[[Day 5 of Month –3, Random part of Palaugrim]]<br/><br/>Blue eyes snapped back to the present at the unexpected words.  Up ahead, a familiar orange haired man stood with an unfamiliar expression.  It wasn’t her fault huh?  A bitter smile lifted her lips.  If only he knew.<span style="color: silver"> “Lance Fitzherberg.</span>”  A glance to both sides of him revealed no other companions.<span style="color: silver">"What brings you here?"</span><br/><br/>What's this? Suddenly all "Seraphy" with him after going through that word barrage from the ungrateful brute. She's clearly well versed with professionalism in more ways than one. Lance shrugged his shoulders once. She just wasn't going to fool him. "A leisurely stroll in the rumored island of turmoil. Would you believe me if I told you I was just out on a stroll?"<br/><br/>The words elicited a scoff from the woman,<span style="color: silver">“to reacquaint yourself with Palaugrim?”</span><br/><br/>A sheepish smile broke into his features. This scene somehow felt like a repeat of that time when she caught Akira. The only difference is, she already beat him to the punch. No way that rusty excuse of reaquainting oneself with wherever they are would cut it now. "Hardly." there was sudden seriousness in his eyes. "The cries of the heart are often carried in silence by the wind." he glanced at the broken village in the distance. "I'm here on official business."<br/><br/>Any amusement she’d had at the memory of<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>scene in the hallways (and Lights Above, that was<span style="font-style: italic">still</span>a terrible excuse!) vanished at his words.  She followed his gaze backwards towards the destroyed village.  Cries of the heart?  As if she couldn’t already hear them; they were loud (too loud) in her ears.<span style="color: silver">“And that official business would be..?” </span><br/><br/>"Investigation of Luciano. I was sent here by Gil since the council would not authorize him to leave Gless with you already here." Lance pulled out several notes he’d made regarding his priority mission. It would be prudent to let this Seraph know of his findings. "Gil believes that Eve will make a move soon." he took a step forward to hand Master Lethe his notes when he suddenly found himself rooted to the ground.<br/><br/>Investigation of Luciano?  Technically she was here in search of the mysterious attacks, but she could have also investigated Luciano as well.  After all, she was already on the island.  However, she said nothing as she reached a hand out for the reports.  Gil—<span style="font-style: italic">Master Guilford</span>, she’d have to trust his judgment, especially if another attack from Eve was imminent.  Oddly, Lance froze before he could hand them to her.  The two stared at each other in incomprehension—Lance unsure why he couldn’t move and Lethe wondering why he wasn’t moving—before both turned to look at his foot.  There seemed to be nothing there, but Lethe hadn’t spent the last weeks training under Lady Mei for no reason.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Lady Mei?”</span>Lethe inquired aloud as she turned to look at the older woman.  Mei stared back at her coolly before glancing at the stranger.<span style="color: silver"> “Oh! I apologize.”</span>A blush stained her cheeks at her rudeness,<span style="color: silver">“Lady Mei, may I introduce Lance Fitzherberg?  He’s a former Pristine Knight during the First War and is friends with Master Guilford.  Mister Fitzherberg, this is Lady Mei, a former member of the Pure Magic Squadron during the First War and a seals specialist.  She’s been gracious enough to tutor me in her discipline despite my dragging her to stroll around this.. rumored island of turmoil.”</span><br/><br/>The mention of Seals Specialist immediately struck home. There weren't all that many who dabble in the arts of seals and runes. Originally, he was sent here to find out the seals that were used to contain Eve, and the methodology too if possible. Even so, Lance couldn't hide his surprise when he suddenly found himself immobile. The seal was simple yet pretty powerful. Not that he couldn't break out of it through sheer force, it would just prove to be quite a feat. "It's quite alright." he assured the Seraph that no offense was taken from the action of her companion. "And please, just Lance is fine. I find it oddly embarrassing if I were to be called Mr. Fitzherberg," he added.<br/><br/>With his motor functions back, Lance handed over the notes to Lethe. "I find it strange that Gil would rather have me journey here to find out about how Eve was contained in the past." he whistled in amusement. "He could have just asked Abel how he managed to seal that demon directly." he shoved the thought aside. It was not in his place to say or question that matter. "Regardless, those notes are about the seals I found in Luciano. I may not be an expert in the field, but I can at least recognize a seal or two when I see them..." he paused for a moment and glanced at the one called Lady Mei. "...however, these seals baffled me from head to toe. I have never seen anything like them before. Perhaps you could have your uhh... companion... take a crack at it?"<br/><br/>Experience kept her distaste towards Abel from showing on her face but Mei clearly had no such compunctions.  Lethe obediently handed the papers to Mei, only to see a look of sheer disgust on the black-haired woman’s face.  The seals specialist pointedly snapped on a pair of gloves before grudgingly accepting the report.  No doubt the next few days would be filled with the older woman stewing in anger over however Abel had, in her opinion, butchered the beautiful discipline of seals.  Mei straightened the papers with a flick of her wrist, drew a seal for illumination, and then started reading the papers with pursed lips.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Is there anything else then, Mister Lance?”</span><br/><br/>Anything else? Yes there was a whole lot more. He wanted to ask her if she was okay after that heated and one-sided argument earlier. After all, according to the records, he was supposed to be on covert babysitting duty, as Sigfried phrased it. Lance felt compelled to make sure that she was fine. He was just about to mutter some words of concern but Lance suddenly found himself overwhelmed by the White Knight's professional demeanor. The moment he met her beautiful blue eyes, it was almost too easy to forget that not too long ago, she was on the verge of breaking down. Indeed, she was like a lioness, and not just any lioness but<span style="font-style: italic">the</span>lioness. Gil, I'm really sorry, but your seals would have to wait, Lance thought to himself and plastered an easy smile on his lips. "As a matter of fact, there is..." he trailed. He wanted to see more of her strength, and this could be the only chance he could get to do just that. "I have also made it my mission to hunt down the foul beast you two are tracking. If I may be so selfish Master Lethe, I wish to accompany you two on that endeavor."<br/><br/>There was a flash of irritation at the implication she and Mei needed help with the demon before Lethe pointedly squashed that urge.  What that demon was doing would enrage anyone.  She couldn’t fault another for wanting to hunt down and kill that demon.  Besides, Lance was more knowledgeable about non-traditional magic than her, constantly calling upon spirits other than the Divine Light.  He might know something that she didn’t.  Though she would have preferred someone else, she didn’t have the luxury of choice.<span style="color: silver"> “Please then, Mister Lance, we would be grateful for your assistance.”</span><br/><br/>"It would be my genuine honor to fight alongside you Master Lethe, Lady Mei." For some reason, that young boy he met a few days back flashed in Lance's mind. "I would hate to see more kids crying because of the shape of a candy..." he mumbled mindlessly. Giving one last look at the two, Lance turned around and went to grab his steed. "I don't mean to sound commanding, but I suggest that we find a place to stay for the night."<br/><br/>Lethe looked around her, finally realizing she had no idea where she was.  It must not have been too far because she could still see the ruined village in the distance, but she wasn’t sure beyond that.  What exactly had she been doing before Lance had shown up?<span style="color: silver">“By all means then, lead the way.”</span><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~</div><br/>[[Day 6 of Month –3, Grand Cathedral]]<br/><br/>The paracetamol had stopped being effective two days ago.  The sleeping pills were hardly helping.  He was avoiding his closet as if it held the plague and his hair looked like he was ready for a beauty pageant.  The Old Man had even stopped to comment on his hair and he was too tired to punch the lecher for the rebuke even though he’d normally preen at such compliments.  He’d waved a distracted ‘good-bye’ to his squadmates and the Rasovan Knights before stumbling off towards the squad chambers.  Maybe,<span style="font-style: italic">maybe</span>, he’d be able to get some rest there because his head felt like a construction site right now.  Pretending to be mastering Light’s Wrath while desperately trying not to, on top of the physical exercise regimen the Old Man was putting them through on his barely four hours of sleep a night, was taking its toll on him.  All he wanted was to sleep and—<br/><br/>He slammed a fist against the wall, almost welcoming the pain that now pulsed through his hand.  It was a welcome distraction from the ache in his head.  And not think of Konan?  Desert her in that empty plane? Never.<br/><br/>His hand slid down before falling to his side in a defeated slump.  After a moment, he continued trudging his way to the squad quarters, this time his mind pointedly silent.  It took little effort to fling the door open, though the action lacked his normal flare.  With a grateful prayer for its emptiness, Cricket fell face first into one of the sofas.<br/><br/>He reluctantly woke up to the sensation of no longer being alone.  “Cap’n?”  He muttered blearily, gaze barely lifted from the cushions.<br/><br/>“Not quite.”  YunQiao responded drily from his left, before adding thoughtfully, “She’s still in Palaugrim.”<br/><br/>The purple-haired man simply dropped his face back into the sofa, so the mage went back to reading.  It wasn’t long before the pleasant silence was broken once more.  “Are you jealous?”  There was no response so Cricket clarified, “about the fact me, Seraphim, Deimos, and Adair have Light’s Blessing.”<br/><br/>YunQiao simply stared at his squadmate, finally noticing the elaborate hairstyle, loosely clenched hands, and the way the other man refused to look at him.  “Lights, I do believe that wasn’t meant as an insult.”  He concluded with a touch of surprise.  He really wouldn’t put it past Cricket to gloat about having divine magic; the purple-haired Knight could be abrasive like that.  However, as he’d concluded earlier, his squadmate didn’t seem to be boasting; the purple-haired man honestly seemed curious.  “Hmm.. No, not particularly.”  He finally decided, head dropping back down to focus on his book.<br/><br/>“Really?”<br/><br/>“Is there a reason you’re so insistent I be jealous?”<br/><br/>Cricket rocked his head back and forth in contemplation.  “Not really… I just figured you’d be the most upset out of everyone…. Ya know, you’re the badass mage on our squad, our only ‘genius,’ and you can’t do the super!awesome!OP!divine magic when lame-os like me and Seraphim can.”<br/><br/>“I’m shamelessly informing Seraphim you called her a ‘lame-o’ Cricket.”  YunQiao prefaced his response with the most important part.  (He also ignored the muttered insult from the other sofa.)  “And as for not using Light’s Blessing… Well, first, I’m a Cao.  Even though we’ve followed the Divine Light for generations, we’ve never specialized in Light magic.  We’re more elemental based.  Second, I worked with Captain when she was training with it after Master Guilford’s ‘death.’  And finally, Light’s Blessing isn’t the end all, be all.  There have been plenty of successful Knights who didn’t use Light’s Blessing: Chevalier, Kenta, my aunt and her squad, Knight Commander Sigfried…”<br/><br/>“None are as famous as the Old Man though.”<br/><br/>“Old Man..?”  YunQiao’s confusion smoothed away as he realized which ‘old man’ Cricket was referring to.  (And clearly, he was spending too much time with the plebeians of his squad since it took no more than a second to understand the reference.)  “That’s true, but do you think you’ll be the next Abel d’Arques?”  He wondered in bemusement, “Or Master Guilford,” he ignored the muttered “I’m way prettier than him,” “Or Captain?  Just because you have Light’s Blessing doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to be great.  And not having it doesn’t mean I’m destined for mediocrity.”  And deciding that Cricket needed a little reminder, YunQiao reminded snidely, “After all, I<span style="font-style: italic">am</span>the only one who got recruited right out of the PKA, unlike the rest of you.”  He instinctively ducked his head to the side but was surprised when no pillow came flying towards him.  The brunette slowly straightened as concern finally crept into his demeanor.  Cricket was actually turning away from him, his face no longer visible at all.<br/><br/>“Cricket..?”  He asked, all the unspoken meanings wrapped up in that one word: Are you okay? Is something wrong? Can I help?  Although the two were practically opposites in demeanor, they had ended up becoming surprisingly close.  Part of it was due to timing—they had both been accepted into Squad Ten the same year—and part of it was due to a surprising similarity: short of Lethe, they probably were the most devoted to Knighthood.  YunQiao didn’t quite know why the others (except Valiar) had decided on Knighthood, but he’d always felt that Cricket cared the most about doing what was “right,” even if the cross-dresser had some odd definitions of “right.”<br/><br/>When the purple-haired man simply turned further away, YunQiao ran through his “what would Captain do?” process.  (Comforting others wasn’t his strong suite.)  Captain would probably… stroke Cricket’s head, say something meaningful, and then hug him. …That wasn’t happening.  What would his aunt do?  …Probably smack Cricket on the head and tell him to put on his big girl panties, stop whining, and get over it.  That also probably wasn’t a good response.<br/><br/>Indecision warred on his face before he reluctantly got to his feet and walked around the coffee table.  He pushed the piece of furniture back and took a seat on the ground, back leaning against the sofa Cricket was sprawled over.  He steadfastly ignored his squadmate’s confused look and opened his book once more.  After a moment, he head Cricket’s head flop back down once more and the two lapsed into silence.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~</div><br/>[[Day 6 of Month –3, On the road to Bastille]]<br/><br/>The town was unusually subdued given it was mid afternoon.  It was one of those classic travel towns, a smattering of buildings that had popped up around a highway.  However, unlike most passthrough towns she’d visited before, there were no children on the street; villagers stuck close to the edges of the road and seemed in a hurry to get out of sight.  Even the general store manager waited cautiously at his porch, arms crossed over his chest defensively, instead of bounding into the street with greetings and not-so-subtle prodding into his store.<br/><br/>By the time the trio had passed the third such town, Lethe, Lance, and Mei were exchanging suspicious looks.  One was happenstance, twice was coincidence, but three times?  Critical gazes scoured whatever they could see in search of hints as to what was causing such unusual restraint.  Lethe directed her steed towards the general store and then dismounted,<span style="color: silver">“Excuse me sir, do you happen to have a traveler’s menu?”</span><br/><br/>She refused to flinch as the man clearly sized her up before he nodded.  “Bring your horses around and come in.”  He turned away to walk into his stored; whatever was underfoot hadn’t made him so weary as to refuse to turn his back on her.  However, keep their horses in the back?  Usually stores preferred them in the front as evidence that others had chosen to stop at their shop.  The silver-haired Knight handed her reins to Mei and then entered the room.  It appeared as if most of the missing town was inside.  An easy smile and wave diffused most of the hostility and she took a seat near the counter where she introduced herself to the nearest person.  Her past experience as the Immaculate’s model Knight made winning the townsfolk over easy enough.<br/><br/>An hour and a half later, the three travelers left with smiles plastered to their faces and unease in their hearts.  The moment they were out of the town, the smiles slid off.  The news in the town had not been positive: impostors, Sinners, ghosts.  Though all three bothered her, the last was especially worrying.  The fraudulent Pristine Knights would be handled as would the lingering Sinners.  However, ghosts?<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>Surreptitious glances travelled the room, each townsperson encouraging the other to speak but not daring to do so him- or herself.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Is something wrong?”</span>  Lethe repeated with a clear undertone of unease.  She watched the townspeople exchange glances, knowing there was something important if she could just get them to share it.  There was much elbow nudging before one of the men finally crossed his arms, resigning himself to the fate of sharing the news.<br/><br/>“There’s been…” he struggled for the appropriate words to say, finally deciding upon, “talk. Of ghosts.”<br/><br/>Lethe’s eyes rounded in confusion as she parroted, <span style="color: silver">“ghosts?”</span><br/><br/>The man shifted uncomfortably as he looked around for support.  No one dared meet his eyes.  “They say the dead have risen at Santa Olivia.”<br/><br/>The blood drained out of her face.  Santa.. Olivia..?  <span style="font-style: italic">A line of black. A body falling backwards. </span><br/><br/>“They say they hear metal clashing, screaming. And that smoke can be visible over the treetops from that direction.”  A sharp flare of pain from her arm drew her from the memories.  However, her eyes were still unnaturally wide, pupils unusually dilated.  Mistaking the cause of her reaction, the man hastened to assure, “It-It’s probably just lies.”  However even the speaker didn’t seem to believe his words.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Ri-right.  We-we’ll be sure to avoid it.”</span>  Lethe added with a shaky smile, trying to regain her lost composure.  Santa Olivia.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Even now, the reminder of the city had her feeling faint.  First she had failed to stop the attack and then she’d run away.  It had been her duty to ensure the poor people had a proper burial and she hadn’t even done that.  Their lives slaughtered so carelessly, their corpses discarded so thoughtlessly—was it any surprise that their souls had risen up to roam the mortal plane once more?  What were words—<span style="font-style: italic">empty prayers</span>—when actions—<span style="font-style: italic">flee! Someone else could deal with it</span>—spoke louder?