Cuttersbury Guild
Varren?! "Ah, yeah. We've met up with Varren before, right at the start," Syed said, his smile becoming considerably more forced. Last time, he was very quick to learn that Varren were in fact earth elemental creatures. As such, his electricity was largely ineffective against their rocky scales. Even with his increase in power, he was unsure if he could get past that aspect of them.

"Yo! Question for ya: where's this place we're going that we're gonna love?"

Tobi's jolly grin became wider. "Have you ever heard of Drych Lake Spa?" Moira and Syed - neither the sort to know of such things - both shook their heads. "It's a luxury spa, around two hours walk away. Really fancy. They've got the works. But since it's secluded, the Varren have settled right on the only route in and out and cut them off. They're getting pretty desperate at this point, or so Eli says."

"A... fancy spa?" Moira spluttered. "A... desperate fancy spa?!" The cogs in her mind had obviously started turning. "How fancy?"

"Well, I'd never have dreamed of being able to afford to visit," Tobi admitted somewhat excitedly, exchanging looks with Nani. "It's not the sort of place people like us tend to get to even see. I'm not sure what it's really like."

Stars began to flash in Moira's eyes. She didn't like posh places. She didn't like Hawthorne Manor or Alquam School or any of that. She liked Los Paraisos, but hell who didn't like Los Paraisos. But a spa... she had never been to one, but a spa would definately have stuff which actually interested her in it, right?! "Ey!" she exclaimed. "Do you reckon they'd let us in after?!"

"Don't take the mickey," Syed shoved his hands in his pockets. "They're in trouble and have asked for help, you shouldn't take advantage of that. Not to mention it sounds like they're willing to pay a lot..."

"Hell yeah it gets better and better!" Moira slapped her hand on the table, causing Tobi's gunblade to rattle across it somewhat. "Sounds like our kinda gig, don't ya think?!" She turned to the others.

Cuttersbury: Guild

Hearing someone yelling to her made her flinch. But that was a force of habit when one used to get in trouble...a little more than normal. For a moment, she was planning to blame Tobi for whatever accident that happened, and then realized it was about their mission. With an inaudible sigh, she nodded reluctantly. "Larger group. Right..." Well this was going to take longer than she hoped....Or would it? Her attention turned to the rather tall male. She happily shook Syed's hand before letting her hands rest at her hips, one above her cutlass. "Help? Nah. Just trying to start a mission...unless you guys make our crew larger than, yes!"

It appeared Cap wasn't very liked by the one called Trixie. He decided that the best way to avoid getting shooed away or swatted at like a bug was to stay away from her in particular. Then, there was the option of possibly messing with Trixie just to torment her- Well, Cap was a pirate too after all. He decided to stretch his wings and fly to Nani's other shoulder, getting a good look at the new group that appeared.

One moment, it was just Tobi and Nani, and the next minute they had a full crew to work with. "Sweet! Good thing you're so popular with these ladies Tobi- and fellows, or we would still be stuck here. And it's good to see more than just your face for hours on end." She teased and then turned to Moria and Syed. "I've never been anywhere fancy either but that's kinda obvious." The idea of being able to stay after they cleaned the place of its infestation sounded awesome too. Well, this group came with all kinds of fun ideas- and then the two additional males would definitely be humorous. Nani was hoping to see one of them get punched by the redhead or the older woman. It sounded like it would be hilarious to see. Moria asked the others for their thoughts on the matter and Nani chimed in, "There's treasu- money involved. Who doesn't like that? You could buy drinks and clothes and other things~"

"New crewmates!" Cap cheered, raising a talon in the air.

"New Guild friends...guildmates? Guildmates. That'll work! Remember Cap'n we're guilders too." Nani poked the bird before inching towards the door. Who could possibly say no to a hefty sum of money and a spa?

Cuttersbury: Guild

Amy flicked her wrist at Moira's excitement. "I guess." She had her eyes turned away Moira and the rest of the group, if only to hide her sense of actually wanting to go. When was the last time the Pride had a proper relaxation? 'Proper' being the key word. So long as the newcomers didn't give them any trouble, it'd be worth the effort. She had been even more quiet than usual since their time in Morris, but perhaps another mini-vaca was in need. ...Specifically one that didn't involve drunken shenanigans.

On the other hand, Trixie was much more vocal. In fact she temporarily deafened whoever she stood closest to as she burst out in response to both Moira and Nani. "Yes! New friends! New mission! New baddies to slay! Yes yes yes! Let's do it!" The whole spa thing hadn't clicked with her, but she was excited enough already.

After snatching Lute's wrist, she turned to leap out the door. But she stopped when she remembered the two new guys. They blended right in already. "Hey, Cutie and Creepy! You guys coming along or what?" She was going to hook her other arm with Nani, but then she remembered Cap, and hooked it with Syed's instead.

Amy let out a grunt - the loudest she'd been all day - and stepped outside the door first. One of these days the runt would learn to keep her voice down. "I'll be getting some fresh air if you need me."

Did Tobi just mention they were getting rid of vermin for some gald loaded people? Awesome! Easy way to get loads of money. Really how bad could the rat infestation be? Rich folks also exaggerate when describing the situation. Honestly Jett can't fanthom why anyone would be frightened by those pipsqueaks. He loved rats. They were so furry and small ... and they squeak. He hoped they'd give him and Gnar Man enough time to prepare. His mind whirled with all the possible things he needs to get at the General Provision Shop. Rat traps, cheese, stale bread, rope and definitely loads of candy. Girls love candy! Maybe it might make Ms. Estelle happy!

"Tobi, Tobs! Can I ... err can Gnar Man and I have like 15 minutes to pack? I ... I ... I WILL BE RIGHT BACK! I need CHEESE! AND ENERGY DRINKS. AND CANDY."

The H-Ranked Guilder took off before he heard Tobi replied. He sped out the door, but he retraced his steps several minutes later, when he was halfway to Grumpy Kayne's. He forgot to wait till the mission leader (or what they call them) said yes. Fudge cake! Eli was there too! The novice ran backwards into the guild. Miraculously, he avoided knocking into things. He jogged on the spot beside Tobi.

"Did you say yes earlier?"

He came in just in time to hear Trixie. Jett stared with his jaw hanging. That kid must be a frickin genius! She's obviously one of the youngest Guilders he met. He can't wait to see her in action. The pipsqueak must pack a punch. She must be their Deus Ex Machina. This town needs celebrities like that. Really needed celebrities like that. Like desperately.

What's cooler - she's awesomely humble! The kiddo called him and Gnar Man friends, even though she called him a creep as well. His first impression was a real douche. Oh well, cutie and the creep. That had quite a nice ring to it. Almost like a title of a children's book. He snapped out of his musings when he noticed they were about to leave.

Jett dashed ahead, narrowly avoiding Amy, and only slowing down when he overtook Trixie and friends. He shifted around till he was running backwards once more. He began taking stock of the little girl's companions. There was a white haired lad with a flower in his hair. Probably a plant based mage, a farmer turned guilder or an overgrown fairy. The other person was some witch doctor like person.

"So little, Miss, who are you? And, and who are your... WOAH! Those are the neatest tats ever! Where did you do that man? I always wanted one."

That has to be a the coolest dark skinned person ever. Those tattoos. They were the bomb. Respect man! Getting covered like that was gonna hurt like mad. Darkies really have amazing pain tolerance. Oh wait! He shouldn't use the word Darkies. That was racist. Eli'll skin him alive.

Cuttersbury: Guild

Oooh, a Varren infestation. No wonder the clients were desperate.

Aria winced in sympathy at the thought. She had been called to deal with a minor infestation some time ago along with another group, and even that was a major pain in the butt. Varrens were annoyingly tenacious creatures.

"Yo! Question for ya: where's this place we're going that we're gonna love?"

"Have you ever heard of Drych Lake Spa?"

The woman paused. Where had she heard that name before? Tobi's next words had her gasp; that Drych Lake Spa? This was reminding her a lot of Los Parasios in terms of fancy luxury places. Though hopefully this time would end without... Shenanigans. She gave a small shudder. Perhaps she'd even try to steer away from drinking too much, or maybe get Lulu to spot for her if they were allowed to stay and use the facilities. It was a small chance, but a girl could hope.

Still, everybody had become quite excited at the mention of the spa. She followed the others as they left, admiring how the flower was still in Lulu's hair and how he hadn't noticed yet. Amy was looking a bit annoyed as usual, and Aria sidled up to the cleric with a laugh.

"I think a fancy spa would have some nice bars, right? Looks like I'll get to buy you those drinks after all." Another flashback from Los Paraisos crossed her mind and she winced yet again.

Cuttersbury - Road

Er, a spa…?

“Yey… New mission!” With uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm, the virtuoso allowed himself to be pulled down by Trixie as she made for the door. Delilah, for one, was griping about how she wouldn’t get to enjoy the facilities as much as she would have- “We’re not going there to relax, Dellie,” he interjected- if she had a physical body. He had a body, and it wasn’t all that pleasant to lug around, really. Maybe they should swap sometime? That way the sound spirit could trip all over rocks and he’d be the one laughing for a change.

Lute rubbed over the his ringing ear as the lot of them left the Guild. He expected the monsters to pop up in some farm- hell, that’s almost always what happened back home- but they were attacking some high class joint? Oh, how the mighty have fallen. A small part of the virtuoso wanted to see the managers panic about upturned hedges, destroyed rosebushes and the like, but here they were en route to help. How unfortunate. His hand brushed past something velvety and Lute grasped at the object. “All right, how long has this been there?” He raised the wildflower and turned to give Aria an accusing glare. Ah, well. It wasn’t going to hurt if he kept wearing it, and he kinda felt bad to just throw the cute little flower away so… Lute shrugged and tucked it in his breastpocket. One of the men earlier- Lute didn’t catch his name- approached Trixie and then proceeded to fawn over Syed. “Lute,” He quickly shot in, grabbed the guy’s hand and gave it one shake, then let go. That took care of any awkward touching/embracing/whatever the crook might think of.

While Jett struck up a conversation with Syed, Lute kept his eyes on the ground in case he tripped over a pebble. You never knew. When he glanced up, he overhead the flapping of wings behind him and turned to look. Ah, the pirate girl. Trixie was obviously not going to approach the girl so long as the parrot was around, so the virtuoso extended his arm as he slowed down while Trixie herself continued walking onwards; it created a leash effect, of sorts. “So, uh, Nani. You’re a pirate, right? Do you have a… ship?” Plus five points for not asking about a wooden leg or an eyepatch, but the conversation was still young.

Cuttersbury: Streets

And they were off! Leaving the Guild together and waving Eli goodbye, The Pride set out on the two hour long trek towards their mission’s destination, giving ample time for Jett, Quentin, and any of the others to pick up on any of the supplies they might need. She still wasn’t sure of either of the newbies, and thus hung close to Moira and Marcus as they moved, but this wasn’t her mission and thus not her decision to make with regards to them. And first impressions were only that – first impressions. They might not actually be so bad when she got to know them… maybe. She could remember how terrible she was when she first started as a Guilder as well. Granted, that was only a little over a year ago, but she was sure she had improved since then. Even so, she’d stick a bit close to her friends on this trip, and a bit further away from the weird energetic freak…

“S-so Tobi,” Estelle tried to perk up herself, by starting up a conversation. “Where exactly have you been all this time? How did you and Nani meet up?”



“Me and Nani…? Haha, well, that’s a story and a half…” Tobi threw his head up and laughed, as one hand rested on the hilt of his gunblade. “I was actually planning on catching up with you guys after my wound healed up and Tabul was repaired, but I kind of got sidetracked on another mission to help stop some nefarious villain terrorising a place.”

“Oh? And how’d that go?”

“It was a success, of sorts. Got lumped with a hefty package afterwards, though.”

“Wait… the villain wasn’t…” Estelle turned to look over her shoulder, her mouth dropping into an ‘o’ shape.

“Nani. Yeah. Hence… the mentor and student…” Tobi’s shoulders sagged. “It’s not that bad. …most of the time…”

Cuttersbury - Streets
Syed looked to Jett with a wary smile - although he brought the arm Trixie held a little closer to himself defensively. It was definately for Jett's benefit that he didn't voice his thoughts aloud, as it would have upset and angered the mage. And probably the rest of the team too, for that matter. They were pretty much like a family, after all.

"Hey, hey, lay off the soda and come back to regular speed," he chuckled, taking note of how hyperactive this man seemed to be. "And it was just a regular tattoo parlour... in a town..." he shifted and avoided eye contact, then decided to steer the conversation away from Moira punch-down territory. "I was kind of drunk at the time, so I don't really remember it too well. I know it hurt like hell after though!" He raised a finger up into the air and started wagging it sternly. "However, it's important to remember that tattoos are perminent, and you should never get one on a whim. Okay?" He glanced at Marcus, but decided against mentioning his hidden body art.

He smiled. "You seem excited. You ever been on a group mission before?" He looked back towards Tobi, smiling at the sight of him talking with the others. He was sure he'd get a chance to catch up with his friend later.



Meanwhile Moira sighed. Ah. More walking. Wouldn't it be lovely if she could get someone to carry her, some shirtless warrior with rippling muscles riding on a black steed... oh. She had lost her train of thought.

She shrugged, noting how Estelle was now keeping close to both her and Marcus. She didn't say a word, nor make any movement towards Estelle. Instead she just exhaled through her nose, her expression somewhat poker-faced. And really, that was as reassuring as Moira got without actually shouting expletives. "Wait, she's hefty?! Nah, she needs to eat more if anythin' she ain't fat," she butt in, totally missing the point.

"Ey!" she called out towards the other man. Ah, he was a similar build to Syed, all tall and lanky. Except he looked like he had actually seen a couple of decent meals lately. "Soooo, 'Cutie' eh? Full of yourself or somethin'?" She smirked and winked in an attempt to be less scary, but Moira being Moira it had the opposite affect and looked mildly terrifying instead. "Don't blame yer, I reckon you need a new prescription for yer specs anyway. Ey, Ree, what you think?" she called over to Aria in turn.

Cuttersbury: Streets

Drych Lake Spa? Quentin's face went through a dance of mixed emotions. Drych Lake was huge, to his recollection, and owned by some fastidious, posh posers who would not let him within a mile of the place if it could be helped. Something about him being an unwashed plebeian or something. It was just another example of The System being controlled by The Man, man.

As the exchange played out between Tobi and Moira, Quentin scanned the faces of the others. This was quite a cast of characters assembled here. It made him wonder what they were all really there for; they hardly seemed like timber industry enthusiasts. It occurred to him that, despite Marcus being very friendly, the wind mage had not given Quentin a straight answer about why he and his comrades had come to Cuttersbury. It was not something that he had fully realized until the moment Trixie yelled aloud, "Hey, Cutie and Creepy! You guys coming along or what?"

And like that, the party was on the move. For a half-second, Quentin wondered what the great philosophers would do. He reached down into the core of his teachings. A phrase floated to the top of his mind.

~Effort without struggle~

Of course! Quentin did not attempt to break the flow but simply went with the current, a current currently making an exodus. With a smile and a wave in Eli's direction, he traipsed out of the Guild hall with the rest of the Pride. He allowed himself to be amused by Jett's hyperactivity. The dude was like a kid discovering everything in the world for the first time. Hey, to each, his own. For his own part, Quentin was more interested in sizing up the Pride once more. They seemed basically a chill bunch, with some exceptions here and there. The young redhead was kind of a screamer. Clearly, she had not learned anything about the unspoken and action without action. That was fine; people did not need to be judged for that. Although, as he heard the exchange between Jett and Syed, he stifled a chortle out of necessity.

"Ey!"

Quentin's eyes were overwhelmed by the sight of the other rambunctious redhead in the group, the very sight of whom made the water mage blink with hesitation.

"Soooo, 'Cutie' eh? Full of yourself or somethin'?" Moira said, suddenly in his face and winking. Only after he felt he was no longer about to get assaulted by the larger woman, who kind of reminded him of a rhinoceros with a wig for some reason, did he relax, not that the winking helped any. It made her face contort into something out of a nightmare, like waking up from a massive bender and finding the sweet girl you brought home last night had her face rearranged by a professional boxer the morning after.

"Don't blame yer, I reckon you need a new prescription for yer specs anyway," she jibed. "Ey, Ree, what you think?"

Quentin looked over at Aria and then decided Moira was probably harmless. Probably mostly harmless. Substantially unlikely to be significant harmful. Like, probably more likely than being struck by lightning in terms of getting hit by her for something but not by a whole lot.

"So, clue me in on something," Quentin said to Moira, glancing at Syed. "What's with him? He reminds me of a teacher who used to scold me for not paying attention in class." He also added, in Aria's direction, "Don't think we've met. Q.T. And you are...?"

Cuttersbury: Streets

It appeared that everyone agreed, and everyone was moving out the door. Wonderful. She didn't have to sneak and inch her way out. "Off we go, on another adventure!" She walked out the door, alongside the others. As they all went their merry way to the spa, she turned her head when she heard her name. "Aye, pirate indeed! I've been one since I was born-" At the mention of her ship, she sighed and crossed her arms. "I should have a ship. But I don't know Tobias, do I still have a ship?" Obviously there was a bit of a sour spot there when she spoke up for him to hear. "I think he did something to it..."

Her somewhat annoyed demeanor changed to a smile and she shrugged. "Even if I did have it, I'm sort of on 'probation' from it. I have to apparently prove that even as a pirate, I can be...'good'." She laughed and then patted Cap. Being good had been pretty easy so far, except for the times when she'd pickpocket someone or run into trouble without a plan, although the latter wasn't really counted for. "Hence why I'm a guilder person now. Whatever the title is. And Tobi there is my babysitter."



Not getting much attention from Nani, Cap hopped off the pirate and flew around the group. It whistled some birdie tune before perching himself on Tobi's shoulder after they They had been traveling long enough for Tobi not to freak out every time the bird did that. But Cap wasn't interested in Tobi, instead he waved a wing to Estelle and Moria. "Ahoy ladies." As a partner in crime, there were times when Cap would entertain audiences while Nani went about collecting treasures that didn't belong to her. Luckily, this time was not the case. This was just a bird boasting off his talents- of speech that is.

Cuttersbury: Streets

The weirdo guy Jett had sped around before they left the guild. Amy didn't think it was possible for anyone to be feistier than Trixie, but then this guy showed up. He stopped to ask the cleric something before getting himself distracted with Syed seconds later. Amy rolled her eyes - "Thank the gods." - and kept to herself as they walked, until Aria approached her.

"I think a fancy spa would have some nice bars, right? Looks like I'll get to buy you those drinks after all."

Drinks? Amy wasn't sure whether to smile or frown. It had been some time since they had any drinks, not since the party-gone-wrong at Aliquam. Oh, but the potential wine treatment called to her. The sparkling cherry sweetness of Los Paraisos' specialty brand - she had longed to get her hands on that bottle again. But she was sure that was the same wine that had... ugh. Like Aria, she winced as well.

"That would be... lovely. Only if someone keeps an eye on our intake." She shook her head with a chuckle. "Seems Dyn wants to punish us whenever we get our hands on alcohol."

Once Quentin drew near, Amy simply shut her mouth again and kept her eyes on the road.



Trixie trotted along the group, happily humming to herself. Her arms were hooked to the two boys for sometime, but she let them go once the conversations went flying. She was silent for sometime, surprisingly, until she remembered something and tugged on Marcus' sleeve. "Hey, you guys said 'varrens,' right? ...do you think they'll remember us? I'd remember us." She'd never seen varrens before their incident in Fenaru, so she was already convinced they were the same gang.

Cuttersbury: Guild

Judging by Amy's face, she wasn't the only who was still trying to get over what had happened the last time they had drank too much.

"Yes, definitely. I don't want a repeat of that, ever." She agreed vehemently, head nodding. "I wouldn't doubt it if the Gods were involved last time with how things ended up turning out." Especially waking up on a rooftop in- eeeeew. Even now she couldn't quite piece together what had happened.

"Ey, Ree, what you think?"

Moira's voice had her turning in curiousity. "What I think on... Ah." She bit back a huff of laughter at Quentin's face- he looked rather disturbed. Did Moira accidentally scare the poor man or something? Putting that thought aside, she played along and gave the man an exaggerated once over, humming in thought.

"Very nice to meet you, cutie," she emphasized the word teasingly. "Aria Corvus, at your service." She gave a small mock curtsey, then looked over his shoulder at Moira with a grin. "I dunno, I think he might fit the name. Though I still think the cutest one is our resident flower fairy over there." She nodded in Lulu's direction with a laugh. "Maybe he can be cutie number two. What do you think?" She gave the mage a wink, this one much less painful to the soul than Moira's was.

Ryver's post



Cuttersbury: Streets

"Soda?" Jett chuckled. "You're the third person to says that since I landed. Nah protein mix with energy drinks is my thing. Promised to be healthy. I mean healthier this year. Drink it twice a day. My third square is a normal protein shake before bed."

He stopped himself in time. Saying the word Ma would make him look like an idiot. He looked to the side when he felt someone grab his hand for awhile, shake it and then let go. The white haired (overgrown fairy, plant mage thing) kid seems shy. This group has so many young members. Cute! He gave Lute a second glance. Yup, should be kid, since the boy looked much younger than him. He swore he heard 'Lute' at some point. Interesting. Maybe the kiddo was a musician or something.

"Jett... Lute right..."

Jett blinked as he stared at the finger wagging in front of him. Mr D. mentioned something about pain and permanent. Twas hard to focus when some many people were talking at once. Must be about those tats. Boy was the man serious. D Man sounded like a teach, but way, way too radically dressed.

"Thanks for the tip, bro... errr Mr. T!" Jett smiled as he offered Syed his hand.

"So's anyone needs to pack? I needa gets stuff. Grumpy Kayne's round the corner and all."

The overly energetic Guilder raised one leg up, but quickly put it down. Gnar Man's 'cutie' pick up line seemed to work. One of the girls was approaching him. And...and... woah! Was she flirting with the dude? Jett grinned. That is, as Cutie always says, Gnarly! He stepped over to the water mage. Isn't this the perfect time to be a wing man?

"Gnar Man! Who's your... oh hi, Ms. Aria! This dude is cute isn't he. Almost like the little kiddo," Jett paused to indicate Lute, "over there. You guys sure get your hands on a lot of young prodigies. How many under eighteens do you have besides him... and her!" He glanced briefly at Trixie as he let his voice trail off.

Seems okay, so far. Now to see how Ms. Aria reacts...

Cuttersbury: Path leading to the Drych Lake Spa

“Ship… ship… yeah, whatever happened to that...?” Tobi asked himself quietly, his finger pressed to his pursed lips and his face lodged in an expression of deep thought as he overheard Nani’s conversation with Lute ahead. Just before he could finally the answer to his question, Nani’s ever faithful companion Captain fluttered off the pirate’s shoulder and came to a careful rest atop Tobi shoulder, throwing his brightly coloured feathery wing up and greeting Moira and Estelle. The marauder’s face grew into a beaming smile, and he lifted his finger up to stroke Captain’s beak.

“AH!” Estelle’s eyes lit up in joy as she saw Captain and his greeting. She completely stopped in her tracks, almost resulting in Q.T bumping into her from behind as he walked beside Amy, Aria and Jett. Estelle was completely oblivious to the man’s stumble and near fall, and quickly jogged back up to keep pace with Moira, Syed, Tobi and Captain as the water mage righted himself.

“He’s so adorable, omigosh!” Estelle was completely in love. She had a real affinity for cute animal companions such as Captain and Kapi. They, along with sweets, were one of Estelle’s biggest weaknesses. She dug into her belt’s front pouch, scrambling to pull out a piece of food and offering it out to the bird. “Polly want a cracker?”



Further ahead of the other group, and walking only slightly behind Lute and Nani, the latter who exuberantly led the team’s way to their mission, was Trixie and Marcus, with Syed right behind. As Trixie tugged on the smiling wind mage’s sleeve, he chortled at her question, and offered her his hand in case she wanted it. “Remember us? Possibly, although I’d certainly be very surprised. Varren tend to roam a lot, but there are multiple gangs of them throughout the world… not just the same pack. It’d be quite the coincidence if we did run into the same group…”

Cuttersbury - Outskirts
"So, clue me in on something. What's with him? He reminds me of a teacher who used to scold me for not paying attention in class."

"I have no idea why," Moira spat with suprising venom. "He's a Guilder." Then without another word she stormed the couple of steps up behind her partner, and smacked him around the back of the head. She gave no explanation to him either, leaving the poor mage thoroughly confused and mildly dazed as she stomped back towards Quentin and Aria. "Looks like Lute might have some competition," she smirked in response to Aria as if nothing had even happened, her words loud enough for the virtusio to hear. And everyone for that matter.

Of course, she never thought of introducing herself. Not that she was paying them any more mind, since the parrot was distracting her from them, or the incoming Jett. Cor! Something about how the bird almost sounded like it was trying to flirt was pretty funny, as far as she was concerned. "What sort of fancy-ass bird is this?" she asked. "They don't tend to try and chat people up, do they?" It was perhaps a good thing Lucien had left for a while, these two together would be a disaster.



With Jett already losing attention, and calling him a seemingly random name at that, Syed found himself free once more to watch the others around him. And the two nearest in particular.

"Nah," Syed added in response to Trixie's question as he rubbed at the back of his head. "That would be one heck of a coincidence, won't it? That said, I have no idea how far they actually roam..." He put a finger to his lips in thought. "It sounds like too much of a stretch, though." Plus, how would they even know?

"Unless..." a cheeky grin spread across his face as he bent down a little. "Unless they have some little underground meeting place, and they discuss things. Like a secret base." He chuckled at the silly thought. It did a good job of putting him off his own nerves, at least. "Maybe they've got little wanted posters of us up," he held his hands out, as if to emphisise his thoughts.

Cuttersbury: Streets

The series of events that transpired around Quentin would have left most men staggered. Fortunately for him, Quentin was not most men.

"Very nice to meet you, cutie," Aria teased. Quentin kept his smile as unassuming as possible while she gave him the once over and judged him to be runner-up to Lute. At least not everyone was a screamer or a mope. That one blonde woman - damned if he even knew her name - looked like a total drag. That was kind of weird, since basically everyone else seemed really friendly. It made little difference to the water mage; not everyone was a big talker. Besides...

"I have no idea why," Moira rumbled, approaching Syed and smacking the back of his head. Quentin felt like he was watching a comedy performance as Syed gave her a confused look. He never meant for the guy to get a smack, although Quentin did crack a smile. It was kind of funny in its own way. Besides...

"AH!" exclaimed Estelle, stopping dead in her tracks. Quentin stopped short to avoid colliding with her and almost took a tumble. Estelle ran toward the pirate girl's parrot with not the slightest indication she knew she almost was bowled over by the lanky young man. Quentin rolled his eyes in a casual way. Besides...it seemed that some people did enough talking for two. Well, it took all kinds, right?

"Gnar Man! Who's your... oh hi, Ms. Aria! This dude is cute isn't he. Almost like the little kiddo," Jett interrupted, pointing at Lute, "over there. You guys sure get your hands on a lot of young prodigies. How many under eighteens do you have besides him... and her!"

Yeah, all kinds. Still, if these guys could hold their own in a fight, and it sure looked like they had been in a few scrapes together based on their camaraderie, then that was probably all that mattered. No amount of training could replace heart, and this pack sure seemed like it had a lot of that. Quentin smiled and continued to amble along as Moira stomped back toward Aria and him. Yes, definitely a rhinoceros.

"Looks like Lute might have some competition," Moira announced to anyone listening, as if there was nothing odd about it. Then she became fascinated with Cap, as if there were nothing odd about that, either. Well, Quentin did have to admit that a talking parrot was pretty bangin'. The way Estelle and Moira were transfixed by it, Quentin would not have blamed Cap for flying away from them. He sidled up to Syed, who was envisioning himself as a man wanted dead or alive by Varrens.

"Yo, sorry about that," he said. "The smack round the back of the head like that. I didn't mean to get you in trouble like that. Q.T. Your name, dude?"

Cuttersbury – Streets

“That’s too bad. Well, I hope your probation gets lifted soon,” Lute smiled and watched as the parrot flew away from Nani. He vaguely felt Trixie let go of his wrist and turned his head to the side to see that the prankster had flitted over to Marcus, while the others walked behind them in a much slower pace. Just then, he realized that he was in the front of their merry little group- a position that implied leadership that he was sure he didn’t possess- and this inspired him to return to the rear lines where Aria and Amy were.

They were deep in conversation just as he moved in, with Quentin and Jett talking to Aria and Amy ignoring the two boys. The virtuoso didn’t have the habit of eavesdropping, but his familiar did, and that was enough for him to overhear something about age being discussed. “Sorry to disappoint you, but there’s nothing special or “prodigious” about me. I’m twenty-three years old… Give or take a year,” Lute casually interjected and shrugged his shoulders. Now that that misunderstanding was cleared up, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared off to the side, ready to remain quiet until they’ve reached their destination. The same couldn’t be said of the trio near him, though; they were a lively bunch and Aria seemed to like chatting with them. He couldn’t very well tell them to shush, right? The virtuoso sighed and erected a barrier separating him from the others and their voices lowered to a garbled, indistinguishable hum as it reached his ears. This was far more tolerable than the original.

Moira’s bellow pretty much pierced through the barrier, though.

Lute’s eyebrows knitted together as he glanced at the woman. “Competition? Er, sure. I’m good at competitions. So long as it’s not the one that has you betting your clothes. I end up naked on those kinds of things,” He muttered and looked back to the side of the street, again with the sound wall cloaking him.

Cuttersbury: Outskirts

Both Syed and Marcus thought a counter with the varrens would be surprising if anything, which Trixie herself had come to agree to as well. Until Syed started being all mischievous and talking about underground meetings and secret bases. The mole mafia. "Whooaa," Trixie's eyes sparkled with intensity. Her fists clung to her chin, and her trot now had more bounce to her step than earlier. "I didn't think about it like that! Maybe that's why they live underground!"

Her Wonderpixie alias was dying to shine through, though Quentin's interruption had snapped her back into reality. Trixie scooted herself between the two lanky boys and shook Quentin's hands (yes, both of them). "Hi Cutie! I'm Pixie--I mean Trixie! I shoot stuff and make things go boom!" She beamed brightly at him, still unaware that he was actually talking to Syed earlier. "I'm sure you know that we're all actually super special awesome superheroes. You gotta be a superhero to join us too, yaknow."

Cuttersbury: Off to Drych Lake Spa!

Cap's feathers ruffled, watching Estelle's happy reaction. When she stopped, he even glanced over at Tobi in a sort of confused way, but she quickly returned and then offered him a cracker. Well of course he'd say yes to that! Free food was the best food, but he had no idea who or what this Polly was. "No, not Polly. Captain!" At least that's what he assumed the female human meant.

Nani overhead Moria's question and grinned. "Cap, what kinda bird are ya?"

The bird whistled and then showed off his colorful feathers. "I'mma one-of-a-kind pirate bird." It made Nani laugh, barely noticing Lute wandering off to more familiar people. Till this day she wondered why her bird was such a show off, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

Nani wandered towards the front of the group, laughing as she overhead Trixie talking about being a superhero. "Superheroes are overrated, short stuff. However! Shooting things and making them go 'boom' sounds like a cool superpower if any- because that's what cannons do." She glanced back to check and make sure Cap wasn't in any sort of danger with the new people. Seeing that he was just entertaining the others, she continued on. Fortunately there was a path that led them there because she had no clue where this spa was and somehow her sense of direction was less than phenomenal compared to being out on the open seas.

Cuttersbury: Trail towards Drych Lake

The Pride’s walk towards the Drych Lake was mostly uneventful with the exception of small talk amongst the Guilders. The trek towards the lake would take nearly two hours for a normal person to complete whilst walking at an even pace, allowing the group plenty of time to converse and get to know each other, such as Estelle showing Nani her fireblade and Marcus demonstrating for Quentin’s interest a small display of wind magic. Whilst it was possible for the Pride to arrive at the scene of their mission much quicker, the risk of fatigue was enough to hold them back – being too tired to fight against the Varren infestation could lead to more complications then good. Marcus still helped to passively manipulate and boost his allies’ agility (and thus their walking speed) up however, to make the trip take half its usual time instead. They would be well and ready to tackle the monsters when they arrived… so long as they could survive the time taken to walk there.

And surviving was easier said then done…

“Are we there yet?” Asked an overenthusiastic rookie Guilder.

“No.” Replied the dull, deadpan tone of a certain young red haired swordswoman.

“Are we there yet?” Asked the overenthusiastic rookie Guilder again.

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

“NO!” Shouted Estelle again.

“Are we there ye-”

“Say it one more time and I’ll smack you!”

“Sqwark! Are we there yet?”

“Oh Captain, not you too…”

“Wait, so does that mean we’re there yet?” Asked the overenthusiastic rookie Guilder again.

“Argh!”

Even with a two hour trek being cut in half, an hour's walk could still be a long, long time...