Ricardo
The snowfield that Tesse patiently waited at was a little bit farther away from Wisterwood than Beta; It was actually closer to the plains of Luminaire's sunkissed province. Still, that didn't stop a rather bitter chill from permeating the entrance to the unforgiving path ahead. Tesse didn't own a watch, but they were watching the sky patiently with their deep and knowing eyes, with the patches of light beyond the clouds moving from morning to afternoon. Any moment now, they'd be here... And they'd best be ready.
[
Melody
Torstein sauntered through the snowfield, steadily approaching Tesse. He made no attempt to call out to them, he simply got close enough to be within hearing distance. The cat had been around long enough to get a read on people of interest. How they talked, how they carried themselves... There was a lot to be said about Tesse simply sky gazing as they waited. This in addition to how the Mienfoo acted at the tavern... 

"'Tesseracts Within Clouds'... That was your full name, wasn't it."

Even though the Perrserker worded it like a question, it came off like he already knew the answer. This was more just a greeting, an introduction. 

"I remember what you were talking about before," He began. Seemed he wasn't entirely drunk back then. At least, he was still in a state to listen even if he wasn't in a state to respond appropriately. "These treasures... And the prophecy surrounding them. Tell me more."

The cat endured the cold air unflinchingly, and spoke with that same level of stalwart grit. Pupils gazed into Tesse, manifesting something that could be either scrutiny or curiosity. Either way, Torstein seemed invested in the prophet despite knowing nothing about them. Was it just the promise of treasure that lured him in this much? 

Torstein didn't seem convinced just yet, but he was here regardless, meaning he cared enough to investigate. Whether he would be friend or foe... Or perhaps just a cold mercenary only in it for a shot at Nirvana, that remained to be seen.
Andre
*Hi! Mars was here, for kinda obvious reasons of him coming from Guardia himself, being sent here as a sort of bodyguard for Fey in the first place, so when a mission relating to escorting a group of people to Guardia had peaked his interest, and he had decided to help out with such! He had made it thankfully, noticing thd mienfoo and perrserker in the tundra.

He had heard a little about the robot, news like that usually spreaded around the town, so part of him did want to find out more, but mostly he was just tbere to do his job.*

"Hello, are you the one needing of escorting? I hope I didn't go to the wrong place.. Again."
Rebecka
"Why should we bring you." Mallow was here, somehow. With little understanding of why they were escorting anyone- only that they *Were.* From somewhere, she had emerged- and stared intensely at the Meinfoo. Despite the bitter chill, the Skitty had an aptly thick coat, and only flinched when a particularly strong breeze would pass through the group.

"If we get hungry," She paused, making sure she was confident in her words and quickly glancing over the group. "If we get hungry and there's no food I think we would eat you first." The other options were Metal, Metal, or Mallow. And obviously, Mallow was off the table.

"My name is Mallow. My mom said. Said, um... That it was because Mallows survive the winter." It was utterly unrelated, but she figured it was polite to introduce herself. Thats what everyone told her.
Ricardo
"Ah, very good. Looks like you're arriving alright. I don't think everyone's here yet, but we don't have to leave right away, so that gives me time to start briefing." The Mienfoo opened up a scroll, with a surprisingly map concealed within... Except it was drawn with crayon. "The route we're taking passes through several settlements. No major cities or anything, but it harbors a few rest stops, and that's important when you're neck-high in snow and ice. The road is winding, but straightforward."

It was then that Tesse's streak of exposition was cut short by Mallow, who had some very Mallow things to say. "...Um. Okay." They wanted to call attention to the fact that a twelve-year-old had somehow wandered into the mission, but Tesse wasn't all that much older, so they weren't exactly in a position to chat shit. Looking for an excuse to change the subject to something a little more comfortable for them than "Ah— I am the escort, yes! Tesseracts Within Clouds." They bowed to Torstein and Mars. 

It was what Torstein mentioned that particularly caught their attention. "A-ha! So you weren't completely drunk, then! That makes my job of explaining things... Easier." They cleared their throat as they took another scroll from their cloak, this one being far less detailed... And not in crayon. "There are four treasures held within each of the cardinal nations of Hecatia: One within Guardia, one within Terra, and..." They paused, seemingly contemplating their words carefully. "...Well, the legend tells of one in the Fey, but... I didn't feel anything when we were there. I *Did* Feel a presence in Neone, but of course, Lord Fenix wouldn't admit to anything..."

"These four treasures are highly secure, as they were hand-crafted by the four monarchs from the Age of Kings all that time ago... And are told to hold immense power within them. The exact form of these four treasures is not well know... But..." They closed their eyes, took a deep breath, and...

"...The Guardian King forged a great weapon with the force of a great and strong heart; A shining light in the cold. The Terran Queen shaped great vessels with her dominion over the lands and alchemical mould. The Lumin Monarch crafted an archive with their ascended mind, with an ever-informative and lavish flair. The Fey Custodian and all of her followers crafted holy jewelry imbued with prayer..."

"...Four monarchs. Four holy keys to nirvana. And, I suppose, even if it happens that I'm just spouting off... I'm sure these treasures must be valuable regardless, right— If that's the kind of thing that entices you, of course." Tesse was confident, of course, that they *Weren't* Just spouting off, of course, but... Well, they were gonna try to at least say the right things to keep in this strong warrior's good graces, even if it were dishonest of them.
[
Melody
Torstein went completely quiet as Tesse spoke, seemingly taking in every word. Even after they finished, the cat's only response at first was to idly scratch at his beard. His face slowly turned into a frown. Had Tesse been unsuccessful at swaying him? 

"...The value of these artifacts are far beyond mere profit," He finally said. "That's what you think, right? I could be wrong, however..."

He began walking away. But, he then turned around. Pacing back and forth, he seemed to be contemplating. 

"Disregarding your abilities as a prophet, the way you haven't mentioned the worth of these treasures until now tells me what I need to know. You're not in it for the money. You probably don't know if it's worth anything at all."

He said this while continuing to pace. 

"But. If the Guardian King of old forged such a weapon... And if..." No, whatever he was thinking, he trailed off into momentary silence. When he finally perked back up, he was onto a completely different point. "These kinds of ancient powers, they aren't something that can be used lightly... If they exist, and if people know about them, they have the power to change this world."

What exactly was going on in this cat's mind, it could only be guessed. Finally, Torstein stopped pacing, only twisting his body to meet Tesse face to face. 

"It comes back to you. I doubt you seek these treasures _only_ because you know they exist," He finalized. "I want to hear _your_ reason for seeking them, not what you know we want to hear."

It could be assumed he was insane, honestly. Despite how deathly serious he sounded, it couldn't be said he knew a single thing about these sorts of powers, and the long buried history surrounding them. It couldn't be said he knew what kind of impact they could have on the future. But he, someone in the here and now, decided for whatever reason that this was something important to his present.
Ricardo
Tesse watched Torstein as he mused to himself over what Tesse was saying, somewhat surprised by his ability to call them out on the spot— Perhaps they didn't need to entice him with anything... They'd misjudged him, although to be fair, their last interaction involved a drunken Torstein falling to the ground because his center of gravity took one look at him and said *'absolutely not.'*

With a smile, they continued. "A fair assumption, and a far more in-depth deduction than I would have expected— You're absolutely right!" Putting a paw to their chin as they thought over the feline's following queries, the Fighting-Type's cogs very clearly turning in their head with great fervor. "Well, let me put it this way... I never grew up with parents, or really any kind of parental supervision other than the local church in my hometown— And even *They* Don't know where I came from. And I'm but a youth with knowledge- ***Real knowledge-*** That I *Should not logically have.* I guess what that means to me is that I'm not here for a logical reason at all; Whimsical as it may seem, I'm following this path because I don't believe in coincidences... Cus if I did, then that would just contradict my very being, wouldn't it? I believe I'm here for a reason, and I surely must know all this for a reason... So I *Have* To pursue it! If I don't, then all these questions rattling around in my head are bound to drive me up the wall sooner or later."

"There's my honest answer for you. Don't misunderstand— I don't want these things for *Myself-* Just as you said, I don't care about money, and far be it from me to use the power of some artifacts to impose my will on everyone else, but I do want to see change in the world— I think everybody does."
Melody
Hearing about the Mienfoo's mysterious origins only solidified Torstein's rationale. He confirmed that this was no mere child. This was a borderline anomaly. But that was all the more reason to pursue this; he had every reason to follow this thread to wherever it led, because he was certain that what followed this child was bound to be interesting. 

Still, something irked him at him. The final statement. '-but I do want to see change in the world— I think everybody does.'. The words rang true for Torstein, truer than anything else. He fell into a sort of solemn state, past words echoing in his mind. The mind that he swore would be resolute. No matter what, he'd pursue his goal. 

"_Truly_..." He mumbled to himself. Was it in response to Tesse? Who knows. 

"This isn't the kind of path a child should take," He said after opening his eyes. "...But this world has a habit of not giving the young a choice. To what depths we'll go, to reach the destination we want, I wonder."

... Was this guy monologuing? 

"Let's bring change, then. Lead the way. I'll make sure nothing stops us without losing pieces."

... Did this guy start a monologue and then abruptly end it? 

Regardless, it seemed Tesse gained a party member. A few moments after the Final Fantasy fanfare played, Torstein would ask:

"How much do you think we could make by having you fake prophecies for folks? If your credibility is already known by Lord Whoever in that Neone dump, surely we could swindle a few royal turds by telling them they're going to die in seven days or something. Right?"

He was still Torstein, after all.
Mary
*A cloth snake slunk through the cold, the occasional frosty breeze ensuring it's presence was known to him as it flowed through the bottom of his cloth. Despite being somewhat of ghost, temperatures could still bite 'em in the ass. In an attempt to combat this, he brought his legs into his cloth (or more so into his ghostly mass under the cloth), causing him to look slightly more like a traditional Mimikyu. The temperature benefits were as expected though, okay though still negligible.*

*He felt like he was running behind schedule for the mission; if you happen to be tarde, either pretend you're not tarde or pretend that you're not there, but unfortunately those weren't tactics Fabrixo could use here, half for the fact that there probably wasn't any time for bullshit, and the other half... Was probably something else. The gears weren't turning quick enough in his or my head to consider some other consequences.*

*The group came into his view at long last, pushing him to move quicker until he arrived. Springing up, his legs popped out of his cloth. He stood there, his legs extremely close together, eyeing up the rest of the group. Turning slowly to Tesse, he spoke.* "Late...?" *He said simply, almost as a statement, though a hint of questioning inflection came through. He was still undecided on whether or not he cared about being on time, regardless he and the group were there so he probably didn't fuck up.*
Rebecka
Well. At least Tesse knew now. Satisfied with the acknowledgement, Mallow twisted to the rest of the group.

"My name is Mallow." She repeated- now searching for a name from the rest of the group. Expectantly, she eyed each member of the party. "My mom said it was because Mallows survive the winter."
Sandra
*Unlike every other 'Mon there, the Lycanroc had arrived at last! She was so fucking ready for some sick treasure! Some marvellous booty! Some extraordinary treasure! She was so fucking ready. So ready. Honestly? She was so ready, that ready didn't even begin to describe how ready she was. It was about time she used her skills for something notable! (Other than getting into a fight with a Rattata) Alas! The time was now-* "Treasure! Treasure, treasure, treasure, treasure!" *She looked so fucked up, bruh. Like, her face was so long looking and happy. More akin to that of a fox, or maybe your lawyer-? Who knows.* 

"So, are we gonna find the bodacious booty? These golden goodies? These suave silver pieces-!?" *She was loud - bombastic, too.* "Dude, we're so bossa nova!"
Andre
*It seemed like everyone had finally arrived, and after a long conversation between both Torstein and Tesse, and also some explanation of.. Something. He should've probably paid more attention to that part. Anyways, he looked ahead on the road and realized that they would probably have to keep track on those rest stops indeed. Anyways, he decided to introduce himself, as he hadn't earlier, and also it was probably better to know each others names before continuing, but it wasn't really important.*

"The names Mars!" *He'd state after Mallow had did so as well.* "I hope we all can get along on this mission." *Yeah... Kinda generic, but it still worked as a.. Motivator? He didn't really know, though the seemingly greediness of the lycanrock and the suggestion from Torstein to use the kid's credibility against some nobles by scaring them worried him a little bit!*
Ricardo
"I— I would *Not* Partake in something so... Unsavoury!" Tesse seemed taken aback by even the thought of using their gift like that- "...But yes, it would probably offer a complete boon." -but still played an answer completely straight. Next, the Mienfoo turned to the newly arrived Samantha and Fabrixo. "Not late at all, actually! Just in time. This is the first step towards, well... The greater goal at hand." In particular, they faced the Lycanroc... "I have no idea what you just said, miss, but it sounded cool! Let's get this show on the road! Brace yourselves— It's gonna be rough!" 

And with that, they started trailing into the white wastes. It seemed to take genuine force for the Mienfoo to trudge along the snowy and icy slope, occasionally gluing their eyes to their map. This went on for a few miles, and eventually they got a little bit more adjusted to the cold. They came to a slow stop as they began to notice something, though...

"Say... Pardon me if this sounds a little strange, but... Is that normal?" They extended one of their arms and pointed a digit toward a bunch of strange white... *Circles* Sticking up from the surface of the snow, in sets of two— No, *Four,* Each in perfect symmetry. Some were bigger than others, but it was quite uncanny... There must have been at least a dozen in total!

"That, uh... I don't recall snow. Acting like that."

[
Sandra
"...Huh. That's weird!" *Samantha's head perked up after ages and ages of 'are we there yet's, followed with impromptu sighs of annoyance or anticipation. Huffing and puffing to the max - just constantly making sounds of annoyance.*

*Her body shifted, but her gaze remained the same and stiffly towards the white circles sticking up from the surface. She would dash towards one and start hopping up and down on it, almost as if she believed it to be some sort of pressure plate.*
"IF WE JUMP ON THEM HARD ENOUGH, IT'LL SURELY GUIDE OUR PATH!" *This was speculation. Stupid speculation, actually- It made no sense no matter which way you turned it. It was the guess of a lifetime.*
Melody
Satisfied, Torstein would follow behind Tesse, though would keep to himself quite a bit. Nothing came out from the cat in terms of words or conversations until they reached this new, peculiar sight. 

Torstein glared at the scene, recognizing it as abnormal, but he remained composed. 

"It doesn't," He answered the Mienfoo. "That is not normal at all."

His shoulders shrugged slightly. "If we aren't feeling brave, we could circle around.. Whatever this is. It probably doesn't have to be our problem," Torstein suggested.
Rebecka
Mallow waited a few seconds- which felt like, what, 9 days?- before giving up. She didn't need the name of these bozos anyways 🖕  🖕. Mallow and Mars against the world.

Speaking of Mars- Mallow decided to stick close to her closest semblance of a companion. She crawled over, and with only a chirp to signify her presence- hopped on top of the Ferrothorn to use him as a free ride.

"Mars, the snow is in circle shapes." She echoed the Mienfoo's caution, squinting at it. "I think a Pokemon did it. If we got attacked by a Pokemon, would you win?"
Andre
"That is definitely not something you see every day." *He'd state after the mienfoo and the skitty had pointed out the weird snow formation within the sky, it had taken a while to reach this point, and this sight was certainly not.. A good one. Most definitely caused by a Pokemon, or this area was just weird like that. He hoped it was the 2nd option.

He wouldn't have noticed mallow getting on top of him for a second until she had pointed it out, which gave him a small scare, but at least it was someone he.. Kinda knew? Or met? And not some unknown attacked.* "Oh, well.. It'd depend on what pokemon it was, id probably not win against a fire type though, I'm confident I could probably handle anyone else though."
Rebecka
Mallow circled around the top of Mars' flat head, before taking a seat- nestled between two spikes.

"No. It is not." She affirmed- squinting at them.

"If it was a- a fire type. We wold just have to use a. Water Type Attack." Mallow glanced at the group, realizing that none of them looked like they'd have coverage for such a type. Alas. 

"I will protect you." She puffed out her cheeks, and tapped the top of his shell. "Like a. Soldier." Mallow knew what a soldier was only through Mars, but knew that they were meant to defend those incapable of defending themselves.
Ricardo
Samantha did, like, the worst possible thing one could have possibly done by jumping on these big white circles poking out of the snow. Although Torstein had made a pretty sound suggestion in saying that they could have just ignored it, well... They couldn't, now. A chorus of squeaks and chitters began to rise from the snowy wastes, as *Several small, white rodents began jumping out of the snow!* Their voices were monotone, firm, harmonious... Like a constantly-plotting hivemind...
Jose
**"Foolish rogues. You have crossed our organization for the last time."** Some of the mice were bigger than others, but they were so unionized in their movements, so coordinated... They had to have at least somewhat shared a consciousness. Samantha, of course, being the one to provoke them, was the first to start eating a full-on assault from the four closest mice...
```Maushold A used Seed Bomb on Samantha!```

**"The Mailmice are proud custodians of Hecatia. We shall not submit to ruffians such as yourselves... Though we did not take you for the kind to unionize such a ragtag group. We thought you hated unity."**

One smaller mouse piped up. "...Although, to be fair, after what Unity pulled on its userbase, such hatred may be warranted."

Its larger brethren gave it a look. Not a look of contempt or anything like that, just... A look.
Ricardo
"I-I think you've got it all wrong..." Tesse piped up, raising their paws very calmly. "We're not rogues, just travelers trying to get to the capital!"
Jose
**"Nonsense. If you were telling the truth, then you would have just taken a trade route like a normal person. Is it not enough that you are pilfering barbarians, but also liars? You Old Guardia folk are awful. Eat our shorts."** From the swarm of mice came a cacophany of "Ha's." Just. Singular "Ha's." Not a cohesive laugh from any one of these stupid rats. **"Get. Them."** Forming a circle around the rest of the group, the remaining two sets of Maushold pounced on the nearest targets— One of which being Torstein, and the other being Mars, and by proxy, Mallow. Actually, they appeared quite perturbed by the Skitty in general.

**"Get that feline especially. They scare us the most."**

A set of four rodents made a beeline for Torstein's legs, striking and gnawing at them to try and get the brute to lose his balance.
```Maushold B used Low Sweep on Torstein!```

Meanwhile, on Mars's side of the equation, a set of four rodents attempted to get at Mallow, but couldn't get past Mars... So they ended up attacking him, instead!
```Maushold C used Aerial Ace on Mars!```
Ricardo
"It's no use... They won't listen to reason. Whoever this "Old Guardia" Is, they must *Really* Cause trouble around these parts!" Tesse removed their rosary from around their neck, undoing a binding and revealing a sharp blade at the end, *Revealing it to be composed somewhat like a whip-sword!*

"Fine! Normally, I'd detest this sort of thing, but you've offered no alternative... Ladies and Gentlemen... Let us incapacitate these fierce warriors!" ...That was about the most fierce battle cry you were about to get out of someone like Tesse, I'm afraid. They *Are* A mon of faith, after all...
[
Melody
Throughout all of this back and forth, the hostility of the mice and Tesse's futile attempts to calm them down, Torstein just had _the most_ blank, uninvolved stare into the distance. It wasn't until the Tesse mentioned "Old Guardia" That the cat's eyes focused in and Torstein was back in the present moment. 

"So you won't let us pass. Very well then." 

Torstein had no emotional attachment to keeping either their side or the enemy's side alive — spare Tesse and himself — but he did start this brawl off right, taking the Low Sweep head-on. Or.. More like knee-on. It didn't do much to properly stagger him — he was a lot heavier than he looked — but he wasn't going to attack just yet anyway. 

The metal cat took a hardy step right into the Maushold that dared to attack him up-front, meeting their courage by shoving his face right into theirs', responding with a grotesque war cry that came out like a cat's hiss if it had the guttural features of a black metal vocalist. 

**Torstein used Screech!**

The distorted hiss-scream washed through the area, Torstein making damn sure as many of their enemies heard and were affected by it as he could. He'd follow up the Screech immediately with low growled words, shouted at almost equal volume as the former attack. 

"**The reward Tesse offers, it's time to earn it! Massacre...**" He said this, but remembered what Tesse had said, causing him to go back on his word. He thought it was utterly foolish to expect to peacefully incapacitate this many opponents, but... Ultimately it was the boss' order. For now, he'd do what he could. "...**Incapacitate each and every one of them— we might yet make it to Guardia in good time!**"

The cat got into a proper stance, raising both of his axes...
Andre
"Ah- why thank you Mallow." *He'd state this as they continued on, before they eventually stopped by a group of people named the 'Mailmice', which were a bunch of mausholds, which.. Was a lot of Pokemon to deal with at once.. Thank god they all weren't individually one pokemon, or that would be quite bad.*

"Ah, I think you misunderstand what is going on, we are just simply trying t-" *Before he could finish his sentence, he was quickly and swiftly attacked with a aerial ace, which wasn't very kind of them. Oh well. He might as well cooperate with the rest of his team.*

"Ah, if you're not really gonna listen to reason then.. Mallow, be careful up there!" *Soon enough, a large whip would come out of Mars's back, launching a ``power whip`` towards ``Maushold C``, the one that attacked him.*
Sandra
*The dog would be absolutely decimated by the strike, but... Not just that —*

***It was a critical hit!***

*To her shock, awe and horror - her own big dismay? She would be struck by this move. The Seed Bomb blew up and it sent her skidding along the snow and then? She would simply lay there, slouched down-*

***Samantha had Fainted!***
Mary
*The squeaks and other similar noises confused Fabrixo at first, but soon it was obvious that the group was in for some fun as little mice emerged from the snow, talking the most insane of smack that he was a little annoyed at, especially the 'barbarians' bit. He saw himself nothing more than a common person despite his family's fortune, but he wouldn't stand for being called a barbarian with all of the rudeness included.*

*Despite being still being considerable close to the rest of the group, he was stood farther back from everyone and somehow seemed to avoid the initial bombardment of little pipsqueaks like the others. He stood by awkwardly and watched, unsure if he should help out or not. Hopefully nobody I'll notice if he just does a little bit of `Swords Dance`...*
Jose
The devastating combination of Screech and the dual Power Whips from Mars and Mallow was enough to disperse Maushold C, who knew when to retreat, and burrowed back into the snow. 

```Maushold C fainted!```

"Fuck." Now a chorus of "Fuck"S was rising from the remaining Mailmice. "It appears it may be time to go... *Postal.*" Maushold B spotted Fabrixo, who seemed to be plotting something off to the side, and decided they wanted to join in on the fun.

```Maushold B used Copycat on Fabrixo! Maushold B used Swords Dance!```

Meanwhile, Maushold A spread themselves about the perimeter to cover the space that Maushold C previously inhabited before getting assblasted, and gave Mars the puppy dog eyes...

```Maushold A used Charm on Mars!```
Ricardo
Tesse shifted themself to be close to Torstein, clapping their paws together for a moment and seeming to whisper a prayer in some unknowable language... Whatever it was that they were doing, it seemed to offer a power boost of some kind!
```Tesse used Helping Hand on Torstein!```
"I'll follow your lead on this one, guys... You can probably tell, but I'm not much of a fighter, ahah."

[
Melody
Torstein took a glance around to absorb what was happening. It seemed like the Ferrothorn could handle himself thankfully, and the combined utility of the literal child atop him worked nicely. However, the cat grew annoyed seeing one of their own get blasted so quickly. 

"_Useless...!_" He'd hiss out, using his right paw's held axe to pinpoint which one of these bastards would meet steel first. 

Confident Mars and Mallow could handle themselves, Torstein turned his attention to the Maushold stealing Fabrixo's buff. And also the same one that kicked him. That may or may not have impacted his decision. 

"Do whatever you want, just don't get in our way— we're paid to make sure you don't get killed," Torstein growled at Tesse. It admittedly came out with a lot more hostility than he intended, but that was sort of just how he defaulted during interactions. Right after the somewhat degrading comment, the cat began pouncing towards Maushold B. Literally pouncing, the cat was surprisingly limber when it came to jumping. Feline instincts hurled Torstein out of the snow like a lynx, right above the unfortunate Maushold. 

**Torstein used Axe x2 on Maushold B!**

Torstein chucked both of his axes like franciscas down on the Maushold, hoping to plonk a good portion of the "Household" With a double attack. As soon as the axes left his paws, the obsidian black claws extended from underneath, coming together to form daggers as the mass of Torstein's body came hurling down on the Maushold, a good indicator of what to expect next turn.
Andre
*Mars would pause for a second as the Maushold A gave puppy doll eyes at him.. Which worked for a few seconds.* "...Looking at them again they are quite adorable-" *He would state before he actually snapped out of it, before realizing that he should probably continue the fight with another ``power whip`` towards the ``Maushold A``, seeing as how the others had the other Maushold left handled, probably.*
Rebecka
Mallow kept flattened against Mars, lashing her tail from the stress of battle. If not for the Ferrothorn's iron shell, he'd have felt her claws dragging across it's surface. It was hard to fight *And* Talk at once, but her instincts had kicked in and Mallow was no runner.

``Mallow used Last Resort!``

With a hiss too big for her own body, she sprang from Mars and swung wildly at Maushold B- with little aim but to injure it wherever possible.
Jose
Maushold B got their shit rocked to be certain, the mixture of thorned lashings and wild swings, the mice dispersed, knowing that they had been bested.

Maushold A, upon taking a boosted strike from Torstein, took the moment to step back and re-evaluate their situation. "None of you know what you are doing," They... Were still entirely expressionless, and their tone was still vacant, but it sounded cool to say they would have sneered here. "You will wake up tomorrow and find a pipe bomb in your mailbox. And the results will be glorious."
Ricardo
"I'm a nomad. I don't have a mailbox." Tesse piped up, not even remotely concerned with the fact that they were just threatened.
Jose
"You are telling us. That you don't own a mailbox."

"What an absolute dweeb. A complete buffoon. You shall perish by our hand for your treachery." And, without any further fanfare, the delusional mail carriers would furiously assault the Mienfoo until either the monk dropped or *They* Did!
```Maushold A used Population Bomb on Tesse!```

...If there were ever an opportune time to set things straight, it would be now.
Melody
"Tch," The cat clicked his tongue in annoyance. The dog was obliterated in a single move and lost somewhere, and it looked like the snake slithered off somewhere. Now there were 4 of them. And one of their enemies (or.. 4?) was attacking Tesse directly...!

"**Disappear!**"

The cat howled as he lunged towards the Maushold, twin axes slashed in a V down on them as they were busy attacking Tesse.

**Torstein used Metal Claw on Maushold A!**
Andre
*Watching mallow swing at Maushold B wildly as their shit got kicked in and they finally dispersed was certainly nice. Though, the fact that they ran away was probably bad. Erm. There was one last Maushold left at least.. Yipee?*


"Dude. Could you at least tell us which path to go if this path really is prohibited- we'd at least like not to be confused with crimi-" *Welp. Kinda late for that. Torstein was kinda uh. Aiming to kill right now.*
Rebecka
Mallow wasnt one to over-exert herself.

Watching Torstein lunge towards the last Maushold, she huffed- firmly planting herself back down on Mars' head. He had things covered, she presumed. A true warrior knew when to sit down and let someone else do the job.

"Do you know where we are going next," She patted the Ferrothorn's head, failing to wait until the Maushold was even dead to consider it defeated. "Will there be more Maushold where we go next. I thought they would be ice types."
Ricardo
**Bonk.**

Dispersed by the axes, the final set of Maushold burrowed away into the snow and fucked off to... Who knows where. Tesse didn't doubt that they'd be back with more reinforcement soon, though.

"Good... Work." They wheezed, adjusting their rosary to bring it back all prim and proper once more. "...That was super strange. I'm pretty sure that's the postal service for the greater portion of Hecatia... Outside of Neone, that is. My intuition was telling me there'd be rogues on the main path, but... Postal Carriers? All the way out here?"

"...We should go. Quickly now. Before they come back."
[
Melody
Torstein attempted to snag one of the Maushold before they could escape, but ultimately failed. Pulling his head out of the snow, he shook himself off and regrouped with their remaining party. 

"What cowards... That king is really letting fools like them rummage around the land? They acted like _they_ had any idea what _we_ were doing."

There was a clear tone of disgust in the cat's tone, as he added onto it. "It doesn't matter. Let's keep going. If that's the best we'll face out here, then I was right to leave Guardia when I did. As shameful as it is, it looks like the road ahead will be easier than I thought."

The cat didn't bother hiding his feelings, but despite his words seeming like he gave up on his homeland, his eyes were fierce as they fixated into the distance. 

"On your order, Tesseracts Within Clouds..."

He didn't say anything more than that, choosing instead to carefully watch the Mienfoo's back.
Andre
*Mars looked up back at the skitty who had recently landed back on their head, seeing as the battle had already ended, it was probably a good idea to get back to where they were before the battle. Only problem being that they had a fainted teammate now. Yikes.*

"Well, we should be going down the same path, and I am pretty sure we are around.. 25% the way to guardia, though I may be misremembering things..." *Mars would look ahead, he hadn't traveled down this road before without other guardia soldiers, and seeing as how they were already mistaken for barbarians, he hoped for less enemies.* "Hopefully not, but we can't count out the possibility, though I'm sure we will be ok at the end of the day."


*Mars did not appreciate the insulting of his king from Torstein, he might not agree with what he had done sometimes but he still, that was the ruler of his land and he had been a quite great one, but he did not feel like causing a feud between the party over politics right now, it was best to continue forward. However...

Mars would look towards the fainted teammate and then back at the road ahead, it certainly would not be good to leave them behind.* "What should we do with the Lycanroc? It wouldn't be great to leave them behind in the cold like this.."
Melody
Torstein's ears twitched at Mars' words. There was nothing particular rousing about them, but he did take notice that the Ferrothorn was likely a citizen of Guardia... Maybe more, the cat couldn't be sure right now. Torstein decided to keep an ear out for anything Mars said, it would certainly be a shame if he turned out to be, for example, a Guardian soldier employed into the Fey. 

He did respond to the Ferrothorn's question regarding their fallen comrade, though. With a huff, the cat turned to face the KOd Lycanroc. "Leave her. She knew what she was getting into when she joined this mission. And yet she still joined it despite her weakness."

He was going to leave it at that, but after a moment he'd let out a sigh. Given Tesse's ~~weakness~~ youthful ignorance, Torstein doubted the Mienfoo would allow that kind of treatment. And making enemies out of the others probably wasn't a good idea, especially of Mars, whose identity was unknown to the cat. So he rephrased. 

"...The Lycanroc will be fine. I can tell from here that she's only incapacitated. Mars' estimate is about right, we're still not that far into Guardian territory. No doubt she'll be able to make it back on her own. We don't have time to babysit anyone right now; our goal is lofty, and we don't want to stay in one place for too long— we'll be done in by either brigands, or the land itself." 

He'd pick up his axes out of the snow, and turn to face the direction of their goal. He wasn't necessarily lying... Though it was possible the dog would die out here anyway. That didn't matter to Torstein, what he cared about was the greater objective. "Pressing on is the only choice."
Jenette
Obviously not involved in this but I feel like it warrants a