to fight against such targets. Of course, with the Sister chiming in about how the defenses and Inquisitor herself were adequate in defending themselves and this place, the Krieger started getting this feeling that he wasn't going to get to avoid whatever social or pleasantries that were going to try and be foisted off upon them in the city. Sure enough, he was given a direct order to head into the city with the rest of the group, which was met with the stoicism and utter lack of reaction that the Death Korps so oft displayed.

"Ma'am."

The one word spoke of obediance to the order, as the trooper always would do. Orders were to be given and obeyed, given by the superiors, obeyed by the rank and file. It was a simple equation that somehow was mucked up and ruined by less disciplined forces. The Krieger had been rather quietly hoping that he would not have to attend to this departure for the city, not with the way the group had been interacting already. Considering events on board the main vessel? One should not have blamed him for hoping to avoid further potential for such things. Of course, one of the two main instigators, the one psyker that wasn't quite as overt a pyromancer, rather seemed to manipulate the warp in more irritating and less predictable manners, mentioned arguing with the Sisterhood to be futile. Like he intended to argue with the orders of a superior, and he grabbed his satchel of explosives, slinging it under the power pack for his hellgun and walking out, shooting off a comment towards the psyker as he boarded.

"I don't argue orders, ma'am. I follow them, without need for concussive separation."

Leaving that comment in the air for anyone to remark on, Ansgar strapped into the transport, securing himself and his kit just in case that they would hit turbulent weather. The fact they were flying into a city for a few errands, not into a warzone, meant nothing to the Krieger. Warzones could break out without warning, they tended to, it was rather rude of them really. But such was the realities of war, one was never ready for it. They could merely be as close as possible to being ready, and improvise the rest. Once again, if not for anyone watching him strap him, he might as well be still and unliving, or perhaps a pile of equipment. He hated flying, too little control. Chimeras and other ground transport was better, usually, since they could use vehicle mounted weapons to fight back. Air transport? Typically not so much. Which meant hang on for dear life and pray to the Emperor that, if you didn't make it, you didn't realize you didn't until you were before the Emperor himself for judgement.

[Assistant]
Eventually Vala let out a sigh as she dashed off back to her room to quickly put on her battle armor. With that nimbly done, she hastily attached all the weapons to their magnetic buckles and returned to the shuttle where they were preparing to fly off. She didn't really like the idea of going full battle state for a dinner out, but she doubted that there was much choice. There was no way problems weren't going to happen and also the sisters tended to attract trouble everywhere they went...

 She didn't like the crazy psyker being their co-pilot or pilot. For some reason the mechanic suspected she was very unpleasant to take a ride with. Call it her gut feeling, but she didn't want Adrianne to fly the shuttle. Still she had decided to keep shut for now and simply checked the locking mechanisms of her armor one more time just in case. You could never be too careful with those things... wait on second thought...

 "So just because you have sim flights time you think you're suitable to ride a transport shuttle with real people inside it?" Vala asked with a sigh." I'd prefer to not get killed or injured during the ride... To fly a real transport shuttle takes a lot of practice and time to not fly it as a drunken one armed ork..."

[User]
"To fly a real transport shuttle takes a lot of practice and time to not fly it as a drunken one armed ork..."

There was a visible darkening on Adrianne's face as she heard the annoying voice of the impertinent merc sitting in the passenger compartment.

"That little heretical midget!"

Baring her teeth in an angry frown, Adrianne would lean out of her seat in the cockpit to look back at the passenger compartment to identify the source of the unpleasant commentary, before she moved to point an armored finger back at Vala.

"I'll have you know that in my test records, I had a way higher than acceptable rate of failures and crashes!" Adrianne remarked, wiggling her finger towards Vala as if tutoring a child. This movement was suddenly interrupted as she shifted her hand to stretch her arm towards the side of the doors connecting the cockpit to the passenger compartment.
"Besides, NOBODY asked for your opinion... tramp!"

*SWOOOSH!*

And with that, the doors to the cockpit suddenly swished shut as Adrianne pressed the door control, before returning to her seat and giving Andromeda a look of confidence.

"Besides, today's weather report won't include any flak. At least excluding the passenger compartment." She said with a reassuring smile as she motioned towards the dashboard.

[Assistant]
Herold's eyes couldn't be seen within his tinted visor, but there was no mistaking that grim expression he gave to the trooper when his gun was leveled his way. He was about to raise his shield in a swift movement, but realized that the man had a few reasons to be on edge. This was no normal outfit afterall, but a group formed by the Inquisition itself. He regarded the Celestian next after giving the others a once over. Odd group, he noted. Mostly female and a bit too bubbly for what he expected.

"Soveriegn has been...quiet as of late," he told her when she mentioned they would go out for a dinner. "But there is still a risk. However if I am ordered, then very well. I'll be here to give guidance if ordered."

He moved passed her, searching the house at a steady, albeit unhurried pace. He inspected every room he found, making sure it all checked out. "One could never be too careful," he muttered to himself as he left the last room before his own that he would claim. It was a smaller room, but it suited his needs just fine. He grunted in acknowledgement, and set his pack down, making sure to lock the door behind him.

He kept his weapons with him, however. He was still an Arbites, no matter the Inquisition or their affiliates would say. Making his way downstairs, his footsteps becoming audible stomps on the light stairway, he made his way outside and onto the transport. He gave a nod to those in the back, and set his shield beside him. Judging from his company, this night would be one he might take note of in the future.

[User]
"Great... someone's sounds quite unsecure about their skills... You sure that you haven't just finished the academy or whatever it was?" Vala asked with a smirk at Adrainne's hissing comments. She sounded and looked about as intimidating as a ten year old. It made the mercenary just smile all the more, but not really enjoy the situation of having an inexperienced person requesting the reigns of the shuttle. Vala herself was on ships all her life and knew how to fly them, but then again she grew up around and on space vessels. This Adrianne woman knew nothing of it... academy... bah... just a few successful landings on a sim didn't make you a pilot no matter your fail to succes ration." Careful! Those door controls weren't covered in the sims!" Vala chirped as the psyker went ahead and closed hte door towards the cockpit.

 "Well... time for a nap." The merc suddenly said, pulling her helmet and putting it on, before relaxing her hand on the gun on her hip as her breathing calmed and slowed down, turnign more rythmic than before. She was used to ships so the sounds of the engines or idle chatter wouldn't really wake her up.


[System]
I R L
Age - 20
Place of Origin - Alberta, Canada
Occupation - Freelance artist

A V A T A R

Character's Name - Alex
Pathos Affiliation - Drox
Role - Ranged DPS
Profession - Craftsman
Weapon of Choice - Bow
Domains - Wind / Conjuration, Enhancement

-

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Frenetic
With a pep to his step and a patter permanently engraved in his speech, Alex is the sort of person to always be doing something, and desperately crave doing something whenever nothing's going on. His impatience and eagerness can sometimes get the best of him, but he sees them as a double-edged sword, with many of the best moments in his life originating from decisions with no foresight involved.

His hobbies are hands-on, creative activities that reign him in well. Carpentry, plastic arts, sewing, anything that gets the gears in his brain spinning and keeps him busy.

Frank
Alex likes to talk. A lot. It's something not everyone discovers, as he is outstandingly awkward during first encounters. The people who've stuck around, however, eventually realize he doesn't have a voice in his head telling him to stop. He overshares, states what shouldn't be stated, and asks all the questions someone his age would agonize over but ultimately suppress out of a fear of looking foolish. None of this is ever done intentionally, he just marches to the beat of his own drum.

Adaptable
Not everyone can dive into the world of freelance art and make a decent profit, and not everyone can toss themselves into the commercial thunderdome of a virtual reality game and come out friends with various NPC denizens and enough money to leave the combat to his brother's guild half the time. Alex's impulsive ideas aren't easy to trust from an outsider's perspective, but he finds himself succeeding where others would fail through high energy and a good work ethic. Conflict with others rarely bothers him as well, and he often finds himself spearheading cooperation with the people he's warmed up to.

B E N C H M A R K S

I can't die if they don't hit me, buddy
Rather than protect himself with anything bulky, Alex has instead opted to use a combination of light armors, long range attacks and solid athleticism as a means of avoiding damage. This newfound athleticism, consisting of speed and reflexes, helps him duck and weave through blows that would have otherwise sent him soaring.

Jack of all arts and crafts
Alex's craftsmanship had already been passable prior to his introduction to Pariah, but the game has now given him ample time and resources to cut loose. While not an expert in any one field, he's found a niche making light armor and robes. The finished pieces aren't on the same level of glamour as what other crafting wayfarers can offer, but hey, it works.

Quantity over quality
Alex's signature ability is being able to fire arrows in disturbingly rapid succession, tearing opponents to shreds. This leaves him vulnerable when taken to machine gun-like extremes, however. His combat style plays off this ability for the most part, favoring fast and powerful arrows over anything slow.

Heads or tailwinds
His domain over wind allows him to rely on small bursts of it in and out of combat. Whether helping him jump a bit higher or throw off a lighter opponent's balance, he's managed to find couple of utilitarian uses for it besides thrusting his arrows.
  | Physical Description
Alexis Barnett's appearance had always been underwhelming and… begrudging, to sum it up in a word. Brown hair kept at medium length as a concession with the rest of the world, minimal cosmetics, the occasional cardigan or modest skirt in between rows of jackets and jeans. Shirts, too, followed a similar goal. Shirts that a woman would reasonably wear, at a size baggy enough to conceal a small bust.

Accessories, if any, were always tossed on haphazardly, as last minute additions spurred less by their wearer and more by questioning family and friends. That's not to say they were a bad thing. You could wear the baggy and dull clothing you wanted, Alex discovered, if you wore enough pink jewelry to shut people up.

Alex has been pessimistically aware of his appearance since adolescence, so it's no surprise to see that his avatar in Pariah has a lot in common with his real self, from his height and frame down to the color of his hair and eyes. His features could be described as "pleasantly average", a likely result of him wishing to not stand out and blend in. Within Pariah he dislikes wearing anything that restricts his movement and regularly wears comfortable merchant's clothing, as it's extravagant enough to signal his wayfarer status to others without having to adopt any of the flashy accessories everyone else seems to be so fond of.

Pariah's avatar system was keen enough to pick up on Alex's true feelings and assign him a male body, a contrast to real life. That ended up being a fun thing to explain to his brother Logan. Or in his own words, "Shit."
Character Conceptualization
While it could be said that the bulk of Pariah's playerbase had been well acquainted with the conventions of video games, Alex was an exception. Dragged into it by his older brother, he accepted with lukewarm enthusiasm, more interested in the prospect of untouched nature or trying his hand at art made through a new kind of medium. Logan would do the embarrassing tryhard LARP shenanigans he always did with his friends whenever a new competitive game came out, and Alex would go for walks in the woods and do medieval arts and crafts. That had more or less been the plan, until Logan dragged Alex into another one of his games again, the world of PvE.

Under his care, Alex learned the ins and outs of the "glasscannon" "ranged DPS" "kit" his brother orchestrated for him, with the understanding that Alex would leave for a guild more suited to his interests past a certain point.

Despite his initial insecurities he adapted quickly to Pariah. He focused on crafting armor to support himself financially, on the days he wasn't being made to train or serve as an auxiliary member to their guild's activities. Mostly robes for the magically inclined, but he began stepping into leathers and furs as he grew bored of doing too much of the same thing. In time, he began to make a name for himself among the denizens and wayfarers of Pariah.

It felt silly to admit it, but he was starting to understand his brother and every other player that was using the game to live their biggest fantasies. Having so many people finally appreciate your art, even if it was mostly just clothing after a while, was a thrill he had never anticipated.

Spells & Spell-like Abilities
Conjuration fletching

Conjuration ability that allows the user to create an arrow out of arcane energy for next to no energy expenditure. This ability can be "charged" to create a stronger arrow, but is slightly more demanding as a result and requires more time to employ.

Forest hunter

Conjures a heavier arrow with a tip that expands into a net. Can trap entities that are roughly humanoid and smaller for a limited amount of time. The conjured net dissipates after receiving enough damage.

Blowback roulette

Envelops the user in a small shield of wind for a very brief moment. Any projectile or magic attacks that hit them during the shield's duration will instead transfer into the ability of their next arrow.

Heads or tailwinds

A burst of powerful high-velocity wind channeled from the user's body. Used to make an arrow travel faster and hit harder, or simply help the user move. Can be used to throw an opponent off-balance, although physical contact is mandatory for this. Can be channeled for longer-lasting effects, with the consequence that it will exhaust its user far more.

Other Information
Although technically a member of his brother's guild, there's friction between its competitive bloodthirsty members and Alex, who only joined to learn the ropes. Alex is expected to leave after having proven himself capable enough. |

[User]
Location: The Laughing Worg Tavern, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Sociopath. Bitch. Heartless.

Alja was in her face. Screaming. But Rael couldn't hear her. Hanako couldn't. As she remained stone-faced as the woman criticized her for her comments in her head there was a lot more going on.

"See, I told you they hate you." She heard. "Everything about you is rotten. How does it feel to have the real world be exactly the same as the virtual world? How's your escapism going to work?"

She clenched her fists as a reflex as the numbness seemed to go away in seconds. She looked up at Alja and there was no cocky smirk or attitude. Just defiance. Her comments about bad blood made sense, but she had no interest in placating to a broken down child. Kalie was not all that much older than she was. Yet Alja didn't consider her own age. Her own experiences. Did she think she had seen bodies mangled and ripped apart before? That she experienced death in anything but a passing way? It wasn't her fault Kalie was weak. It wasn't her fault Alja was weak. Better to be seen as unfeeling and strong than emotive and weak.

She went to say something but then someone else decided to interject.

Clank!

Dariel dropped the plate on the counter as he moved in a flash behind the larger woman who was the same height as he was.

"That's enough." He said, as enhancement magic surged in his body and Alja was lifted off the ground before he put her down in a seat a few paces back. For Alja this would be a new experience in many ways, but also in that a NPC—a denizen had touched her. As she found herself seated he looked at her and pointed point blank between her eyes. "What do you think this is? The gladiatorial arena in Theremia? Have you lost your goddamn mind, girl?"

[Assistant]
Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Seele jerked back when Alja started awake. The woman still seemed terribly addled, but at least she was more…present now than she had been. Whatever things she had seen in the dark, Seele couldn't guess at, and frankly, was too afraid to. The lot of them had all likely suffered some kind of haunting or another over the night. Some of them, like Benkei, had begun suffering before they'd even left the dungeon, and it had not been an easy thing to watch. She thought back to how Kazuki had become almost manic when the tank collapsed—manic at least by the mellow standard she'd developed of him in their brief time together.

With a little finagling, Seele managed to gather up the table's empty mugs and cups in her arms and bring them over to the counter. She would have gone back to clean up the little spillages left behind, but a sudden roaring made her skin jump.

"Oi, Rael. Bitch."

Oh no. No. Nope. Seele turned wide-eyed to find Alja towering over Rael. The smaller tank's fists were clenched, the look on her face was downright dirty. Tempers were boiling, but Seele felt a chill run down her spine. She all but scrambled over to them.
…
"That's—"

"That's enough."

Seele blinked, watching the barkeep use magic to dissolve the fight, though it seemed as though Alja had been backing off already, thankfully. Nevertheless, that sort of intervention from a denizen was, to Seele, unprecedented, and it was a good moment or two before she remembered herself. The fight seemed to be snuffed for now, good, but it still seemed like they were about to get themselves thrown out.

"The man's right," Seele said, looking urgently between Alja and Rael. She tried to keep the sternness out of her voice, considering the barkeep was providing quite enough of it. Still, soft and sincere could often carry the same effect, if a bit more gently. "This is not the place, and it is certainly not the time to be at each other's throats. We need to be working together, which means that you both need to start behaving yourselves."

[User]
Location: The Laughing Worg -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Alex didn't understand why he was being offered a handkerchief at first, until he saw the state of his letter.

Eh, it was still legible.

He wiped the area around his chin in a hurry, the pang of embarrassment shaking him out of his current state. It was relieving that Kazuki had spoken that directly about wanting to form a team. Alex was thinking of a similar idea, but had gotten so distracted that he was beginning to settle for a partnership with a lower amount of people. Regardless of whatever route he thought was wisest, a healer like Kazuki was indispensable to a frailer player such as himself.

"Banding together, huh. I like the sound of that," he said, tracing his jawline with the cloth. "Does that mean you're trying to band the entire raid party together? I drank a little," he paused and quirked his brows, "okay, more than a little, but even then I know that's gonna be tough to pull off."

The way he saw it, the strong players that tended to be individualists were going to swallow their pride and seek out the strong guilds, who in turn were seeking them out too. A situation like that would probably end up with Alex falling back on his brother's guild, going back to selling light armor to make ends meet. The whole thing felt like crawling back to live in your parents' house after being unable to find a job. And Pariah was supposed to be an escape from the real world.

"How're my two favorite fuck-ups doin' this fine mornin'?"

Both the conversation and his thoughts were crashed by Graves, with all of the bravado he would expect from a person who had no idea their life was at stake. Did he really not care? Alex hadn't known the man well enough to think beyond a surface level, having mentally categorized Graves as "that tank guy who split dog people in half like they were avocados".

"Kazuki's been planning something," he said, folding the note in one of his many pockets of his everyday wear. Now that there were real world consequences to creating clothing, his more utilitarian style of crafting was better suited in comparison to the flashier stuff it seemed like the rest of the playerbase was enamored with. It was a little moment of vindication he'd keep to himself. Kazuki was handling the conversation way better, anyways... but a detail did catch his attention.

"The NPC talked like a player?" he asked. "I was in the drox hall earlier, and this girl there was acting kind of weird. Instead of just giving tips for newbies she started going on about the places factions were located. I mean, still totally useless info, but weird, man." Near him, what looked like an argument between the people he had raided with was brewing.

"Crap," he groaned, reaching for another sip, "this just made our job a whole lot harder."


[System]
Gender: Female

Age: 16

Appearance:

"Which one of us is the mask?"
Arcana: Temperance

Personality:
On the surface, Shizuka may be the stereotypical "ojou-sama" (young mistress), from her formal speech to her delicate mannerisms with a blend of shy and soft spoken side, but do not let that deceive you as the class dismissal bell rings and Shizuka's part time hour begins, the counterpart she created for herself, Shizu-chan, takes the spotlight with her lively demeanor, friendly smiles, and undying passion of being an otaku.

Equipment/Skills:
Twirling Baton (Cosplay prop, can be upgraded to Rod weapons)
Sewing, professional make up, baton twirling, which were all gained from her experience with cosplay.

Background:
Being a balanced student with an appropriate amount of intellect and proper physical fitness, one would say Shizuka is an average high schooler if it weren't for the fact that her family was of a higher class compared to that of an average student. Like most children coming from a wealthy family, Shizuka was left alone most of the time, with the exception of servants, by her parents in their mansion with no one to play or interact with. Not necessarily neglected, but she didn't mind either way as she was an obedient child and she understood that both her parents were flooded with work which needed to be taken care of.

This is why she sought out a hobby to preoccupy herself with. Flipping through the channels as a curious child, she abruptly stopped when an animated female character on the screen magically transforms, with all the colorful lights and sparkles, and shouts, "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" Eyes widened in amazement, Shizuka could not take her gaze away from the television screen while her thoughts were of how exciting whatever this was and how she wanted to become like them, hues of hair she's never seen before, costumes of different variety and color, and the dynamic personalities each one had.

Years had passed since then, but her love and excitement for anime never wavered. What remained though was her calm, delicate nature she presented towards her fellow classmates, friends, and parents. Her passion for anime (and now manga) was to not leave the four corners of her room. Shizuka would occasionally show hints of interest when her classmates discussed about them but no one, and she means NO ONE, should ever find out about how "otaku" she was.

Keeping all of this within her had limits and before she was about to breakdown, someone on the hallway of the school uttered the word, "cosplay". It took quite awhile for her to learn the meaning and to take enough courage to disguise herself in the colorful costumes and hair she once saw years ago, to find people of similar interests without them ever finding out her true self.

With the positive reactions given by the people she has met, Shizuka continued to create more disguises by her own hands, to the point where she landed at her current part time job at the cosplay cafe as Shizu-chan, the persona she presented to the people of the otaku world.

Persona: Inari Ōkami

Appearance: Illustrated by: Sho Minazuki

Abilities:
Twin Slash - 2 light Slash attacks. (1 enemy)
Tarukaja - Increases 1 ally's Attack.
Tarunda - Decreases 1 foe's Attack.

[User]
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Hospital | Monday, June 1 2015

Much as expected, Rui had indeed come to speak about what had happened in... wherever that place had been. As he gave a subtle pose to indicate the topic - most likely because 'summoning magical beings' sounded a little ridiculous in any serious conversation - which seemed familiar - but luckily, he spoke on before Kotori could recall the scene of him and the shirtless Noboru posing in the mall some time ago. As he stated that he was just checking in today, she gave a nod followed by a "Ah, yes, I'm fine. No need to worry." She gave an awkward half-smile at that - given that he'd heard her talking literally to herself, he had to know that 'fine' was a rather relative term. However, it was still as true as could be. He then handed her his phone number to be able to contact him on the matters before leaving after saying his goodbyes. "Yes, that's right," she confirmed her discharge date before giving another small bow as he was leaving: "Goodbye, Shinichi-san."

Once he'd left, Kotori reached for her phone to save the number - which, she realised, was the first number outside her family's that she'd entered. Not only that, but it was even a boy's - but before she could think on that, another knock could be heard from the door. When the door wasn't opened afterwards, as she might have expected from a nurse, she put her phone aside before calling "Come in" to whoever this visitor may be. Her mother had been a given, as had the police - and Rui, likely as a representative of the others, too, hadn't been completely unexpected. This left her wondering - until the door opened to reveal it to be Toma.

Kotori was quite surprised at that - but gave a small bow in greeting nonetheless. "Ah, good evening, Tanaka-senpai," she said - before getting a closer look at the older boy. Concern came over her face as she noticed that he looked more than a little under the weather - and he hadn't been the first person to do so today. "Uhm, are you alright?" she asked, a little hesitantly - which likely seemed a little odd, considering that she was supposed to be the patient and he the visitor.

[Assistant]
Alexei Dragunov - Warakuma High School - June 1st
His entire search last night had returned nothing, something that aggravated him a lot. After a long time had he felt so helpless. He couldn't shake off that feeling even as he had returned home last evening. He had seen his sister's concerned expression but chose to ignore it, instead cooking her a hearty meal and putting her to sleep early.

He had been awake from 3.00 AM, the unease having become a lot more now. The bullies and the Yakuza was something he could deal with but this situation was turning out to me a lot more grave than expected and he feared for his sister's safety. The first thing he did was to reconfigure the speed dial on her phone and make it accessible. He then proceeded to check how the entire process would work and hoped that wherever she may end up, the lord gives him enough strength to reach her in time.

After the uncommon exercise he got into his routing of readying the clothes and making the lunches. He'd begin his search after school today.

--

The school day dragged on slowly as he heard some idle chatter of the return of the two kidnapped. He eavesdropped to confirm the identities and was a bit relieved that Kotori-chan was alright. That meant that his plans after-school changed a bit. He waited eagerly for the day to finish and was among the first to leave his class as soon as the bell rang.

He went into the flowerstore near the school and got a bunch of flowers. He wasn't much impressed by the arrangement but he reflected on the chat he once had with Kotori and believed that it was the thought that counted. He made his way to the hospital.

--
Warakuma Hospital

Alexei stepped inside the hospital aiming to go towards the reception as he caught sight of a familiar face behind the desk. The elegant, Ms. Mizuno greeted him with a warm and gentle smile. Through his countless visits since is arrival, he had got to know Ms. Mizuno a little. Much like her mother she had been a young widow but being close to a supportive and helping family she had rebounded much well than his mother.

"How are you, Alexei?" came her gentle greeting.

"I am fine, Mizuno-san. How have you been? It's odd to see you at this time?" he asked.

"Ah! I'm fine. Mitsuhara-san isn't feeling too well today so I'm filling in for her. How has your mother been? I hear that the procedures have been going well." she asked.

"She's been a lot better after a long time. Thanks entirely due to the effort you all have put into it. We are genuinely grateful." he said with a bow.

"Don't be silly, young man. It is our duty." she said with a smile, standing to pat his cheek.

"Well then I must say that you have been doing that duty steadfastly. But I'm here to meet a friend. Do you know if Shirohane kotori is admitted here?" he inquired.

"Yes! yes, she has been. She has had quite a few visitors today. Come I'll walk you to her room." she offered.

"Thanks, Mizuno-san." he bowed again.

--

As they reached her room making small-talk. Alexei sensed that she already had company. He looked at Ms. Mizuno who gave him a knowing smile.

"Come on, go in. The boy who came earlier is inside, I think. He himself didn't look too well. Your friend certainly made you all very worried it seems."

Alexei nodded and knocked on the door. Before waiting for a moment and going inside.

"Hello Kotori-chan! How are you?" he asked in a low grumble, the flowers held in front of him. It was a little bouquet of peonies and Yarrow meant to symbolize good health and recuperation.

[User]
Shizuka Otonashi || Warakuma Recreational Center || May 31 SUN: Morning
As the upperclassman dozed off on the bench, a worried expression visibly appeared upon the younger maiden's features. Ever since her first meeting with the male, she had known of his tendency to over exhaust himself to his limits. Now that she took a closer inspection upon his sleeping face, the signs of exhaustion when Shizuka had first encountered him were still there. Seeing them made the underclassman frown slightly, being concerned over Masa's treatment of himself once again. "Saji-san... Do please look after senpai, it seems he had been overworking himself again," Shizuka pleaded out of concern for her acquaintance.

Once the other two listed places the Saji's could hope to unwind themselves at, the raven haired girl merely nodded at the suggestions she thought were appropriate for them. But as Elena mentioned the cosplay cafe, Shizuka twitched ever so slightly that no one would have been able to see unless they were staring at the girl. Speaking of which, upon taking a quick glance at her wristwatch, she noticed that it was about time she got going to work. Before she decided to take off, her gaze turned to Elena once more, "Actually yes, I've just gone swimming but I did notice the temperature of the water to be a little off from the usual one. Hopefully Dragunov-senpai may be able to help." Shizuka flashed a soft smile before bowing towards them and bidding them farewell. "I apologize for leaving so soon but I must take my leave for my shift at my work. It was delightful to see you all, a pleasant day to you." Once she had announced them of her, she left the premises.

---

Shizuka Otonashi || Warakuma Hospital || June 1 MON: After School
With just three knocks upon the door to the room of the bespectacled girl, it was suddenly opened without awaiting any response as a voice called over upon entry, "Kotoriii! The Agriculture club is here!" Another voice familiar to the patient was heard from behind the enthusiastic male voice, "Ha-Ha-Harvester-senpai, w-we shouldn't just barge into pe-people's rooms like this-- Oh." Taking a glance around the room with the upperclassman, it seems there were already 2 visitors in the room, whom of which were also the freshman's acquaintances.

Feeling that having too many visitors may disturb Kotori's rest, Shizuka spoke up, "Um... This may not be a good time, let us come back later or at a more suitable time, Harvester-senpai. So-Sorry to have disturbed you, Shirohane-senpai, but we got you something." Before turning to leave, the younger student rested the basket of fruits upon a table in the room before bowing for farewell.

"But we just got here, Shizu! Though if we really hafta leave, then we'll come back again for sure, Kotori. Hope ya enjoy the fruits!" After flashing his signature bright smile, he waved his hand good bye towards the girl and Alexei, who he was also familiar with.

Fearing that the other upperclassman who was also heard to be hospitalized may also be entertaining his own set of visitors, Shizuka handed over the other basket of fruits to be brought to the room of Sato Hashimoto upon their next check up on him.


[System]
She has a straight, boyish figure and a short haircut to match. Although lean, she's muscular as well: her limbs are toned and the beginnings of abs sit at her mid drift. However, she doesn't really go out of her way to show off her rectangle-esque physique, save for her arms since--when she's not wearing a coat or sweatshirt--she prefers tank tops and other sleeveless tops. Under said tops, she typically wears a sports bra over average sized breasts. Her skin is dark olive in complexion and her eyes a light, graham cracker brown. Her hair is dark brown, as well, and stops just short of the bottom of her ears. She has a long-ish face, high cheek bones, and a sharp nose. She stands at 167.64 cm / 5'6" and weighs in at about 120 lbs of angst.

Age: 19

Skill: Physically fit, high physical endurance, basic combat knowledge, resourceful

Preferred Weapons: Will put to use anything she can get. Has a baseball bat to start.

Personality: Lillah is the loner type: she's silently broody and keeps to herself. She's angry by default and isn't very patient with people--but has developed the self-control to deal with them despite. Her sense of humor is lacking and she'll roll her eyes before she laughs. She's a person who's hard to get to know and doesn't show much interest in getting to know others either. Despite these negative qualities, she tries to be a better person and will grudgingly land a hand where ever it's needed. She's brave, but not stupid, and very independent. She believes she knows how to take care of herself, and therefore has trouble accepting help from others. Once one does get to know her, they'll find that she's extremely loyal and protective. She'll put a friend before herself every time, and might even get caught smiling every now and again.

Brief Bio: Before the apocalypse, Lillah was happily adopted. She wasn't the most sociable person, but she engaged in video games and sports to keep busy and relieve stress. Her sports included track and dabbling in martial arts. She struggled with and continues to struggle with insomnia and depression, especially without access to the resources she needs to deal with them (medicine, therapy, etc.). In high school, she did average work for average grades, but didn't care all that much for it anyway. With no plans to go to college, she was unsure where to go after graduating.

However, she didn't have to worry much. When the virus hit, her mother was first to go and--for a while--it was just her and her father. They were surviving well enough on their own for a bit, but tragedy struck when her father was turned into a walker and she was forced to put him down.

Soon after, she met Vivian. Although rocky at first, their relationship has bloomed and they tend to put each other first.

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Vivian Vanbrooke

Her round face and narrow golden brown eyes are typical of people of Eastern descent, and her dark hair falls straight, stopping just short of her chin in a bob. Her clothing of choice is mostly neutral colors: browns, blacks, and greys but nowadays she'll take what she can get. She stands no taller than 157.48 cm / 5'2" and weighs in at only about 105 lbs. Other notable characteristics are the many earrings, piercings on the side of her nose and belly button, and the dragon tattoo that starts on her upper arm and extends to her back.

Age: 24

Skill: Sneaky, manipulative, good with people even if she doesn't particularly like them

Preferred Weapons: Has learned how to use guns since the end and prefers shot guns. However, only has an empty shot gun and a hunting knife to start.

Personality: V comes off as pretty laid back. She can be charming enough when she wants to be, but typically isn't. She can be pretty arrogant as well--not only does she think she's better than pretty much everyone else, she believes she's smarter than them, too. And while she can be cunning, she can easily underestimate others. Her strengths lie in her street smarts, charisma, and independence. On the other hand, working with others is a chore even knowing it's for the best. She's also attracted to danger and the unknown--it interests her.

Brief Bio: Vivian was born across the Atlantic to a pair of dentists in southern England. All her youth, she was pushed toward education and tradition when all she wanted was to explore and experience the world. Instead of continuing to higher education, she skipped out and followed her at-the-time boyfriend's band to America. However, the band broke up, then they broke up, and Vivian was alone in a foreign country.

For a few years, she bounced between jobs trying to make a living. When the walkers hit, she was just settling in as a tattoo artist apprentice with plans to finally talk to her parents. Unforunately, she didn't get the chance and she was suddenly thrust into the apocalypse all alone. This brought out the survivalist in Vivian, and she drifted between survival groups as she saw fit.

Eventually, she met Lillah with plans to kill her and take her supplies. However, Lillah proved more useful alive (and was hard to kill anyway) and they grudgingly became travel companions before actually caring for one another.

[User]
Lillah & Vivian -- Roselawn Cemetery, Baton Rouge

The night had been a long one; Lillah had spent most of her time flipping through an old comic book, the edge of its pages brown and yellow by the light of a candle. The sun was up, but the walls of the mausoleum closed out its light. She was only aware of the morning when there was a stirring beside her: a petite woman lied restricted in the grimy sleeping bag but awoke when she tried to stretch her way out. Lillah's attention turned back on the last couple pages of the comic book after offering a "Good morning" to her companion.

As expected, she didn't get a reply. It was a wonder if she was even heard as Vivian concerned herself with struggling to wake up. She pulled a book bag to herself and peered inside. "Fuuuck," Vivian whined despite pulling out a full bottle of water. "We're gonna need food soon." Vivian uncapped the bottle and took a large swig, swishing it about her mouth before swallowing to fight off the dryness. "And I'm not staying in here another day." She gave Lillah a pointed a look, though it was lost in the dark.

"Then we'll leave today. And find some supplies." She shrugged and closed the comic book before tossing it to Vivian, who slipped it into her own bag.

"You get any sleep?" Vivian asked, standing to stretch. She knew the answer every morning, but asked anyway. Always with a nonchalant and light tone despite the concern in her dark gaze.

As she answered, Lillah wiggled out the sleeping bag so she could sit on top it. "Got enough," was always the reply.

Vivian rolled her eyes but sat back down to unpack some canned food. For their single-candle-lit breakfast, they would be splitting a can of black olives and washing it down with water. Their conversation was idle small talk, littered with a laugh or two here or there. More often than not, Vivian's lips were moving and Lillah was rolling her eyes--though hiding a smile--in response.

With their stomachs at least partly full, Lillah got up to pull the heavy into the mausoleum open. She squinted against the sun as it entered, but didn't dare look away to leave herself unaware. However, the cemetery was empty and she pulled the door all the way open as Vivian extinguished the candle and went on to groom herself. Lillah stood by the door, continuing to keep watch as she waited for her companion to finish packing up their current supplies: two reusable water bottles, the large sleeping bag, a pack of matches, a lighter, the half melted candle, two more cans of fruit, lots of feminine hygiene products, and the essentials of self defense (which would be on their persons).

All finished up, Vivian handed the taller girl the heavier bag and an aluminum bat. She had an unloaded singled barreled shot gun on her back and a hunting knife at her makeshift belt. "Alright, let's get out of here, love," she said as she stepped out into the light, leaving behind the empty olive can.

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Their search for food and supplies took them from street to street in Baton Rogue. Both were quiet and alert, though Vivian was casually twirling her knife about her fingers. She was also the first to hear vehicles a few streets over and redirected Lillah's path away from the noise. Their search for supplies took them from store to store, most of which already emptied by other survivors. "This is hopeless. This city was too big," Lillah muttered. "We..." Her voice trailed off, however, and they came to a stop in front of a shoppe with a half faded sign. The door was open and, just as she was about to peak in, Lillah pulled away at the sounds of coughing and hacking.

The two exchanged looks, then nodded. Vivian slipped the knife away, exchanging it for her empty shot gun as she turned to guard the door against outsiders. She made a point to be invisible to anyone inside the shop. Lillah, on the other hand, slipped quietly through the open door with her bat at the shoulder.

It became quickly apparent why the other woman was gagging. When the stench hit Lillah as she walked further in, she couldn't help the cough that rose from her throat and alerting the stranger to her present. "Shit," she hissed, wafting the air in front of her. Having surprise on her side would've been nice, but she wasn't terribly afraid despite: the short haired woman standing over two corpses was small and didn't have a firearm in hand. Still, she said, "Sorry," as a greeting, her face wrinkled against the odor.

[Assistant]
Scarett - Baton Rouge - Lilah/Vivian

Although the smell of rotting flesh and internal organs is something that nobody could possibly get used to, Scarlett was beginning to overcome it when an unexpected cough made her jump and turn around quickly. Scarlett stared at the female in front of her with a mixture of surprise and fear as she waited for her to either begin shooting or to act aggressive towards her. Maybe she had been in one too many hostile situations. Her hand gripped her blade tightly as she sized the young woman up and she took a small step backwards, unfortunately being stopped by the two corpses behind her. She didn't want to speak first, not knowing how the stranger would react, but she felt a bit of relief the girl apologized for scaring her.

 "I..... Uh.." Scarlett was at a loss for words, almost the same way when she had been found by Tyler and his group. "I don't want to hurt anyone.... I just need to get some supplies and I'll be on my way." Her tone of voice was soft yet held a sense of authority and confidence. She didn't want to seem as vulnerable as she felt, nor did she want to seem too bitchy.

[User]
Lillah & Vivian -- Baton Rouge -- Scarlett

Lillah regarded the other in silence, tapping the bat to her dark shoulder. Unlike the blonde who was trying to come off as unassuming as possible, she made a point to stand tall and unsmiling. Clearly, she didn't care if she came off as a bitch. "I need supplies too," she said, then paused. Like the stranger, she didn't want anyone hurt, but she also wanted to prioritize her and Vivian when it came to items. It was a good reminder that the woman might have someone else to look out for, too. After looking around, Lillah lowered her bat and offered, "I take some, you take some. I don't need a lot. And I don't wanna hurt anyone either."

Outside, Vivian rolled her eyes as she strained to listen. Despite being the least friendly of the two, Lillah always insisted on confronting others. This was a shame because she tended to compromise when Vivian preferred to take. Still, the petite woman remained outside by the door, her gaze flickering up and down the street. The rotten smell carried out into the open and she wrinkled her nose against it, but kept her hands on the empty gun.

She only moved away from the door to look down the alley beside the shoppe, on the watch for walkers or other people. Her ears remained open in case her companion needed help, but otherwise her attention was on the surrounding area. However, the city remained still and quiet.


[System]
* Age: 16
* Gender: Female
* Race: Human
* Appearance: Armored, Unarmored. She is 5'1, with pale skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Her armor is silver with gold decorations. Her sword has a golden hilt.
* Personality: Fanilly is one to take her duty seriously. This is both due to a belief in the cause of the Iron Rose Knights, and a severe insecurity and self-consciousness about her position. She is well aware that she is young and comparatively inexperienced. She knows that she is only in the position she is because of her birth, as she was born under a full moon. This only makes her feel worse about it. For Fanilly Danbalion, captain of the Iron Rose Knights, she can't help but feel that they have a point. She's young. And even though the founder was the same age, she was viewed as something miraculous, almost a saint. Should Fanilly truly be leading them? This weighs heavily on her mind, and thus one of her biggest desires is to prove that she is. In spite of her young age, in spite of how this tradition has worn thin for some, Fanilly wants to prove that she is a worthy captain of the Iron Rose Knights above all else. Aside from this desire, the girl is somewhat socially awkard, sometimes unprepared for conversation. However, she is not really shy and can generally deal with attending various functions in the capital, as is expected of the Iron Rose Knights. She is dedicated to the purpose of the order, to defend the innocent and protect the land of Thaln. However, the doubts surrounding her have lead to a lack of confidence in herself. Fanilly has a younger sister and as a result has a somewhat stronger affinity for children and desire to keep the safe, but as someone dedicated to the Iron Rose Knights' cause she wishes to protect all those in need. While she has a lacking in confidence, she retains some pride in her training, as she has proven to be skilled at swordplay in spite of her youth.
* Brief Backstory: Fanilly was a daughter of the Danbalion family, a noble family already. While they had never been knights, her birth on a full moon immediately made her a potential future candidate for the Iron Rose Knights' captain. She was simply needed sooner then many expected. And so she experienced training for several years leading up to her instatement as the Captain of the Iron Rose Knights. Initially she was confident in herself, but it quickly became clear that even some within the Knights had grown tired of the tradition of selecting a maiden born on a full moon to be the captain. This wore on her quickly, and has lead to her desperation to prove herself.
* Equipment: Fanilly wears a well-made set of somewhat ornate armor. She wields a fine longsword in her right hand and a dagger with a curved hilt for trapping weapons in her left.
* Skills: Fanilly has experienced extensive training in swordplay, specifically in the use of a longsword in both hands, or paired with a unique parrying dagger.

[User]
Sir Garrett
Themerlinhawk

At the reaction from Marianne he refocused his gaze on her. "Probably some sort of beef or pork. Both of which are something wholly new to me in all honesty. I'm not terribly familiar with all of the delicacies the nobles in Thaln consume, my own fault really. Im use to plainer food than the rich food that usually appears on my plate." With a chuckle he tilted his head at her reaction. This was certainly interesting as the amount of real human interaction he'd had since he had arrived with the Knights was rather minimal; probably largely due to his background and stature.

Perhaps earlier had been a bit much

Looking up again Sir Garrett was reminded that he was entertaining an audience as his eyes flicked down the row of maids again. It finally dawned on the big man that they were half servant, half body guard. As he shifted his hands on the table it also dawned on him that this felt an awful lot like a test or an audition of sort.

Does she actually know who I am was the comment about eating with allied nobility a shot in the dark?

Choosing to ignore it for now Sir Garrett twisted his clan bracelet running his fingers over the runes as he contemplated where to direct the conversation. Perhaps food was a safe enough topic given that after some testing with the teasing and the reactions he'd drawn from the maids asking her anything more than mundane would probably not go over well. Now he was uneasy with the maids simply standing observing their dialogue; it was probably just because they would not be eating. Eating while others went unfed was incredibly uncomfortable when food was available since it made him feel like he was not properly sharing a bounty with those around him.

"When I first came to live here for almost two months I'd skip meals here and go find trail rations because it was much closer to what I was use to. I was alos afraid that the easy food would make me soft." With a snort he adjusted the bracelet on his left wrist before continuing. "I honestly think it's the baths that have made me softer. Its easier to let yourself go when you can relax in warm water. Another luxury I only enjoyed in the winters since we were forced back to the holdfasts to winter."

Continuing to not meet her eyes he let his gaze wander the rest of the room. "I don't think I could have grown up here and lived a life like this. I still can't stand all the stone and wood. It's so stifling, I prefer the open sky, the horse blankets, and the hide tents. When I was first here I took to sleeping in the stables. Another habit I had to kick but the horses were really the only thing I understood since no matter where I go they always treat me like family."

Smiling he returned his stare to her. "So now that I've talked all about myself I think it's your turn don't you? That or I'll be forced to ask your maids." It was teasing but he was careful to pay attention to her reaction. Sir Garrett wasn't sure what it was but something about him or the way he talked seemed to make the Lady Knight tense. Hopefully she didn't actually think him a barbarian. Much as he looked and could sometimes act the part his clan was as noble as the families here in Thaln. The only difference was that his family had taken their nobility at the point of a sword more recently than the families of Thaln and the rest of Velt.

Before she could respond he broke his silence cutting her off as he realized he hadn't addressed something that had been bothering him. "For the record what Dame Sult did was incredibly rude. No one likes to be the center of attention like that and I don't think you are use to being laughed at. Which is understandable. I guarantee that she wouldn't have reacted well to being on the receiving end of such a thing."

[Assistant]
Sult stood there for a second, her face quickly becoming red as a beet as she submerged her mouth to obscure the high pitched noise that came from her lips as she realized she had spilled the beans in front of the captain.

But if she left now the bath, Nero would no doubt taunt her to death.

Sult swallowed and coughed her mouth, quickly composing herself. "My apologies captain. I am not well entirely, mostly because someone i know so well, the Knight-Captain of the Raven Knights, my twin brother is outside waiting. That man has skill to press my buttons."

It was then when she eyed the other two ladies in the bath. "Newcomers, aye? It is glad to see we still get more roses for our namesake." So cute, and tiny some people are She paused as she gained momentum and slid next to Fanilly, having grabbed a sponge and soap.

"Now let me perform my duty and scrub your lovely back, Captain! As an apology for my behaviour."

[User]
Fanilly stared for a few moments as she watched the knight sink into the water, bright red. This was an... intensely awkward situation, to say the least. It seemed that life had deemed things to be intensely awkward right after the knights returned from their mission. Fanilly hadn't known that Sult had a twin brother, however, though now that she thought of it she felt foolish for not realizing sooner. She'd heard of the Raven Knights previously, after all.

She took a deep breath. "It's not as if you'd be undergoing any sort of punishment, even if it was quite an, um... outburst."

Fanilly wasn't sure how to take the comments directed at herself. But before she could dwell on that more, Sult offered to scrub her back.

"... Er..."

Well... it was nothing her own maids hadn't done before. Still, in this context it seemed more embarrassing. The older girl had slid up beside her, offering it as a method of apology... And Fanilly really did need to get going on this meeting. She didn't want to be sitting in the bath all day, having a series of false starts.

"... F-fine. I'll just speak to the new knights while you do so."

[Assistant]
Marianne Delacroix

Nodding upon the mention of his preference for dinner, she turned and motioned towards her maids. With a bow of the head and a curtsy, four of the seven left to retrieve Lady Marianne's and Sir Garrett's food. Turning her head back to face, Sir Garrett she didn't quite know how to continue on with the conversation. To her, the food that she had eaten as she grew up was simply food to her. To think that others considered her being able to eat whatever she wanted and was guaranteed at the very least three square meals a day a luxury, well...She had never thought of it like that. She knew that there were the poor who had nary a scrap to consume. But the idea that there were differing cultures in Thaln that lived that rugged lifestyle, by choice or not, was eye-opening to Marianne. She really needed to travel more.

Catching Sir Garrett's eye, she again saw him look towards her maids. Only this time, she saw that he appeared to grow a little uncomfortable. Frowning ever so slightly, she wondered if their presence bothered him for whatever reason. Perhaps she should dismiss them. Just as he began to fidget with the trinket he wore on his wrist, she did too. Lowering her eyes, she again messed with the placement of the utensils in front of her adjusting in her seat.

Thankfully, Sir Garrett continued to speak. Marianne's head raising once more to listen attentively. But again, the subject matter just made her realize just how privileged she was growing up. To think that 'easy food' could make one 'soft'. She could see what he meant, however. Many of the other allied noble families did tend to have rounder and larger bellies. Though she never saw her own family members with such rotund physiques, she wondered if it yet another attribute of differing cultures and customs. The food she was provided was always rather healthy, nothing ever too fatty or rich. Her intake of sweets was closely monitored as well, only allowed a treat when she had 'earned' it and done well with something. She and her brothers were never allowed to gorge themselves silly. Though, John hardly ever ate a thing. Paul ate as much as he pleased but never seemed to gain weight, the lucky dog.

Marianne envied Sir Garrett. Though his described childhood sounded far from luxurious, he had grown into a stronger and better man for it. Moreover, he sounded happier and free. It made it painfully aware to her that such simple things like bathing and the security of walls were things she had taken for granted. It wasn't to say she had a bad childhood, there was nothing but love and care for her from her parents and brothers. But, hearing Sir Garrett's stories made his youth seem more...romantic.

Lost in thought, she made a quiet squeak when he turned the conversation on its head and asked about her, having startled her. She didn't appreciate the hollow threat of digging information out of the maids, and shot him a frown for that remark. She wouldn't doubt they would be happy to oblige too, the chatty birds. She seemed to pout a little. She began to speak, but Sir Garrett had again spoken and cut her off before she could.

Sighing, Marianne shrugged.
"In hindsight it was a little funny, if not rude. I hold no ill will towards Dame Sult however. She helped you in waking me and it was rather effective, if not a little embarrassing for me. It is but a trivial thing to worry about as it is in the past. If anything, it's a memory to fondly remember and to laugh together over." she laughed softly and waved a hand at him to dismiss the subject away.
"Well, my childhood was nothing special when compared to yours, Sir Garrett. I grew up the youngest of three siblings, having two older brothers. We ate 'easy food', had 'softening baths' and lived in safe walls of stone and wood." she said with a mischievous smile of her own.
The mood was growing rather dull and she couldn't have that.
So, why not jest back and lightening things up?
"A rather standard youth as a noble. With everything provided for us as we were groomed through our years. The only different part being that we underwent training to become Delacroix Knights as well, following in papa et maman's footsteps. My older brothers were not able to complete their training, sadly. I was the only one to have the privilege of being chosen. Selected to go on pilgrimage to become an Iron Rose Knight. They were simply named Captains of their own platoon of Knights, Delacroix in name and blood. Yet not bearing the official title of a Delacroix Knight."
Seeing her maids return with their food, she waited for them to set the table before continuing.
"My eldest brother, Paul, was unable to learn magic."
She blinked, the corners of her lips tugged into a half-frown.
"Well, rather. He refused to learn magic. Much like you, he felt it to be a dishonorable method of conducting combat." she corrected herself, laughing.
"He felt that a true Knight and warrior should only do battle with blade, fist, and arrow. That the field was no place for fanciful tricks."
Picking up her fork and knife, she began cutting up her food. It was a simple dish with a small portion of rice, a cutlet of pork, and more than the remaining half piled with greens and vegetables.
"My second oldest brother, John, was a brilliant man and had a keen eye. He was unmatched in Archery competitions and took to magic naturally. However, he was physically frail when compared to myself and Paul. He could not fist fight or wield a blade."
After neatly sectioning off her food, she waited for Sir Garrett to eat first before taking her first bite. A maid poured her a goblet of water.
"What would you like to drink, Sir Garrett?" The maid standing next to him asked.

[User]
As she awaited Sult's backscrubbing, Fanilly continued, slightly more in the swing of things as time went on. Public bathing wasn't so bad... even if she still felt rather embarrassed. But now, she focused her attention on the newcomers. They were... well, the blonde girl seemed to have some sores from wearing her armor for so long, but that would likely clear up from the water. Thankfully. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again.

"Er... I suppose the best way to do this would be explaining your skills to me," Fanilly began. This felt so... awkward and unofficial, and yet there was really no way to get around it. She'd said they'd be meeting in the bath, therefore this was what they had to do. It wasn't as if she could simply... not hold any kind of meeting, just because she felt sort of awkward. Besides, she was feeling slowly more comfortable. Hopefully, that was a trend that would continue.