Tagress: Park
"I think the red will do nicely, this one should be light and fruity. Anyone else want anything?"

"Bloody hell!" Moira exclaimed. She immediately headed over to the booze basket and plonked herself on the floor right beside it. Artist, fashionista and a brilliant host too! "I'll have everythin'." After a quick browse she pointed to a bottle, and Dylan quickly set about opening it up and pouring her a glass.

She wasted no time in shedding her jacket and folding it neatly to one side, which did reveal her still bandaged forearm and shoulder, although the place was secluded enough that she no longer cared. She just wanted to expose a bit more skin so she got a better tan. Thankfully for all those present however, she didn't decide to get her leggings off as well. Mainly because she hadn't applied her dubious tan enhancer to her legs.

"Tah," she said a little absent-mindedly when Dylan offered her the glass. It was one of those pink ones, whatever they were called. Rosies or whatever, she didn't know. Then she gave it a sip...

And spat it right back out again. Syed recoiled in suprise and just a little bit of disgust. "Gah! This is like soda! Does it even have any booze in it?" She shoved the glass towards her partner, the contents sloshing all over the grassy ground and a little up one of his rediculously long legs as she did so. Eh, he was a wuss when it came to alcohol. She was sure he'd probably drink it.

He frowned at the glass. Lovely, all he wanted today was a glass of rose with a little bit of spitback. He took it anyway and immediately placed it on the floor. He had no intention of drinking it at all.

She went a beer instead, one which had a name she knew she definately liked. "Ey, you ever tried one of these?" she called out to her favourite haughty cleric, holding the bottle above her head as to show the label.

Syed leaned back a little, looking up to the the few whispy clouds which drifted high up in the brilliant blue sky. "Yeah, it really is a good day..." he said a little bit too late in response to Marcus. To think, that someone would threaten a world as beautiful as this.

Moira fixed her unblinking gaze on Lucien. "You can make a bear, can't you? Do that one first."

Syed laughed a little. Well, that was typically rude of her. "You're pretty much a bear yourself."

"Piss off."

Tagress: Park

“Lucien! Lucien! Show us your animal summons! I wanna see them all!" "You can make a bear, can't you? Do that one first." "You're pretty much a bear yourself."

Trixie, who had been scraping off the thick nasty cat hair that evil lady infected her body with, immediately stopped what she was doing and snapped her attention in the summoner's direction. She remained perfectly still as she spoke. "Animal summons? Animal 'summons'? Making bears? Like... wait... were all of those strangely nice and helpful animals you?

"Oh

"My

"Cheesepuffs." Once again she picked up on a burst of energy and charged towards Lucien, tackling him and clinging onto his robes in sheer excitement. "What other animals can you make!? I wanna see I wanna see I wanna fghkjgfd"



Amy seemed to reciprocate Trixie's enthusiasm, albeit with a calmer temperament. Following Dylan's offer, she made her way over towards the alcoholic basket and plucked a favorite bottle for herself. "Don't mind if I do ~♪" Just as she used her disturbingly sharp fingernails to cut open the thin foil wrapped around its neck and top, Moira called out to her, waving a bottle over her head. However Amy didn't bother catching at all what the label said; over the years she's learned to recognized alcoholic contents purely by the bottle shape, its transparency or thickness of opaqueness, and the colored liquid inside. To anyone who questioned her, she'd insist every bottle looked as different as a fingerprint...

She approached the berserker, getting a closer look at it, almost analytical. "Hmmm... looks familiar." With a wink she added, "Thanks for the offer. I'll have a glass of that too while we're at it. But first..." She slid her free hand up the red wine bottle she held, enjoying the cold from its smooth surface running along her skin.

"Ah, gods. I haven't felt this good in days." Perhaps the break at the hospital was what she needed. Some time away from everyone as well as life in general to just rest and think to herself. It seems the others have taken it for granted, if not cursed their entire stay there, but Amy made sure every moment there counted. At least, other than the times everyone broke into her room like it was a bar or something.

Now all that was left was for her to take a seat as well. Initially she wandered towards Dylan's easel, interested in watching first-hand how deftly the artist painted when not pressured by the possibility of death. Then she realized how awkward watching over someone's shoulder must be for them, even if they possessed incomparable talent. She was dead set on watching him anyway. At least until--

"Oh... oh..." A tear welled up in the cleric's eye. She dropped into a squat, gently petting the brown mound of fur by her foot. "Poor thing's just sitting here waiting to eat... oh... my heart."

Amy reached over to one of the baskets sitting beside her, digging around for some giant pieces of lettuce or cabbage or... something green. They, they like, they like vegetables, right?

Once she plucked out a handful of greens, she nestled herself a tad closer to Dylan's easel. After which she quietly ushered Kapi to follow and sit beside her. Hopefully Dylan didn't mind her stealing a glance every so often at his upcoming masterpiece, because she was going to do so whether he liked it or not anyway~

“Lucien! Lucien!” Estelle cheered. “Show us your animal summons! I wanna see them all! And Dylan! Dylan! Paint us please and- and- Selan! My hair!!!”

The summoner flashed a smile before giving Estelle two thumbs up. "Sure, sure, whatever you say, leader." He turned to grin at Dylan. "Let's give them a show, yeah?" Lucien rummaged through his messenger bag and eventually pulled out a deck of cards. He shuffled them expertly, the grin never leaving his face. He was definitely going to put on a show. Moira told him summon a bear and he chuckled, basking in all the attention. He flipped through the cards looking for the right card only to have Trixie rush towards him and cling to his robe.

"What other animals can you make!? I wanna see I wanna see I wanna fghkjgfd"

"Oh, I've got quite a few tricks up my sleeve." He gave the prankster a half smile and a pat on the head before taking a step back and grinning wide. He bit down on his thumb casually, smeared a bit of red onto the bear card in his other hand and laughed as a puff of smoke exploded behind the prankster. Lucien's eyes went empty and he hunkered down, concentrating so the bear wouldn't lunge at the picnic basket and devour it in one bite.

The animal didn't like having Lucien in its head, so it gave a grunt of disapproval. Lucien concentrated harder and the bear nudged the prankster playfully, starring up at her with what looked like a toothy grin. It gave her a soft headbutt then turned to look at Moira and Syed. It growled lightly in greeting, padding towards them then sniffing at the glass filled with pink liquid. It scrunched its nose in distaste then tapped Syed with its paw.

Tagress: Park

“Woah!” Estelle exclaimed and almost jumped out of her seat, cutting her ear on Selan’s scissors as soon as Lucien’s bear materialised before them. She knew about Lucien’s animal summoning skills, but she didn’t expect a bear to be that big and… friendly. And on top of all that… Estelle started trembling. “It’s so… so… cute!”

“Estelle, please…” Selan centred Estelle’s head again, even though she too was just as surprised by the bear’s sudden appearance.

“Ah, that’s so cooooool~” Nikki danced around Lucien’s massive bear form. “Where did you learn to do that, anyway? I’ve never seen another mage able to do something like that before…”

“This world is full of possibilities.” Answered Marcus from behind the nekomimi, giving his dear friend a warm smile. “There’s so much more out there too…”

He then turned his head towards Lisette, whom had just practiced her nature magic on a dandelion bud before her, a little dismayed at how little effect her magic had given. There was still a noticeable change, but not to the degree she had wished. Even then, Marcus was thrilled to see the results. Lisette’s magical affinity was very much tied into life itself… and that was wonderful.

“One step at a time, Lisette. You’re doing good.” Marcus leaned back against the tree’s mighty trunk. “You’ll gain the hang of it in no time, and you’ve helped the flower a lot. You need to be careful about how much you manipulate, however. The flower itself needs to be ready, too, right?”

“Eeek, this looks so good!” Estelle admired her still in progress haircut using a mirror she had snatched from Selan’s belongings. Every single careful cut Selan made helped transform her hairstyle into something better and better, and Estelle could hardly keep her excitement contained. Especially as she also wanted to tackle and hug Lucien at the same time too. Although, for her hard and delicate work, Selan would most definitely be tackle hugged once the haircut was finished…

Tagress: Park

He sighed at Moira's reaction, pouring himself a glass as she shoved hers towards Syed. "Yes, it's a little weak, but I'm going to be painting. You never, ever paint drunk." Heading back to the easel, he settled down, put his drink to the side, and started to prepare his space.

First pulled out a large sheet of paper from his bag, spreading it out on the ground. After that he removed his paints and brushes, spacing them out along the paper so that they did not touch. Since he only had a few hours to paint, he decided to go with acrylic instead of oil, and began to mix his colors.

He needed rich greens for the grass upon which they sat, starting with a bright, brilliant hue for the base and a smaller mix of dark, vibrant green to bring out the highlights. He needed a lovely light blue for the sky above them. He needed pure white for Selan's dress, and pure black for her lovely hair - she was a stunning work in contrasts. And Estelle's hair! That was another beautiful shade of red, so vivid and fiery.

While he was working he noticed Amy coming to watch, eventually rounding up Kapi, and shot her a wide smile. He was so at ease with his paints, not minding that she came to watch him, in fact a little happy. Though he tried not to be an asshole about it, he was a bit of a showoff.

Turning to his canvas, he began his work. First the background, the beauty of the park they had found to spend their day. Then he moved inward, his concentration solely on the art as he only occasionally glanced at the two girls. The other stuff that happened, Lucien's bear, Lisette's flower, he missed. He burned the image in his mind and replicated it on the canvas.

Slowly, over time, it started to come into focus for any who stopped to watch. Two girls in a park, with clear vivid colors, layered onto a bright background. The girl in white was cutting the other's hair, which flew away like little sparks of fire from her scissors. The red-haired girl held a mirror up, admiring the work that was being done to her.

And most of all, they were relaxed, happy, and clearly close friends. There was something simply intimate about the way he painted them, showing their easy friendship in the way they seemed so at ease with each other.

Tagress: Park
Syed diverted his eyes from Dylan beginning his painting (although from the angle he was at he couldn't see anything) and froze as the bear approached him. As much as Lucien was controlling it, the way it moved was still very much animalistic. He had never really had the chance to properly look before what with the circumstances he usually made his summons, but it moved so naturally. How much did Lucien control? Was it a complete kind of thing, or did he just sort of pop in and give commands every now and then? Could he reign it in again if he lost control?

Although he didn't realise it, his hair began to stand on end. He was always pretty much static-ridden, but his nerves were making it worse. To have to place his trust so absolutely in another's ability... it was hard. It would be like if he asked someone to stand in his line of fire. Except he didn't even trust himself to not hit them then.

So he just screwed his face up, his tightly pressed together lips turning down slightly at the corners and his eyes screwed shut. Don't move, don't make any sudden movements... The bear then gave him a tap, which due to the bear's sheer size and his slight frame, almost pushed him over and caused him to recoil a little. As did the bear from the static. Oblivious to the fact that the static in his hair had now grown in charge to the point where it was forming visible sparks, he cautiously opened one eye to look at the bear. Argh! It was so close! Wait, is it a good idea to look a bear in the eye? He knew cats didn't tend to like it...!

"BEAR!"

Moira had stood up again, holding her arms outstretched to each side with her bottle still in one hand. The bear looked to her instead, cocking it's head to one side. Syed clutched at his heart and stopped holding his breath, his eyes wide. Oh, thank the gods...! "That's... that's really impressive, Lucien."

"Just look at it's fat fuckin' face!" Moira exclaimed, much in the way that someone would talk to a cat. "Just look at it!" She strolled up to it, completely unafraid of the creature that was that much bigger than her. She then put her hands on either side of it's face and smushed it's cheeks. "Fatass motherfucker!" She lowered her voice, although the tone remained the same as before. "If you eat my jacket I'm making you my new one, oh yes I am!"

She looked over to Lucien, a large grin stretched across her face. Her nose was already beginning to go a little red from the sun. "Can I wrestle it?"

Syed somehow looked more horrified now than he did when it was sniffing him before. "What?!" he yelped. She had only just gotten out of hospital, the last thing he wanted was for them both to have to go back in there!

Tagress: Park

Lisette blinked at Marcus's advice, then looked back to the bud. "Ah, you're probably right..." she murmured, staring at the flower thoughtfully. He was right; just like a person or an animal, there was a time for everything. And now she felt a little bad, although at least in this situation, there was probably no harm done. "Thanks, little buddy..." she whispered before getting up. Waving to Marcus, she walked over to take a look at the yummy goodies Dylan brought them.

Selan was taken aback by the sheer joy on Estelle's face, which made the task plenty more enjoyable. At first she was worried that Estelle would be a hard customer to please considering just how long her hair was before, but it seemed as though the swordswoman was quite eager for the change.

At last she determined that her work was done, and she gently brushed away the little bits of hair clinging to the back of Estelle's neck and clothes. "All done," she said with a smile. "And very pretty."

"Kyaaa, Estelle, your haircut is so cool!" Lisette squealed, clasping her hands together.

"Would you like me to cut your hair too?" Selan offered playfully, gesturing to the scissors that lay next to her.

"N-no, that's okay...!" she replied, instinctively pulling at the ends of one of her long, thick pigtails.

Kapi was having a marvelous time, nestled next to Amy and munching on the various bits of greenery that she pulled from the baskets. He rather liked people with a fondness for animals, and something told Kapi that the pretty, womanly cleric was such a person. She had been kind to him on a few occasions, but this was the first time she ever fed him, and he repaid her with little affectionate squeaks every now and then.

"BEAR!"

The animal's ears perked up and immediately its attention shifted from Syed to Moira, but before the bear could groan in greeting like the polite gentleman Lucien wanted it to be, Moira grabbed its cheeks between her hands and smooshed them together. The animal's eyes flitted to Syed and it almost looked like it was asking for assistance. Moira continued what she was doing and began calling it names, something the bear didn't quite understand. It bared its teeth at the Berserker and let out a low and rumbling growl.

The animal wasn't taking a liking to Moira. Lucien chuckled to himself and focused some more. Trust me, pal...you don't want to mess with her. Lucien closed his eyes and soon the bear's ears were pulled back and the irritated gleam in its eyes vanished.

"Can I wrestle it?"

At those words it growled playfully then stuck out its tongue, and began getting slobber all over Moira's hands. When the woman finally let go, the bear gave her and Syed what looked like a toothy smile. Then it rushed towards the berserker, running around her in playful circles before it tackled and began licking at her as if it were a dog and not a bear. It continued getting slobber all over the woman and Lucien couldn't help but snicker. He couldn't get it to behave completely...but at least it wasn't upset anymore.

Tagress: Park

After slicing his own thumb, Lucien brought a bear to life with a puff of smoke. As expected Trixie watched with awe, her mouth gaping wide open - which still hung loosely even as the bear approached and pawed her in the jaw. "Whoa... is he real? Is he really real?" Shakily she reached down to pat the summon on its fuzzy head, though the trepidation eased after the first few rubs.

Until it headbutt her. But the stupid thing ran off in Syed's and Boss' direction before she could headbutt it back! The prankster nearly tipped over in response.

With her new friend gone, she instead turned back to Lucien, who had hunkered down in the meantime, seemingly unresponsive to the world around him now that his thoughts have transferred into his medium. Trixie was about to jab at him with her finger, but he broke that intention by snickering. Oh okay so he wasn't dead, that's good then.

So she continued to jab at him with her finger anyway. "Hey. Hey. Hey Lucy hey what other-- hey what other animals can you do??"



"Oh gods he squeaks." Amy cast her eyes away from the capybara out of embarrassment. She ran a hand over her mouth as if to hide her shame, but quickly replaced that with some shallow gulps of her wine. As often as she had been subtly doting on Kapi throughout their adventures, this was indeed the first time she ever had a chance to sit down with the companion and just... have him close to her. The little thing was such a cutie, it was unbearable.

Amy had turned in Dylan's general direction, though her rather bashful smile flipped into a frown the second Dylan shot a wide smile at her. Pah! She turned away again and went straight back to sipping her wine straight from the bottle. And stroking Kapi's fur while he ate of course.

Amy never really had time to admire works of art, excluding those of that catty Megaera and the glimpses she caught within Museo's museum - but seeing how naturally the colors fluttered from Dylan's brush was truly astounding. And seeing its creation and perfection up close enhanced her appreciation for them. The man was not one to exude his passion in a hype like Trixie generally did - so maybe that's why watching him work up close seemed to captivate her...?

But, he's... he's a... Pahhh. She took another swig. He better not get any funky ideas. No matter where she was her hands were always moments away from slap city.

Tagress: Docks

The beating of feet continued to echo across the cobblestone streets, as workers heaved to and fro between carrying equipment and goods off and on the bustling ships. Don continued to simply stare at the surf, lazily smoking his cigarette and pondering what to do with his life.

He had made a promise… to Big Sis and Selan. To his little sister Josette, all of his bros, and to himself. To make something of himself. To become a Guilder and be a man. He had made a promise to himself and yet… he had failed, spectacularly. He wasn’t a man. Anything but.

Should he stay? Should he go? What to do?

Selan…

He didn’t know.

He scrunched his eyes up tightly and smothered the cigarette against the ground.

Maybe some time away would be good. Some time to get his thoughts in order. It had been a month since the battle at Vandrell, and for a month he had been struggling with this issue, no closer to an answer then he had been that night. He couldn’t keep on going like this. Something had to be done. Something had to change.

Could he make that change?

---

Tagress: Guild

“Really? You want us to come with you? But… but what about the Pride?”

Celeste was seated at one of the Guild’s many tables and chairs, Julius quietly sitting beside her, his arms folded and his eyes closed, divulging all of the information that the two individuals sitting opposite them had just divulged.

“We can’t! I mean… I know I only just joined recently and… I’ve kind of been a tagalong but… but I can’t just join and then leave everyone like that!” Celeste continued to protest. “They want me with them. I can’t just… up and leave. Right, Julius?”

She turned to her silent partner, who said nothing.

“You’re not going to be leaving,” The voice replied. “You’re still a part of the Pride. And you always will be. But this mission… this mission’s important, otherwise Tiberius wouldn’t have asked us. You’re free to refuse, but…”

“Then I refuse!” Celeste’s fist pounded the table. “I’m a part of the Pride! I’m not going to just leave them and-”

“Celeste.” Julius finally spoke up. Celeste’s lip quivered, her eyes turning to look towards him. His expression remained as cool and emotionless as always, first looking to her, then their table’s companions. “…I think we should go.”

“What? But… Juju, how could you…?!” Celeste’s face turned a bright red shade, anger besmirching her features. “You wanted to be with them more then anything! Enough that I had to chase after you in the first place! What the hell are you…?!”

“You heard what the mission is…” Julius took a deep breath. “We’ll be helping the Pride anyway. We might not be able to go with Estelle and the others, but we’ll all still be working together. Besides. Tiberius asked for you and me. Stop for a second and think why.”

Celeste’s anger was briefly stifled. “…I don’t… I…”

“Because he wants you two kids on my team,” Their guest replied, a small smile curling on her lips. “We need you, and he trusts you two.”

“Nng…” Celeste groaned, trying to come up with a reason to resist, and failing. Truth was, if an A ranked Guilder like Tiberius Rex wanted her to do a particular mission, then there was little chance of refusing it. Because like it or not, she had no choice but to trust his thoughts and understand that it’d be for the best. And this particular mission… well, it sounded tough, but it also sounded desperate enough that she couldn’t say no.

She would have asked why Tiberius didn’t come up to the whole Pride to ask this of them together, but also knew the reason for that, too. The Pride had to find the Clockwork Town Guild Leaders Rize and Kara. And whilst that mission wasn’t desperate enough to be accomplished right away, they had wasted a lot of time already. A month stuck in the hospital meant another month the two Guild Leaders could get further, and further away…

“F-fine…” Celeste whined, gripping her face in her hand. “Anyone else in, or is it just us four?”

“Three others…” The woman’s voice returned. “Trent, Nikki…”

“The two Guilders we found at the Manor?” Celeste replied. “This group is sounding more and more to me like those of us who are the ‘odd ones out’…”

“And…”

Elaine's eyes lit. Her seated husband, Malik, said nothing and made no movements as Elaine finished her sentence.

The last Guilder to be mentioned made Celeste’s eyes bulge incredulously, and for even Julius’ stony façade to elicit a twitch.

---

Tagress: Park

Delight continued to consume Estelle’s entire fibre as she admired her new haircut in the mirror, absolute pride beaming in her face upon seeing the results of Selan’s handiwork. She had expected good results but she never expected to look THIS good! She was like a movie star!

She automatically turned and assaulted Selan with an hug, thanking her again and again, before hip hopping towards Marcus, and rather bashfully asking him how she looked. Marcus response, of how she looked absolutely beautiful, caused Estelle to blush even more.

She then continued her hopping towards Dylan, and gasping in surprise at the painting he had accomplished of her and Selan. It was so… so regal, so beautiful! It was jaw dropping! Estelle was no fine art critic, but even she was taken aback by just how beautiful the painting was. His line and colour work was unlike anything else. And Estelle… she couldn’t stop staring at the reflection painted on his canvas. There was no way she looked as good as that… did she?

“Wow, Dylan! Where did you learn to paint like this?” Estelle cooed.



Nikki meanwhile, fitfully laughed at seeing the reactions Lucien’s bear summon enjoyed from everyone, and the fitful slobbering he provided to Moira’s face. Also noticing Trixie’s poking, Nikki sidled on over to the motionless summoner’s body, and still laughing, elbowed him playfully in the ribs quite powerfully a couple of times.

"Hey. Hey. Hey Lucy hey what other-- hey what other animals can you do??"

“Lucien’s so awesome! His bear summon’s good, but the cat one’s better! Show him, Lucien, go on!”

Another couple of elbow hits smacked him in the side. Hopefully Lucien’s concentration would be maintained, otherwise…

Tagress: Park

“Wow, Dylan! Where did you learn to paint like this?” Estelle cooed.

He smiled up at her. "Oh, I've been painting my whole life. As my mother used to say, I learned to color before I learned to walk." Turning his gaze back to the painting in front of him, he continued to finish up the detailing as he talked.

"When I was older I enrolled in the art school in my home town. Since the Church of Aislin was based out of there the school was one of the best in Ddear. At least, that's what they wanted us to think. Maybe it was true." He gave a carefree shrug.

"And after that…" he trailed off, his expression darkening. "Well, I spent a lot of time with one of the art patrons, a young heir who used his families' money to cultivate all kinds of art, as his parents had before him. It was a…good time. I met a lot of great artists, had time to practice my work and my magic. But alas, all good things must come to an end."

He fell silent, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Estelle had only asked a simple question, but he had rambled on about his life. Perhaps he should ease up on the wine. "Well," he said with a blush, "I hope that answered your question."

Tagress: Park
Moira's loud, obnoxious laughter filled the park as she rolled around with Lucien's bear. "C'mon then!" she laughed, shoving the bear's face away as it licked at her face and arms. "Come get some if you think yer hard enough!" She was laughing so hard she was going a bit red... or was that the sun? Either way, she was so absorbed in her little moment of fun that she didn't notice Trixie and Nikki poking and prodding Lucien. If she had, she probably would have told them to back off and let him do his thing, but whatever.

Syed, knowing fully well there was nothing he could really do here, turned his attention back to Dylan instead. He rested his arms on his crossed legs as he listened to Dylan's brief explanation. He would stand up to take a look himself, if it weren't for Moira being busy with the bear. Although from what he had seen of Dylan's work before, he was in no doubt this picture would be as jaw-dropping as ever.

He had heard of a couple of the more well known art schools, so his mind did start drifting to which one Dylan might mean. However it was just that - he had only heard of them. He didn't really know where they were geographically in relation to any other landmarks, so he had no idea which one Dylan might mean. If it was even one of the ones he had heard of.

Still, it was nice to know someone else had an education too. He had never really had the chance to talk about his time at college much bar the little he told Lisette and Marcus, mostly through the fear that he might give something away that might cause Moira to give him a nose job he didn't want. Still... "Well, if things never came to an end then nothing new could begin, I guess," he said with a shrug. His eyes unfocused a little, his smile faltering. "At least, that's what I tell myself..." he mumbled to himself, although he caught himself and forced the smile back on his face.

"Ey up!" Moira suddenly exclaimed. She wasn't paying any attention to the nice little chat.

Had... had something about this bear changed a little?

All the poking and prodding was making it rather hard to concentrate, but he didn't mind. He tried to bat away sluggishly at Trixie and Nikki, but his movements were far too slow.

"Hey,hey, quit it. That...haha! That tickles." His eyes were blank, but a grin made its way to his face and the summoner broke into a fit of laughter. It was all good fun, but when he fell onto his back, laughing, he accidentally severed his connection with the chubby grizzly bear. "Oh..." instantly he pushed himself to his feet, eyes wide and expression panicky. "CRAP!"

Moira continued to wrestle with the bear, but it had stopped hopping around like an excited puppy and instead of slobbering all over her it bared its teeth and let out a loud and definitely hostile roar. Lucien tried to get back into his medium's head, but he was panicky and concentrating on the spot proved to be quite a challenge.

Oi, oi, no. Uhhh, bad bear...

The bear turned away from Moira, looking grumpy and very upset. Lucien managed to make it lose interest, but it was no longer giving him control and before he could do anything...it went straight for the basket, shoving away anyone who tried to get near and gobbling down whatever meat they had...

The summoner stood frozen. Well, at least everything was on Tiberius...

Now that the bear was eating and no one was in imminent danger he managed to concentrate and sever the tie. The bear exploded into a puff of smoke, but the damage to their food had already been done. "Uh...it's, um, Nikki's and Trixie's fault!" He laughed nervously then hid behind both girls.

Tagress: Park

Such a peaceful time... Everyone was enjoying a relaxing break in the sunlight without imminent death threatening them around the corner. Amy finally had the chance to steal away Kapi, even if the period was brief, and she continued to rustle and ruffle through his fur all the while Estelle got her haircut, Dylan painted along his canvas. She eavesdropped a bit on his story to Estelle, and pondered to herself about just how many others in the Pride had gotten some extended schooling. Though it was nothing to be surprised about (at least to her), she still couldn't help but feel awed at how devoted they could be with their education.

Much as she longed to experience what they've been through, she merely brushed off Dylan's story and Syed's addition with a, "Hah. That's cute."

But of course the long-deserved peace was disturbed with Lucien exclaiming wildly.

A terrifying roar boomed across the park, drawing everyone's eyes to the beast. Luckily Lucien still retained some influence on the bear, and his attention deviated away from Moira and towards something unhuman instead. Trixie however still screamed alongside its battlecry, and whipped out her uzis in response. She extended them, shaking, backing away into Lucien. "I knew it, I knew it! Never trust a bear!!"

Amy scrambled to her feet in the most undignified way ever the second the bear charged in her general direction - for the food baskets. Scooping up both Kapi and the remainder of her wine bottle she sidestepped over to Dylan's direction and watched as the bear bore straight through their baskets. Once it vanished, leaving nothing but a smoky puff of evidence, Lucien jokingly pinpointed the blame on Trixie and Nikki before huddling behind them in fear.

The cleric raised a brow - a clear "uh oh" from Trixie's eyes. She shot up her palms in defense. "Wait no! No it wasn't, it couldn't have been me! I can't control bears! It- it was- it was the evil cat lady! Cuz yaknow they're evil!"

And... Amy just laughed instead. A blush of pink crossed her cheeks as she took another swig from her wine, but as angry as she was, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. She leaned onto the nearest tree, barely holding herself up with one arm, and with her other arm loosely wrapped around Kapi. "What the fuck, you guys!"

Tagress: Park

Estelle listened with great interest to Dylan explain how he had grown into becoming such a fine artist, smiling as he reminisced with happiness at the thoughts of his mother and school. Her own expression softened after seeing the next memory Dylan spoke of seem to afflict him…the carefree abandon Dylan once have transform into melancholy. Estelle was happy to have learnt something new, but not to have made her friend feel like this.

“Yeah, I didn’t like school much either…” Estelle replied, missing Dylan’s point completely. “A lot of the other kids weren’t very nice until my mum started home schooling me…” And then, with surprising forethought, Estelle beamed a bright smile and gave Dylan a short hug after looking at his painting again, blessed by the beauty of it. “But the bad stuff only makes us stronger, right? Tougher, and better artists! Hahaha!”

An uplifting speech, Estelle-style.

And then bedlam erupted once Lucien lost control of his bear summon, the beast tearing through the Guilders and quickly devouring the contents of their picnic before anything could be salvaged. Just before it could then turn its hungry desires towards the rest of the Guilders, it disappeared in a plume of smoke, Lucien sheepishly hiding behind the perpetrators of the accident: Trixie and Nikki.

"Uh...it's, um, Nikki's and Trixie's fault!"

"Wait no! No it wasn't, it couldn't have been me! I can't control bears! It- it was- it was the evil cat lady! Cuz yaknow they're evil!"

“Whaaaat!?” Nikki screeched. She shifted her eyes from side to side, trying to find the next person in their line to divert the blame to, but found no one else actively near to them. But she had to pass along the blame to someone else, after all that was part of the game! “It wasn’t my fault! It was… it was… it was… Selan’s scissors! Yeah! Bears like shiny things and that’s what it was! Honest!!”

A collective pause from everyone assembled.

"What the fuck, you guys!" Amy broke the silence by laughing heavily, needing to lean against the nearest tree with wine and Kapi both in tow. Marcus silently inched closer to her to help her with her standing were she to accidently fall over.

“Ahahaha that’s such a stupid excuse, Nikki!” Estelle laughed, pointing towards her. A mischievous glimmer twinkled in her eyes, and she turned to Selan. “I think the three of them need to be taught a lesson, Selan! I think they all need a haircut! Trixie losing her pigtails… Nikki’s to be cut super short… and Lucien to go bald!”

“What on Ddaear is all this racket…? Oh. It’s you guys.”




From the entrance to the Park, two new figures suddenly arrived. The massive, muscular Tiberius walking forwards with confusion etched on his face at the Pride’s activity and the ruined picnic baskets and blankets, the entire group shouting and screaming as always. Next to him walked Trent, quietly holding his board. Tiberius leaned down, offering a hand to the fallen Moira to help pick her back up.

“We heard shouting and screaming… and what sounded like a bear roar. You guys are only a day out of the hospital… what have you been getting up to?”

Tagress: Park

Dylan was surprised by the sudden hug from Estelle, but he took it with it a smile. True, it wasn’t the school that made him sad but the falling out with Tobias, but the gesture was just what he needed away.

“But the bad stuff only makes us stronger, right? Tougher, and better artists! Hahaha!

“Damn straight!” he said as he put down the brush. Now all there was left to do was let the painting dry which could only mean one thing. “Anyway, snack time!”

Right then, though, the incessent poking of Lucien caused him to lose control of the bear. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like the summon was that dangerous, but it still went and devoured all the food before Lucy could desummon it. “Aww,” he said with a pout, making his way over to the basket while the others argued who was to blame. Though the bear had only eaten the meat Dylan wasn’t sure if he trusted the remainders and turned from the basket with a sigh.

"What the fuck, you guys!" Amy wheezed as she clung to the tree. He stared at her. AMY was clinging to a tree, desperately trying to hold herself upright as she laughed. The surreal sight broke him, the absurdity of the situation now hitting him.

Clutching his sides, he managed to gasp out, “A bear. A fucking bear ate our picnic!”

“What on Ddaear is all this racket…? Oh. It’s you guys.” Tiberius had appeared in the Park, Trent in tow, and soon was helping Moira to her feet as he watched them all with an amused grin. “We heard shouting and screaming… and what sounded like a bear roar. You guys are only a day out of the hospital… what have you been getting up to?”

“Oh, nothing at all. A bear ate our food. Food you paid for! A bear!” Finally succumbing to the madness, he turned a grabbed a stronger bottle of wine from the unmolested second basket. “Care to join us for a drink?”

Tagress: Park
Syed recovered from his wide-eyed panic soon enough once the bear had vanished. Lucien, Trixie and Nikki all took turns to blame anyone other than themselves, which caused him to raise his eyebrows and lower his head slightly in what was one hell of an incredulous expression. It was the sort of look which could cause small children to falter and suddenly feel very guilty indeed.

However Amy soon started laughing, barely able to keep herself upright. He couldn't help himself from giving in too, his nose wrinking a little as he laughed. It was pretty funny. It all was really, once they got over the shock that Moira nearly got mauled by a bear. Although she probably would have mauled it back given half a chance.

Moira just huffed with her arms crossed. She had sat herself up almost immediately after the bear had gotten off her, ready to stand up if she needed to. But then the bloody thing just ate all the food and up and vanished! It was a good job she ate before they came out. Bears! Who needed them! They're all the same, eating your shit then leaving you.

“What on Ddaear is all this racket…? Oh. It’s you guys.”

Syed stopped laughing quite suddenly as soon as he heard that familiar voice - which was probably for the best considering the laughing was starting to hurt quite a bit. He hurriedly sat up as straight as he could, watching Tiberius with a little trepidation. Should he stand up? He felt like he should stand up.

He stood up.

Moira glared at the offered hand for a moment. She was still mad at him for ratting her out, especially since it resulted in her getting a shot. Nothing was even broken! Except her dignity, maybe. Not that she had much of that anyway. Still, she took it in the end anyway, allowing Tiberius to pull her up to her feet seemingly effortlessly.

"Oh, nothing at all. A bear ate our food. Food you paid for! A bear!" Dylan explained before going off to the second basket.

"Yeah, I was wrestling it," Moira added with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You know, like old times."

Tagress: Park

The pandemonium ceased just as quickly as it began, and as the quiet returned, Selan was left running her fingers through her hair to fix her ponytail after Estelle's forceful hug mussed it up. Lisette had been slow to realize what was going on, and next thing she knew, she had stumbled backwards onto her rear end, barely cushioned by the grass.

Kapi clung to Amy as much as he could without digging his hoof-like claws into her skin, having his doubts about Amy's ability to climb trees compared to his owner. He wanted to get down now!

Tiberius and Trent suddenly arrived, which didn't surprise her at all; the Pride had a rather impressive ability to create a racket with only a small handful of people, mostly children. The Rank A Guilder looked perplexed at the scene before him, and seemed to be wondering just how they had managed to cause what appeared to be trouble after just getting over their injuries and fatigue.

"Nothing to worry about. They're just celebrating their freedom, that's all... A little overzealously, but nothing unusual, trust me."

"Hiya Mister Rex, hiya Trent!" Lisette waved happily, rocking back and forth from her seated position on the grass. "I think there might still be some bread in the bas-- Oh, nevermind..." she said, looking at the scatterings of food practically sprayed around the "crime scene".

"Is something wrong? We weren't expecting to see you until later..." Selan asked, tapping her chin with a finger.

He passed the blame onto Trixie, she passed it onto Nikki then she blamed Selan's scissors. Of all things to blame...

Amy yelled out and he broke into a fit of laughter. The cleric's expression, Lisette falling onto the grass, and Syed's stern expression were all very funny. He didn't know why, they just were, and soon he was laughing till his sides hurt. Laughing at the basket covered in slobber, at the way Kapi stuck close to Amy and at how Nikki and Trixie were arguing. Being with everyone just felt wonderful and he continued laughing alongside the others. Well, until Estelle told Selan to punish them.

Lucien jolted upright, his cheeky smile instantly turning into a nervous one. "Eh, I'll pass! How do you expect me to charm the ladies if I'm bald!" He puffed up his cheeks in indignation then crossed his arms over his chest like a defiant child. "Nu-uh, though..." another mischievous grin placed itself on his face. "Trixie and Nikki definitely need a haircut. Also, Selan, you're really good with those scissors." He kept the smile on his face and gave both the dancer and Estelle two thumbs up.

“What on Ddaear is all this racket…? Oh. It’s you guys.”

The summoner straightened up and tensed at the mention of a bear. He didn't want to get into trouble or anything..."Oh, uh, that was just Estelle's stomach."

However, before he could lie some more, Dylan and Moira fessed up, and Lucien sucked in a breath of air. He inched closer to Syed and was suddenly on his best behavior.

Tagress: Docks

“You’re sure you saw them head here?” Celeste asked, walking alongside the other three Guilders, her head leaning back and forth as she searched their quarry out. Julius did the same as Celeste in searching for their target, but instead of moving in such exaggerated manners, his eyes just darted across every corner, silently taking their surroundings in.

“Of course I did!” Elaine replied. “I’m a tracker, sweetie! Finding people is my speciality! And I saw ol’Donny boy wander off down here! We should find him annnny minute… now! Look! There he is!”

Rounding the corner of a warehouse, stepping onto a street overlooking the sea, they saw the man they had been looking for and expected to find a small distance before them: Don Capuello.



However, what they didn’t expect… was for him to be walking onto the gangplank of a boat, the gangplank being raised and the boat ready to set sail. The ship’s foghorn blaring loudly.

“Woah woah woah what the heck!!” Elaine shrieked, taking off at a sprint to try and catch up, Celeste, Julius and Malik all following as quickly as they could. Elaine’s leg had healed well in the last month, but it was still far from perfect. If she had been spared such an injury, then she might have been able to catch up in time… but it was to no avail. She still held enough of a limp that she could do nothing but watch in despair as the boat passed far beyond her and her friend’s ability to reach. For some reason… whatever reason… Don had left with no word or explanation. Elaine was happy that it meant her mission to recruit him had failed. But failing to stop him from abandoning the rest of his friends without a word… was unbearable. It was the most gutting of defeats.

How could she have let this happen?!

Tears started to swell, and she gripped the sides of her head in a panic. Celeste too, was rendered speechless, watching the fading ship with her body racked with trembling.

“Celeste…” Julius started to speak up.

“Sh-shut up Julius…” Celeste snapped back. She too, didn’t want Don to join them when it meant abandoning the rest of his friends. She and Julius were still only newcomers, outsiders. But even she in her limited time could see how much the Pride meant to Don, and how much he meant to them. “Just shut up, I… I can’t frigging believe this… what the fuck…? How could he have-”

“Celeste, it’s okay. It-”

“Shut up, Julius! Okay?! What part about this is okay?! What, huh? The others… they’re going to be heartbroken!!”

---

Tagress: Park

“Estelle’s stomach?” Tiberius turned to the newly cut, red haired swordswoman, whose cheeks turned as red as her fiery hair and newly formed indignation bubbled to the surface at Lucien’s comment.

“Hey!”

“Doesn’t surprise me…” Trent muttered lowly.

Truthful explanations were then given, the mention of a bear ramshacking their food and Moira’s confession she was wrestling it. A twinkle formed in the Guild Leader’s eyes, as he remembered his and Moira’s brief time many decades ago… when they and Largo would climb through the mountainous woods near Clockwork Town every now and then to do precisely that.

“Aw… wish I could have been here to do it too…”

Lucien winced. Pain that his animal summons felt was directed straight back to him too. Moira was one thing, but any wrestling his bear might have had with Tiberius would not have ended well. Another month in the hospital if he was lucky. Retirement if he wasn’t. Heh.

“I’ll take a bottle of wine, thanks.” Tiberius grinned, sitting down by the ruined food, crossing his mighty legs one over the other. “I’m technically working now but… if all this was stuff that *I* paid for, then I think I’m entitled to it.” He grabbed the bottle of wine and popped the cork off with his teeth, guzzling the contents effortlessly.

"Hiya Mister Rex, hiya Trent!" Lisette’s eyes sparkled, waving at the two men as she bent down to try and find some more food to share… finding none she could really consider safe enough to give. As she did, Marcus watched over everyone silently, inches away from still helping Amy in case she were to tumble, but keeping a well enough distance away so as to not provoke a more… unpleasant reaction. Lisette’s failure with the food made Marcus wonder if Lucien now felt full…? Just as much of a gullet as Estelle then…

“You’ve all just been lying around having a picnic, huh?” Trent muttered, a fresh new scowl creasing his youthful features. The boy would earn wrinkles far before his time at this rate.

"Is something wrong? We weren't expecting to see you until later..." Selan asked, tapping her chin with a finger, waiting until after Tiberius had finally emptied the contents of the wine bottle.

“No, nothing wrong. I just thought I’d be busy most of the day settling some errands… but I found Trent already, and I got a couple more people helping me out, so things look good. It was quite lucky I found you all here…” Tiberius grinned. “Just not lucky enough to have done so sooner.” His eyes fell with dismay at the lost food. “Anyway… I suppose I could explain things here. This is a much nicer place for a discussion then the Guild anyway, right?”

“You’re gonna tell us where we’re going to next, right?!” Estelle bounced up and down, racing in close to hear Tiberius’ news. His words would hopefully lead them in the right direction to find Rize and Kara.

“That’s right.” Tiberius grinned. “I know the location of where they went next. But… if it’s alright on you, I want to impose on you all a little bit longer as well.”

A deflated look crossed the faces of all of the Pride.

“WHAT.”

“Hear me out, hear me out!” Tiberius pushed out his hands over and over again, in an attempt to calm his charges down. “You’ll actually like what I’ve got to say. Promise. You guys are the perfect people to help deal with this… and it’ll be good for you all too. When’s the last time you had a holiday? The hospital notwithstanding.”

“…holiday?”

“They get to go on a fucking holiday?” Trent eyeballed Tiberius with a fresh frown.

“Rize and Kara moved on to Abatheo. But I want you guys to make a slight little detour to Los Paraísos instead. You’ll be able to get to Abatheo from there easily enough, and I need you guys to help solve a problem for me there. You’ll also be able to get some much needed relaxation… sun, sand, surf…”

“Los Paraísos?! Are you serious?!” Estelle screamed.

Everyone had heard of Los Paraísos… even the dense and thick-headed Moira. A small island resort a couple of days sail away from where they were, the resort was home to the glitzy and glamorous. An island filled with beaches, booze and babes. Nightclubs, casinos, water parks and rollercoasters. The island had anything and everything a holiday goer could possibly want. The only downside however, was…

“Isn’t Los Paraísos meant to be… expensive, though?” Marcus chimed in. The Pride hardly had the funds to pay for such a trip.

“All taken care of. On my tab.” Tiberius quickly replied. “I’ve already booked your tickets and rooms. You guys leave tomorrow.”

“B-b-b-bwuh?!” Estelle couldn’t speak.

“And later tonight, back at the Guild I can give you guys new weapons. Those cards I mentioned for Mr. Maddox, a new bow for Miss Marchand… I see you’re missing your staff as well, Amy.” Tiberius nodded to the blonde cleric. “And a sword for you as well, Estelle.”

“Wow, Mr. Rex, you’re really nice! Nyahaha!” Nikki laughed again.

“You’re not going with them, furball.” Trent dashed Nikki’s hopes in two. “You’re still stuck with me, remember?”

Nikki was caught between two emotions – depression at the thought of not being able to party in such a fun sounding place as Los Paraísos… but then also a surprising amount of happiness that Trent seemed to actually… want her with him. For the first time they had been together. Nikki quickly recovered from the sadness, racing towards the Boarder and smothering him in a powerful hug.

“Awww, Trent, you’re so cyute! Don’t worry, your big sister’s always here with you~” She turned, winking towards Marcus. “Write me this time though, yeah~?”

“Wait… this all sounds very exciting but… what’s the mission?” Selan was the first to ask, the others still lost in their flights of fancy for their next destination.

The Wolf returned a sly grin.

“When you get there, I want you to head to The Flying Albatross. There you’ll meet three Guilders, who’ll be assisting you. They’ll explain everything then. Ha, ha ha!”

---

Tagress: Docks

“Celeste, calm down. Seriously now, it-”

“Shut up, Julius, before I smack you!!”

“Hey, did any of you see a strange looking man in a leather jacket around him…? He was meant to be joining our crew, but I’ve lost him…”

Elaine and Celeste were stopped in their tearful tracks, the latter gripping Julius’ collar and seconds away from sending a magic imbued fist in his face, when a muscular sailor approached them from the side. Wearing a bandana and striped shirt, the sailor was the very same man who had spoken to Don earlier, Tobor, and was now surprised at having seen him vanished.



“Man in a leather jacket?” Elaine repeated. “He just got on a boat… wh… who are you?”

“Elaine, Celeste.” Elaine’s husband, Malik, coolly spoke up, pointing to the fading ship. A small smile rising across his bearded face. “Look at that ship. …it’s the ship to Los Paraísos.”

“WHAT!!!”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you… ack!” Julius felt a painful smack in the side of his face.

---

Vandrell: Hawthorne Manor: Woods north of the ruined Manor

One month ago: One hour after the fall of Lucifer

Trudging through the scorched remains of the woods north of Vandrell's Hawthorne Manor, the man's boots splashed through the many puddles left behind as he marched forwards on and on. Mud caked his boots as he did, the man showing no sign of interest or worry for his appearance as he did. The land was eerily quiet in the remains of the Pride's desperate struggle against the Family to prevent the rising of Abraxis, the sun's dawning not even giving way to the morning cries of birds. There was no sound whatsoever, save for the man's rthymic footfalls.

That and... munching.



Holding a bowl of cereal in one hand, the other using a spoon to scoop it up and eat it, Billy walked forwards without a care in the world, walking on and on loudly eating until finally, at last, he reached his destination. The center of the devastated forest, where he stood above something lying in the ground, smoking. He stared at it for a minute, still chewing again and again, enjoying his breakfast. He put his spoon in the bowl, and raised his right hand to his ear, pushing down on something inbedded inside.

"Hello... hello...? Do you read me...?" He spoke aloud. The device resting in his ear: a communicator.

"Ah... finally. You took your time..." The voice on the other end of the line, amidst raging static, replied. "I trust the mission is accomplished?"

"Yeah... we've got what we want. Abraxis is in our hands... Mission accomplished there, but..." Billy leaned down again, looking at the smouldering object lying on the ground. A small, perfectly formed black sphere, its surface shining in the morning light and reflecting the nearby smouldering embers.

"But what?"