---

Seeing the main objective for his visit to this particular meeting, he went about to complete a more secondary one. After a brief search however, he found that the one he was looking for was no longer around. Though everything considered, he should be found in the meeting that would happen later in that day. Or so, the Licenti thought.

With such thoughts in mind, he walked out of the warehouse. This time finding a smaller number of people avoiding him, mostly due to the fact that there were less people around on his way out. He walked towards the city's center, towards the location of the second meeting. Knowing himself, he almost thought necessary to set an alarm on his mobile, but in the end, no such thing was done.

He looked about the city on his way. There were all kinds of people looking at him, in a way or another. Licenti, Prae or Human, saying that Archene disregarded them may be an exaggeration, but the least that could be said was that he wasn't really concerned with their way of looking at him. None of them were getting in the way and none of them was overtly interesting.

Every now and then, he stopped walking, looked at his surroundings before taking his phone out of a pocket and checking the time. All of the times other than the last one, he could be perfectly on time for the meeting. All of them expect for this last one.

This time, Archene was late.

Nothing unexpected, as the Licenti began to briskly walk through the city towards the shop where the second meeting should happen. It could be an eventful trip if the one walking was anyone else. The Licenti strode through a number of blocks before arriving at shop's door with no problem happening on his way.

He entered the shop not long after a small group was greeted by Zeki. Maybe he was too quick or they were also late, but he felt that the time of his arrival was appropriate for the situation. Coming into the shop, Archene looked at Zeki, barely listening to his final sentence as he came in, and replied briefly, "I hope that no one has waited for to long in that case." He promptly kept walking towards the 'Professor Aeon' mentioned. It would be hard for Archene to not recognize the Immortal.

"It seems that I was able to find you," The Eximius looked at Charles briefly as the man was using his mobile, "I didn't think you would be among the people coming here. I already had plans to visit you tomorrow." He smiled at Charles, as if seeing the man in his current condition, if not worst that that, was the most common thing in the worst. He pondering on asking how the man came to become so injured, but considering the... others around, he thought against it. He could ask that another time.

"Already getting yourself properly healed, or..." He pauses briefly as he looks at the vials on his lap, "Do you require assistance?" The Licenti tilted his head slightly to the side as if pondering something despite his eyes not moving away from the Immortal.

---

---

It was atop a building of decent height which he stood, the night sky a blanket of blue-black overhead, while his eyes shown and his form remained still 'cept for his coat and hair blown by the wind. He was four blocks away, and yet still he felt the pulse of his pet, it brought a small smile to his lips as he felt it grow nearer.

She was coming to him, just as she always did when he was near.

The fingers of his left hand tightened around a cane that, just a moment ago, had not been there. At its top was an ornate design, much like the coils of a snake wrapped around a small sphere, in which was a pulsating purplish-black core of crystalized vis. A soul core...Aeris' soul core. The cane's head glowed softly from the pulsation of the core as well as sigils that were inscribed all over the surface of the object. He could feel the vis weaving its way through the artifact that he used not only to taunt his pet, but as a uniquely powerful Focus, should he ever require one.

After all, he was a practical man of many talents, so there was hardly any reason not to utilize a valuable asset as utility and leverage both, that was except for the chance of it being stolen, one might think. He chuckled at the mere thought of it, as the device was attuned to only one person, the one who held it now. Even though the soul core was not his own and belonged to the still living Aeris, its own attunement was secondary to the item he held.

Aeris moved with a purpose, her stride long and determined as she made her way toward her former Eximius. As she moved, the hollow pulsing in her chest became stronger, allowing her the knowledge of the distance shared between the two.

As she walked, her eyes drifted up to look at the sky, its blanket of darkness lending aid not only to her abilities, but to Szayeis' as well. The knowledge that his power grew with the falling of the sun had her questioning what else he might be doing elsewhere in the city. However, that wasn't the only reason she was looking up at the night, she was searching, searching for any Prae Vanguard that might be patrolling the airspace. When she didn't see anyone, and the pulsating in her chest became too much, she stopped walking and closed her eyes. A moment or two passed before she felt the familiar movement of her wings as they folded into place against her shoulderblades.

With a grin, she shot up into the night like a rocket, her body spinning in a corkscrew motion until she was just above most of the buildings where she came to an almost screeching halt; were it not for her wings slowly beating down the air she surely would have pummeted to the ground.

Once she was in the air, it didn't take her long to spot the Nightwalker who stood alone on a rooftop. WIthout a word she flew over, and then dropped down from the air where she landed, facing him, though she stood closer to the roof's edge than she did to the center.

"Szayeis." His name left her lips in an almost growl, her hands balled into fists at her sides. The pulsing, and pulling her soul-core caused her to look at the staff where its pulsating light had become multiple times brighter than it had previously been.

His grin became a full smile as his pet came into view, her winged form magestic even in his opinion. She found her perch on the building, standing only several meters from his person. He twirled his cane, which he had dubbed Ichabod's cane for...personal reasons. "Aeris," he replied, the staff coming to an abrupt stop before the bottom end met the surface of the roof with a sharp crack. "I'm so glad you could make it dear, though I admit I didn't expect you to be anywhere near here. You never seemed the sort," his close-lipped smile became a teeth revealing grin, wide, malicious...mocking.
"So what brings you here? No wait, let me guess," he tapped his chin for but a second, "...it's your dear brother isn't it. My second favorite plaything."

“So, pet, why are you here?” The question was more serious, though his face still held a smile. She would know better than to rebel here, though her hatred of him might drive her to do so anyways, not that it mattered. He couldn't harm her core to harm her, but he'd learned some new tricks lately, not to mention that Ichabod's cane was a relatively recent addition to his arsenal of tools. She had only seen it twice before, and had yet to learn to a healthy respect for the device.

He would change that at the first opportunity. After all, he relished such things.

Aeris bit back response after response as Szayeis spoke, her eyes boring into his form. If looks could kill, he'd be naught but a pool of blood on the pavement. As he continued mocking her, trying to read her expressions no doubt, all he would be able to completely read would be a wall of hate.

As if reacting to her emotions, brisn began to well up along her skin and clothing, leaving her body alight in a soft blue glow.

"Going to keep mum are we?" he said, that same mocking smile on his lips even as his eyes met hers--the look in them was one that said one thing, how futile. It was a look of pity, condescension, and amusement all wrapped into one neat nuanced little expression.

One step, two, three steps, four, five...six...eight...ten and the distance between the amused Eximius and his enraged pet was closed. With so little space left separating them, the licentia reached for her cheek, a smirk on his lips. In his right hand remained Ichabod's cane, which contained and restrained her soul core. Its nearness to her caused a resonance of sorts, causing both core and her own pulse to synchronize and speed up, yet in the same breath an interruption in the resonance asserted itself.

Aeris' heart would briefly flutter in her chest, uncomfortable...perhaps even painful, but only just. If she let his hand reach her cheek, nothing further would be done, and the fluttering would cease.

"Not silent. You're just not worth answering." The vitrol in her voice was palpable, but even with her face marred by anger, she was smiling, wide and unafraid. She chose to ignore his pitious gaze, instead choosing to meet his eyes dead-on.

When he began to walk toward her her body stiffened, but she made no visible moves to stop him.

As his hand met her cheek her eyes glowered up into his own. He had made contact with her Brisn, but it clearly wasn't affecting him, not that she was surprised.

In fact, not only had her brisn not effected him, but it flowed over his hand for a moment, as if caressing it, which was odd since the vis was one that tended to burn licentia. He leaned in closer to her, his eyes on hers, his stature putting him several inches taller than her. Using that slight advantage, his direct contact with her form and his attunement to the cane, he spoke, "I should remind you, that I hold you accountable for both your and your brother's lives. If you step too far out of line, I can always trim the family tree." As he said it, an unpleasant, almost sickening prickling spread from his hand and into her face, before disipating into her body, and settling somewhere in her torso.

He pulled his hand away from her and took one step back, still smiling, clearly unfazed by the blaze of her hatred. "Now, let me ask you again, dear. Why are you here?"

"See, but then you'd lose your actual leverage over me." Aeris' response was simple, curt, the truth. If he removed her brother from any form of her life, she would have absolutely no reason to even pretend to obey him. He would lose his favorite pet, and she knew that he wouldn't risk that, not yet.

When the prickling sensation spread over her body she grimaced, but continued her glare. "The answer to that is simple. I'm here partly because you have something that belongs to me. But then, you know that." She paused, looking over at the head of Szayeis' cane, before looking back at the licentia himself. "The other part of my being here is because I want to know why you decided to come to the surface now, what's changed that has you wanting to gallavant around Medius? Especially with you being the posterboy for the Prae's war on Licentia to begin with."

In response he only smiled at her, before pointedly turning and walking along the edge of the roof, away from her. As he did so he twirled the cane in his right hand, his arm held out over the edge of the building rather precariously. "It's funny how little you seem to value your own life," he commented almost absentmindedly before turning to walk more towards the center of the roof, still not looking at her. "As to leverage," he laughed then glanced at her, grinning, "...well, let's just say you're more fun as a pet, but more useful as a tool. Besides, you can't kill me."

"Well, its easy to devalue something when someone destroyed it multiple times over. And, I never said I'd kill you." Aeris' response was calm, a lot more calm than she was.

He met her eyes with confidence as he made that last statement, before tearing his gaze away and glancing in the direction of the meeting. He seemed, for just a moment, not to be focused on his surroundings, and then the expression was gone, his focus returned entirely. He still hadn't answered her question regarding his presence in the city, but he had never intended to truly answer that query.

Instead... “You know, I've always liked humans,” he began, before seating himself on one of the radiators that dotted the roof. “They're such intriguing creatures. Capable of so much, yet so easily snuffed out with a thought,” he snapped his fingers and a not so distant scream echoed through the night, before the piercing sound faded into memory. He grinned at Aeris while elsewhere in an alley, a poor unsuspecting homeless woman lay dead, children at her side, shaking her and crying frantically for her to wake up, asking if she was okay.

Aeris didn't visibly react to the scream as it tore through the air, her eyes remaining on the seated Szayeis. His displays of power had long since lost their grandiose shock value for her, leaving her rather subdued in cases where family or friends weren't involved.

It hurt some part of her to ignore grevous loss of life, but there was nothing she could do, even if she wanted to.

He stood and walked back over to Aeris till he was beside her. He turned his head and met her gaze, “Come,” he said, his expression now serious, suggesting only punishment awaited someone who disobeyed.

Then, a mere moment passing, his gaze turned to the open air before him before he leapt from the rooftop. His humanoid form, in an instant, became inky black darkness, like pitch flowing through the sky. After lingering a moment, the dark mass that Szayeis had become, shot forwards and away, intending Aeris to follow. He was going to show her something.

With a reluctant sigh at his command, she took a moment to let him leave the roof before she herself rose into the air and followed after him.

How she hated having to pander to him.

Miri noticed the door opening, and entered at the host’s request. He heard what the shopkeeper said, but paid no attention to him. No, Miri had more important matters on his mind. You see, our resident convicted criminal was taking note of his surroundings. Possible exits, entrances, hiding places. This kind of rebellion was bound to draw some attention from the Prae authorities. And, noticing the shop owner was a Licentia, more than likely to be raided or something along those lines. Speaking of the owner, Miri was impressed. The various wares and supplies sold at this store should have been outlawed twenty years ago. This man...no, this Licenti must have deep connections. Or, Miri was just being paranoid. Which was usually the case. After wandering over to the checkout counter, he realized there was another person in the room.
Glancing over the counter, he saw a dying man. A dying man. Of course. No meeting of the resistance could go smoothly. This host had seemed nice, but he just had to have a dying man stashed behind his counter. To compliment that, he was talking to shadows outside. With the door swung wide open. Miri could tell this was going to be an...interesting night. He decided to turn away from the possible corpse. This was a lot to process. He took an executive decision to try and start a conversation. With the guy who kissed his...uh...significant other? Yeah. Let’s assume that. Hadn’t he tried starting a conversation with him? Ah. Miri had been rather forgetful lately. And what a better way to forget the bloody man behind the counter than to converse with someone who probably drank blood.
“Ah. In regards to your earlier to question, the name is Miri. Nice to meet you.”, he said, extending a slightly trembling hand.

---

He'd been waiting for the stranger's response when they were interrupted by the shop keeper, likely the alleged Resistance's leader...for the moment. Having opened the door, the man, revealing he was a licentia, beckoned them in and after the quiet stranger, he heeded the licenti's call, laying a hand on his shoulder a moment as he passed. “I hope you don't plan to screw this up,” he said seriously, though the slightest of bemused smirks could be found on his lips.

Then the moment was gone, his hand lifted as he entered the shop and looked around. It was the back room, yet it was very well furnished considering that fact. Nonetheless, all kinds of trinkets, magical and otherwise, could be found strewn this way and that, some within protective glass, crystal, or cages, others hidden within cloth bags, or merely arranged on shelves. It was a bit haphazard, but the hunter figured that it was intentional on the shopkeeper's part. The man had an air about him that reminded him of someone he hated to think about. A certain rotten, scheming licentia by the name of Szayeis: Public enemy number one.

Turning his mind away from that he took a whiff of the room, catching a now stronger scent of blood as well as a variety of strange vis signatures from many of the surrounding merchandise. Once he'd taken a whiff of the place and gotten the lay of the land, he glanced at the once silent stranger who had, finally, decided to address him. As he regarded Miri the hunter noted more than a little bit of nervousness. He took note of it, and stored it away for later consideration as he responded, “Yes, pleased to make your acquaintance. Name's Mairyell. Just call me Mai though, shortens things up,” his tone was level, but his expression was largely neutral, in part because of the way 'Miri' had glanced around suggested paranoia, not to mention the nervous movements he made every so often. He'd seen it before and it reminded him of only one sort of person...thieves.

Still, there were more interesting people arriving, such as the kimono-wearing eximius he'd seen at the gathering. Eyes following the stranger before glancing at the wounded man, Mairyell started to head over, before he heard the eximius ask if the man required assistance. With that offer given by another, he turned his eyes away and instead let them fall onto Zeki.

As he listened to their host, he couldn't help but wonder who this other person was. He would soon find out.

---

---

With Aeris being maneuvered out of the way, he had freed himself to play instigator to Mairyell, not to mention beholden himself, at least in part, to the other members of the Resistance. The question was, should he go to the meeting as himself...or someone else.

While the thought of showing up in earnest to see the little vampire's reaction was an amusing one, it was perhaps not the wisest. Taking this into mind, Szayeis had split his awareness, infusing roughly 1/10th of his considerable vis into a man who'd been just about to retire for the night. The shadows around him coalesced before engulfing him, pulling at his clothes and forcing themselves into his mouth, eyes and ears with not a single scream. That was until his wife opened the door to the bathroom and saw her husband wreathed in darkness.

Nonetheless, her voice was cut short in the same fashion as her life, before she crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from the vicious gash in her throat. The man turned, skin covered in viscous black energy, eyes seeping the same substance, before the vis retracted into his body completely.

Looking down at himself, then at the mirror, Szayeis took stock of the human he'd possessed as he rearranged the dying man's vis in a thick shell around his own. After he'd properly situated himself within the man, using him as a disguise, he accessed the man's terrified mind and wrenched forth memory, accessing what sort of wardrobe he had and where he would find it.

With a snap of his fingers and a single step he relocated himself to the bedroom and dressed his little meat puppet. He decided to style the main's hair, parting it on the left side and slicking it down and to the right with hair gel, finishing in a rather slick look. He trimmed the facial hair clean off with the exception of a goatee and mustache. Once he was done he admired himself in the mirror, looking from head to toe at what he's chosen to wear. He'd chosen a a white dress shirt tucked into tan slacks, with black shoes, which was something he'd likely never wear under normal circumstances, which made it perfect. To top things off he picked a long button-up coat from the dresser and slung it over his shoulder, using some extended shadows to position it perfectly.

Then he found the man's wallet, read his ID and rifled through everything else. He even found a family photo with his vessel, James Hagar as well as his late wife and two beautiful daughters. A dark smile came over his face as he silently exited the man's bedroom and stalked through the house.

He stopped at the closed doors of their children's room and smiled as he felt a rise of fear and nausea emanate from James' trapped consciousness.

"Beautiful," he said with the man's voice, his hand reaching the door knob, turning it, before opening the door. His vessel's anxiety rose and rose with each movement as Szayeis entered the room, looked between the two daughter's beds, Emily and Daisy were their names. After a moment of contemplation, he laid a hand on the younger girl's cheek...and then poured vis into her body, letting it settle at her breast. Afterwards he felt drained, but it didn't last long as he touched the older sister and drained her vis. She wouldn't wake up for a long time.

Pleased with himself, he exited the room, closing the door, and then made his way out of the house and down the street. He did love his tragedies, he thought, as he considered the terrible future for the two siblings. They'd be...back ups for Aeris and Mairyell, just in case he had to get rid of them, or killing one destroyed the other. Besides, this time he could have an associate adopt them as foster children. Oh he would relish raising them...making them beholden to him, the man who had killed their parents—not that they would ever know.

Taking in a deep breath of the sweet night air, he shifted through a shadow to find himself relocated to the alley next to the Twilight Spirit. Further wreathing his vis with that of his vessel, he erased his true signature, though he did not replace it completely. Instead he intermingled the human vis with his own licenti essence. Then he had them engage in an intricate internal dance.

He had had Mairyell hunt him for centuries, he was hardly going to be caught now.

Entering through the open door, Szayeis, smiled at everyone, “Hehe, sorry, I wasn't sure if I should join you.” He gave Zeki an apologetic look before he glanced around and found a seat. As he put on the act, Szayeis took stock of those who had shown up.

'Charles Aeon, Mairyell Kasio, our host Zeki Glaedwine, Archene--an Eximius lord--and...Miri? Huh, didn't expect to see him anytime soon. I wonder if he knows about...no, probably not.' Internally he smiled. He loved knowing things that no one else did, after all...knowledge was power so it truly paid in spades to have a monopoly on it.

Killian Damien Jones

Killian inched his frame out of the car, eyes glued upon the small store's entrance, before tuning them towards his companions. Oscar wouldn't be a problem. Azulia on the other hand showed every sign of mourning. Then again there where still humans who did tend to stick to gothic traditions, as if shouting to the prae that they were rebels waiting for a massive war, which would most likely happen sooner then wanted. Or at least in the guy's opinion.

He glanced at his party once again before clearing his throat. Damn did the man want to tell them to stay put but in the other hand none of the three knew what to expect. Would they open the entrance to a massive blood bath? We're there enemies inside laying in wait to ambush them? Was the bad ass professor finally killed? "Impossible. The outcome so far had been proved to be a challenge. Well considering what the professor had been through over the years I've known him."The human thought to himself. As if the man had found the fountain of immortality. Something which even the kindest of souls would kill in order to gain a everlasting life.

The man nearly choked on the idea. Where had that single thought originated? Was it always there inside the back of his mind just waiting for the perfect timing to strike? " Focus on taking care of the professor. After that ask what happened."The human mumbled to himself as he turned right at the front of vehicle. Once at the left corner Killian turned left and walked to the passenger side, discreetly avoiding accidentally slamming in Oscar. He opened the glove apartment, practally throwing newspaper clippings into the floor, then mentioning something to the effect of found it out loud.

At first glance the small object looked like a leather bag but closer inspection would tell other wise. On the front, where the paint had lightened in color, showed the familiar first aid symbol. At the edges the black paint had worn down to reveal the usual red coloring. Killian quickly opened the bag, noting that the kit had been recently filled with basic medical supplies, ostensible nodding while shutting the bag.

"Azulia, might I suggest on waiting on giving that letter to Charles? At least until we know what exactly happened and if he's truly injured?"He commented. The human patiently waited for her response, giving a slight nod to show he had received the message, and lead the small unit to the entrance. When the man was directly at the door he placed a hand on the knob, being as quiet as possible to open it on instinct. There was no doubt this would backfire on the three of them later on which could lead towards a punishment of some shorts. A well earned action in the human's mind.

The man forced himself to completely open the object, releasing a small groan at noticing a tiny crowd of strangers, as well as looking for his friend.

To Zeki's delight, his little room was getting full. Charles, however, didn't seem to share his enthusiasm.

"Do you really think it’s wise to invite a wolf among the sheep?”
“It also doesn’t appear you have any sort of security which makes me ponder how well this little group will do in the long run.”

Zeki lowered himself by the downed man's side, to whisper to him, and him alone.

"I am the security. Any meeting requiring it, I am there. Otherwise, I do not prefer to handle things myself, that is to Roger. He is handling the rally organization right now because it does not need security.
I do not know your age, immortal, but don't forget, you don't know mine, though on the latter we are on equal footing. As far as wolf in sheep's clothing, they are more than welcome. I will be severely disappointed if none showed. Don't worry for your safety, it's taken care of."

Pulling himself up, Zeki pulled himself up from the ground with his cane, using it as an excuse to tap his cane to the ground. The air would slowly turn heavier in the room, though not uncomfortable.

Motion Thief

It was simply Zeki's insurance, it would rob objects of high speeds, not that anyone in here would be showing such a showing, hopefully.

Zeki then turned to greet the rest of the people once more who walked in. His eyes flashed (literally considering they were flame) with even more happiness as he saw Archene. Licenti could be so fickle, Eximus more so (he should know). One actually showing up was more than welcomed. Zeki now believed they had the manpower to succeed in their mission. More had from the door entered.

“I hope you don't plan to screw this up,”

One had some spunk. Zeki responded.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'all roads lead to Rome?'"

Others shuffled in.

One definitely felt like the shade he had felt outside, and Zeki's face furrowed in surprise. He hadn't actually expected the man to come inside, not that he wasn't welcomed. He definitely was likely a 'wolf'. Oh well, at least Zeki got his wish.

"I believe we are all here. I will begin the-"

The door opened, another human walking in, the man was scanning for something.

"Welcome to the Resistance?"

Shaking head, Zeki picked up a pointer for his slideshow.

"In any case, I'm starting now. The plan is simple. The Prae have jailed many innocent people. We, of the Resistance, are going to set them free, and add many to our numbers. Our advantage is that so far the Resistance has done nothing more than annoy them, and cause marches and rallies to express our disgust. There is a rally tomorrow that will serve as a distraction to our goal. The Prae just love to stop these rallies and arrest people during them as a show of peace. That takes manpower, which means less manpower over their jails. We will move quickly, and strike before they have a chance to mount a defense. The rally is a gambit, and we can't let it be in vain. With our friend Eximus here, I believe we have the raw power to break inside.

Once there, try and arm the prisoners, many of them are stronger than the Prae give credit for. Honestly, the reason I'm starting this as our first operation is I'm afraid they'll start trying to break out on their own, which will lead to increased security. Now, I have a few slides with the details of the prisons, the weakest points. I paid handsomely for information about the guard shifts."

Zeki then went through a slideshow showing the weakest points of the prison, the southeast, and where he would like the groups to strike from, and finished his presentation. He wanted Charles and Archene to lead them in two different groups. One to sneak inside, and cause chaos from there, and the other to strike from the outside to get the guards attention.

"Questions?"

---

Charles’ curled head snapped up from his phone when his ears caught Zeki’s approach. His eyes tightened in suspicion while the shopkeeper edged to his left side and lowered down beside him. Then the Licenti leaned into to whisper into his ear. The voice tickled at the professor’s skin causing his figure to tense in reaction to the closeness, his nerves strained taut from the unexpected action. His head jerked back in alert as most his encounters with the Licentia had often been hostile, stirring his natural defenses up. His hand had already shimmered with his vis but the action itself would be less than effective, he feared, for survival.

"I am the security. Any meeting requiring it, I am there. Otherwise, I do not prefer to handle things myself, that is to Roger. He is handling the rally organization right now because it does not need security. I do not know your age, immortal, but don't forget, you don't know mine, though on the latter we are on equal footing. As far as wolf in sheep's clothing, they are more than welcome. I will be severely disappointed if none showed. Don't worry for your safety, it's taken care of."

The words ring in Charles’ attention and for a moment, he felt young and inexperienced compared to this being beside him. There was only a few times in his vast life when he had such a sensation and few were anything he considered worth visiting or recalling. For several moments, he silently eyed the individual before him. The aura Zeki gave, intentional or not, seemed to remind Charles of his blood Aunt. Secretive and more than what she appeared, both these traits were dangerous in the right mind and required caution when dealing with them.

A slight dread etched into his heart because he was ill prepared for the task.

“Careful what you wish for… everyone has their limits and you’re not the only one involved in this little rebellion. Every step we make from here on out will determine if we succeed or fail.” Charles quietly warned, his voice hard to read for a moment. The magic shimmering at his fingers ceased as he relaxed and slumped back, his vision still focused on the Licenti. When Zeki raised up, Charles noted the Licenti tapped his cane into the ground. The motion was hard to catch and if he hadn’t already been looking, he might’ve missed it. The air weighed down suddenly.

Gradually, Charles turned his head toward Zeki, indicating he knew the source and said nothing. Pain and thought mingled in his mature eyes causing him to wisely absorb the experience like a student adjusting to newly learned fact before the others arrived. One, an Eximius Lord, came to stand in front of him causing the professor to glance upward. His eyes met a familiar sight that caused him to pause.

"It seems that I was able to find you," His lips curled into a smile and then seemed to ponder on something, then seemed to shift his topic. "Already getting yourself properly healed, or..." He pauses briefly as he looks at the vials on his lap, "Do you require assistance?"

Charles’ arm resumed to press in at his side and ceased the bleeding, slight red discoloration the bandage farther. The pain hadn’t ebbed in the least while it flared across his ribs and flesh, his arm able to feel the slightly swollen muscle underneath. He suspected it would be purplish by now. The color drained and pallor save where the healing was focused at. It was never pretty to watch him gradually heal, the ages failed to improve what was effective enough from the curse as he adjusted himself within his seat. He hissed in discomfort then took in Archene a bit more, his eyes noted the key details that set the Licenti apart from others of his kind and stirred another memory. Immediately, Charles started to scourge inside his vast mental library to locate the identity of the individual.

Archene.

The name came easily enough and a displeasure washed over shortly after, a general bitterness rotating around the last time they met. It wasn’t directed at the Licenti himself, but rather the scene before and the results that followed. Blood, violence, and worst were connected to that memory. Charles pushed it aside when he collected what he needed. He then addressed one of the only Eximius Lords he actually trusted and met in his past, his voice calm despite his condition.

“It nearly seems that at some adversity in my life, you seem to find the time to show up. Usually when I am heavily damaged. I’m almost wondering if you’re doing this on purpose,” Charles voice had little accusing tone toward the Licenti. His face turned back to the two discarded vials at his side then looked back to Archene and debated on his offer. Compared to Zeki’s questionable offer, Archene was the safer since the Licenti had saved him numerous times. “As much as I dislike merely declining our host’s generous offer, I’m wary of it. Do you have any idea how to either tell those two vials apart or have a less painful offer?”

His ears heard their host speak again, "I believe we are all here. I will begin the-"

Another squeak of the door opened and another human walked in, someone that Charles knew. Killian. The professor sighed then hoisted himself upright from his seat, his arm still pressed to his side while the trio entered.

Already, Zeki was greeting them. "Welcome to the Resistance?"

Ignoring Zeki’s persistence to get the meeting started, Charles frowned deeply at the teenager who currently walked over him. Worry was easily to spot on Killian’s figure and seemed edgy about the door being left open. Something the professor knew well related to the boy’s past. “I didn’t tell you where I was for you to find me.”

Being upright, Charles briefly glimpsed to the others in the room to commit to memory for a moment. That’s when Zeki shook his head then picked up his pointer, beginning the meeting. Not wanting to interrupt, the immortal gestured to Killian, Oscar, and the young woman to take a seat near him before the shopkeeper’s voice rang out.

---

Hearing his friend speaking before standing up with certain dificulty, Archene spoke, "You can't blame me for always finding adversity," He gave Charles another friendly smile before going to the man's side putting an arm under his own to make it easier for him to stand upright, "It isn't like I would start wars just so you'd be hurt when I visit you or anything. How did you even get hurt this time?" The Licenti let out a quiet chuckle, only briefly giving another glance at the new arrivals before giving a thoughtful look at the vials. While he was able to notice that the liquids inside had a certain concentration of vis, it certainly wasn't enough for him to know which was less likely to kill the one drinking.

"No matter how much I look I am unable to tell them apart, sadly." The sentence, however somber it may have sounded, was accompanied by a soft smile, "But as always, I can offer a Seed of mine for yourself. It might make you feel a bit drained for a few hours, but by the time our mission begins, you should be in proper condition. Before you ask, yes, you can have it removed afterwards, though I hope you let me doing it myself rather than making any forceful attempts."

After that moment, the Eximius attention shift from Charles to the others sharing the room with him. He takes a better look at the host, Zeki, his brows particularly furrowing as he feels that the vis in the room getting denser. Probably a safety measure, Archene notes to himself. As for the other Licenti present, the ones who had arrived before him that is. While his eyes stay on them, as if studying them, they soon turn to the late comer. This time he does look at him for a considerable number of moments. 'Second, possibly third generation hybrid. This city truly has all kinds of interesting things.'

Lastly, his eyes wandered to the last trio arriving, humans seemingly quite acquainted with Charles. Specially considering how he beckons them to come to his side. While he does spend a moment to look at them as individuals, soon enough the presentation begins and his eyes return to Zeki.

As the slides go by and Zeki's explanation ends, Archene looks at their host. Hearing them asking if the people have questions, the Eximius Lord spoke, "Before anything else, even considering there is no problem or flaw in the method to arm the prisioners and getting them out. What is the plan for afterwards? Mere mayhem until they are captured again, or killed. Or is there a proper plan to get them to come along with us, as well as means to get them out of there?" He pauses briefly, "A place for them to be will also be necessary in that case."

---

The room was smaller than the man would have like. Yes there was room to walk around, unlike so many bedrooms in his past, even with the set up but something was off about it. The human was just about to curl his fingers around the answer which laid on the tip of his tongue until a voice called out welcome to the resistance. Killian's jaw tightened as his stomach slowly filling his insides with both a small pit and a sickening feeling. This couldn't be good. Especially if Charles since sitting inside this room.

His head turned back towards the middle as his body slowly felt odd. It wasn't heavy to cancel out movement but it was noticeably. Even from those who had just walked inside the store it seemed. As the two made eye contact instantly the guy knew his teacher wasn't the least bit happy about the three being there. Than again it always seemed like he was always surprised by the student's actions, though the trust which the 19 year old placed on the man would have clashed his lack of judement years ago. When the three seemed to be summoned the guy sighed quietly while listening to the meeting going on. If Charles was into some troublesome shot the man wanted to know. Granted at the moment a Licenti had helped the professor up. Even though his facial features didn't show the surpirse which his mind held but to be honest Killian was still suspicious of this act of kindness.

Walking forward the human gave his usual nodding greeting before noting the hand pressed against his side. A sure sign of keeping someone from bleeding to death. Something which Killian was quite familiar with in his troubled past. Though unlike the professor the friend was unable to make it. Mainly due to having several bullet wounds, allowing blood to escape from his friend's body quickly, thankfully from what Killian could tell the comrade passed away with as little pain as possible. On the contrary to the ones who had failed their jobs or even ran away like he had.

He shook his head clear and focused on the problem in front of him. The guy couldn't help one of those people but he could sure as hell help Charles. He opened the medical bag, shifting through the items inside, until finding the thing he wanted. It was a small circliar piece of wood, an inch thick in diameter and about two or three in length, just big enough to fit inside a human's mouth. Around the item were faint bit marks showing how many times Killian had used it. The piece of wood was used to keep quiet when injured on the job. "Bite down on this. I need to get this cleaned up and when we get home I'll give you some pain killers. Unless you plan on another suicide run which I advise against. Considering there's a girl who you sent me after." he said more in a hiss than a whisper.

---

While he found somewhere to lean against the wall, his preferred method of relaxing if he wasn't to sleep, the hybrid watched the proceedings, keeping an eye on the door. As if to reward this one man entered, followed moments after by a small group of...children? They gravitated over towards the oddly young looking fellow with odd vis. They sure did have an interesting assortment of people, that was certain. With everyone settled, it appeared their host decided it was time to begin the mission briefing.

He listened closely, keeping the licenti's earlier comment to him in mind, as well as the strange weight in the air--which he had noted was accompanied by a scent matching that of their host--and of course the words he'd meant only the Professor to hear. Of course, it was rather difficult to hide things from him. That in mind, he found his eyes--unbidden--being drawn to the allegedly human stranger who had entered before the three kids. The fellow was a bit off somehow, but he couldn't place it. Maybe it was something in the individual's posture...or perhaps their vis? He checked both, but still couldn't place it, so he filed it away for consideration and turned his attention to the eximius.

"Before anything else, even considering there is no problem or flaw in the method to arm the prisioners and getting them out. What is the plan for afterwards? Mere mayhem until they are captured again, or killed. Or is there a proper plan to get them to come along with us, as well as means to get them out of there?" Then the eximius paused and Mairyell cocked his head to the side slightly, regarding him with interest. The eximius continued, "A place for them to be will also be necessary in that case."

As the licenti finished, he found himself nodding before he spoke up, “I imagine that part of the plan is to use the armed prisoners to cause a riot, making it difficult for the prae to capture even a majority of them. However, our eximius friend raises a good point, where are they to hide and how are they to escape the observation of our enemy when they control the police, swat, their own personal forces, and have access to street cameras?” He glanced to Zeki as he spoke, raising an eyebrow questioningly, his expression still unimpressed. In truth he was at least mildly pleased with the man, as his having gathered data regarding the guard shifts and the layout of the prison had been fairly impressive, considering what he himself knew regarding prae security. "To hide any of them, we're going to need to split up and trickle into various areas of the city, I'd suggest. Am I to assume you've prepared such locations? Or is this also a distraction?"

Having noted that the rally was a distraction, he couldn't help but wonder if the earlier gathering had been as well. It had not been well hidden, even if it had been out of the way and far from the city center. It would have been easy for the prae to swoop down and take them all by surprise. Given their host's odd sensibilities--revealed in part by what he'd said to the Professor--and methodology so far, well he couldn't help but be a measure suspicious. If the man did not have all the answers, it would go a long way towards convincing him to trust the man, but if he did, it spelled trouble though also told him that this...Zeki was a very cunning planner, at the very least.

So which would it be?

---

Charles hissed in pain when his arm was stretched and looped over Archene’s neck, his hand still pressed against his side to stop the bleeding. The hairs on his neck nape rose in alert until he spotted the familiar pale face, black horned and warm smile of Archene causing Charles to immediately release his tension. Inhaling slowly, slight guilt wafted over Charles’ mind at his own jumpy reaction toward his only ally in the room. His head turned to notice the Licenti idly studying him with a concerned expression, something that rarely happened with strangers. It was strange for him to realize Archene was the oldest acquaintance he had within the room drawing more focus into the guilt swelling at his throat and deep within his heart.

At the mention of starting wars, Charles couldn’t help the soft chuckle despite the pain, “All the wars were rather…. Haphazardly put together. They resulted in unneeded and often terrible blood shed, including most often mine. It’s a boon that the American revolution wasn’t crushed in its infancy.”

Inhaling a moment, he continued onward in order to answer the question, “This time, it wasn’t because of a war, but a series of unfortunate events associated with Prae. I will fill you in on it much later if you have no objections staying the night. Of course, if you have better accommodations I fully understand.”

Charles held his breathe while he watched Archene, his expression fell into disappointment when Archene revealed he couldn’t tell them apart. Taking them from the Licenti, the professor placed them back on the counter and listened to the other alternative. When mention about the Seed came, his head turned toward and glanced at Archene. Gradually, a faint smile crept across the immortal’s face as he submitted to the only option he had.

“Why am I not surprised you would offer your ‘seeds’? You’ve been trying to get into me since you’ve met me and I’ve managed to never need it,” He began before his opposite hand then raised, with palm turned upright, to offer it to Archene, “Considering I trust you more, I will accept your offer. Just please remove it when it’s done its job.”

That was when the door opened. Casually two of his students waltzed inside, interrupting Zeki, with a young half Prae in their wake. The younger woman looked tired and gradually found a chair, her form plopped into it where it stayed. Killian on the other hand was rummaging through his bag, pulling out bandages to dissolving stitches then set them on the counter. His hand held out a stick for Charles to bit down before he commented on the girl. Charles inwardly groaned, his expression held no clue to his feelings, as he realized Azulia was due to arrive today. The day had been an emotional rollercoaster ending with him plummeting into a freefall and pointlessly trying to catch himself, failing only to fall into the churning sea of danger ahead.

Charles frowned at his inefficiency as he replied, “This isn’t my first time getting injured. Despite the fact I don’t like pain, I can tolerate it enough not to yell while you attend to the wounds and bandage them again.”

Pausing his offered hand to Archene, he casually reached for his shirt end and adjusted it to better expose his wound. The white bandages were only slightly pink with the blood pooling at the center where it was deepest. Lifting his arm higher so the student could reach the upper rib cage and still be able to hold it out to Archene.

His ears then caught Archene’s and Sanguine asked, their points covered some of the things he himself had been wondering about. In addition, there was the issue about hiding their identities. A few of those present had much to lose if they became a target of the Prae and living on the run would be very difficult within the city. Charles waited until the other’s questions had been answered before he would began to speak, adding his own on top of what was already pushed forward.

“Careful what you wish for… everyone has their limits and you’re not the only one involved in this little rebellion. Every step we make from here on out will determine if we succeed or fail.”

Zeki simply gave a smile. It wasn't quite true in his mind. The professor was partly correct. HE had his limits. But humans never seemed to. It was infact what he was relying on. His security was exactly that, security. The real operation, win or fail, would be carried about by humans.

He was glad to see the Eximus exhibit some sort of healing. Zeki was worried the professor wasn't going to take the vials, and Zeki would have to cure him himself. He couldn't afford to waste too much energy. He knew others were around. He doubted an attack, though the heavy air said it wasn't outside the realms of possibility. The Eximus's services came with questions however

"Before anything else, even considering there is no problem or flaw in the method to arm the prisioners and getting them out. What is the plan for afterwards? Mere mayhem until they are captured again, or killed. Or is there a proper plan to get them to come along with us, as well as means to get them out of there?" He pauses briefly, "A place for them to be will also be necessary in that case."

---

【Lᴀsᴛ Pᴏsᴛ】 ✶ 【Nᴇxᴛ Pᴏsᴛ】

To this, Zeki turned, his flaming eyes looking at Archene. He had to be reminded occasionally his mind wasn't as clever as a humans, others would pick up on it sometimes. He hated that, but had to accept it. His answer was flat.

"Yes."

Archene wasn't the only one with questions however, the other Licenti spoke up before Zeki elaborated.

“I imagine that part of the plan is to use the armed prisoners to cause a riot, making it difficult for the prae to capture even a majority of them. However, our eximius friend raises a good point, where are they to hide and how are they to escape the observation of our enemy when they control the police, swat, their own personal forces, and have access to street cameras?” He glanced to Zeki as he spoke, raising an eyebrow questioningly, his expression still unimpressed. In truth he was at least mildly pleased with the man, as his having gathered data regarding the guard shifts and the layout of the prison had been fairly impressive, considering what he himself knew regarding prae security. "To hide any of them, we're going to need to split up and trickle into various areas of the city, I'd suggest. Am I to assume you've prepared such locations? Or is this also a distraction?"

Zeki's frown turned to a smile. He wasn't the only one with such a way of thinking the was readable.

"So close, and yet so far. You have a few good questions, and others you ask knowing the answer. Now, you admit the Prae couldn't capture a majority of them, then the sentence worry about the street cameras? As if they didn't already know these people. Too much information to process is far worse than no information at all. Now, where will they go? Home of course."

Zeki's smile didn't fade, but the way his voice danced seemed almost creepy. It was as if he was playing a game he was very adept at.

"It's a matter of logistics. The Prae cannot keep up. If they deploy all their forces, they don't have a chance. They couldn't reach the prisoners in time, and would lose many forces in the attempt. You are correct, arming them does tend to help. I will assist in those logistics.
I'm still fairly sure they'll try to capture them, but it won't end well. If they could, I wouldn't have much hope for a rebellion myself. If I send them to safehouses, they have targets, all their targets gather in one place. One place that's fairly... explosive I'm sure. Street cameras would easily track them if we give a convoluted route, it'd add time to the hunt, and time isn't on our side. If they all go home, who will they chase down? These people won't be captured as easily a second time. In addition, such propaganda as these people who had 'licentia' possessing them suddenly appearing home, find, dandy, and not too pleased. The Prae are popular, we cannot pretend that is not a truth.

The Prae will predictably crack down and try to save face, but they'll have whole neighborhoods that refuse to let them in. Those are nice places to operate I find. The Prae will turn both eyes there, though a blind eye at that.

Gentlemen, I'm may be eccentric, but I have been around the block once or twice, this isn't my first resistance. Now, who wants refreshments?"

Zeki made his way to table in the back of the room, cutting himself a piece of brownie. He wouldn't eat it of course, but it was always getting the first person served that was the hardest.

---

---

The proceedings were going well, and yet his face looked surprised and intrigued by it all, rather than pleased. Of course, it was all an elaborate act, most of his emotions after all. His attention flitting back and forth between his delicious pet, Zeki, and Archene, Szayeis was taking mental notes of everything going on and everyone present. He even got to see something mildly interesting, a girl who appeared to be a human-prae hybrid. My were those becoming more and more common.

His attention shifting away as he began deciding how to present his 'character' to the others, the incognito nightwalker decided to voice his opinion. “Are...are you sure things will go that smoothly though? After all...isn't that infamous monster in town? The eximius the prae are looking for. He's on all the wanted posters and all over the net. You know the one. Szayeis.” There was a frown on his flesh-puppet's face, and a seemingly genuine tone of worry in his voice. “Or...are we going by the mantra that the enemy of your enemy is your friend?” Following that he fell silent, shuffling his feet slightly, as if uneasy and unsure if he truly wanted to stay. The reality was of course, completely to the contrary, not that it really mattered.

---

---

Largely satisfied with the response from their host, Mairyell laid back, smiling slightly and nodding his head. He had to admit, the eccentric shop keeper had won him over—though whether he could truly be trusted well...only time would tell. Speaking of which, what time was it? This in mind he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. He then sent Aeris a message, which read:

'Meeting is going well. First mission is a prison break. Be safe, see you later,' he paused a moment and then, almost reluctantly added a small heart at the end, before sending the message and stowing his phone away.

It was then that their last arrival spoke up. Glancing at the human...or was it hybrid? It was strange, he was getting an odd read off the man. Well, hybrids weren't too horribly uncommon, especially in Ominar, which he had always found a bit odd. Pushing the thought into the back of his mind he found himself frowning at the fellow, clearly disappointed. He wondered why the man had even come if he was going to think like tha--....

His thoughts cut off abruptly as the man said that one abhorrent name. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his jaw clenched tightly, his vis spiking ever so slightly. He continued breathing to calm it down, and he forced his eyes closed, if only so no one could see them turning bright crimson.

So what Aeris had said was indeed true, that bastard was in the city.

He'd have to make sure to pay him a little visit.

---

Archene listens to the hybrids concerns before listening to Zeki's reply. And having his own concerns about the operation answered by Zeki, the Eximius Lord briefly nodded, "A plan simple enough to simply strain Prae relations with Humans while giving this resistance a, good image." He seems to ponder on something briefly, nothing truly important in fact, before listening to the hosts offer for refreshments. He only shakes his head, declining it as he looks again at humans by him.

He gives Charles a light smile as he hears his answer, "I thank you for finally accepting the offer," he says almost mockingly before chuckling quietly, the hand from the arm not supporting Charles closing around its own thumb, a nearly imperceptible cracking sound being made as he forms a Seed within his hand.

Looking at Charles' palm, his own hand comes from under it, hitting the back back of Charles' hand. A distinct numbness of the size of a sunflower seed could be easily felt in the back of the Immortal's hand. A numbness that didn't fade even as the Eximius moved his hand off, allowing it to once again rest by his side. Given the Immortal's abilities, it would be hard for him to notice a certain continuous drain of vis coming from the Seed at this point.

"See, didn't hurt a bit. Give it a while and it will start helping you." He offers his friend a smile before saying, "As for the offer to stay with you for the night, I'll be more than glad to accept."

As a last figure came into the room, even later than himself or others who came clearly later than him, Archene looked at him, assessing the man briefly. A flamboyant human with strong physical features. With reasons as clear as water, Archene averted his eyes.

Listening to the question on Szayeis, he speaks rather seriously facing the seemingly hybrid Licenti, "While I will not regard him as an enemy, I have no reasons to consider him an ally for now. Not with as much information as I currently have." He pauses briefly before looking at Zeki, "As for the resistance as a whole, I don't believe we have proper reasons to side with or against him." He smiles at Zeki, "But I would truly like to hear your..." He seems to muse on a proper word for a moment before uttering, "Opinion, in regards to this."

---

[/center]

The interaction between the men told Killian that they knew each other. The atmosphere didn't feel cheerful and care free. Then again after the attack nothing would have that cheerful and care free atmosphere anymore. So was this the person who attacked their professor? No, there was a little bit of an uncomfortable feel in to it but nothing which suggested mortal enemies or the feeling of death in the air, as if they were inside a funeral home. Shaking his head clear from any other distracting thoughts, as a hand shifted inside the bag, while checking items off a mental list.

Each item was placed in a chaotic order, but since the human had done this type of thing so many times, a hand naturally removed the old bandage job. The man tried to turn out most of the conversation, only jerking his eyes upwards when the mention of a seed, while wiping the injury with a alcoholic pad with came with any basic first aid. The next items to be put inside his grasp was a second pad with a hook like needle that would make the stitch work a bit more easier.

"You're lucky that I had some pain killers left Charles. I want to know everything that happened old man. Everything without the whole dodging the issue please. As a student I would like to also advise you to relax for a few days and as your doctor for the day I'm telling you to take the pain killers on the table every 4 hours and when we get home I'll grab out some antibiotics that came in yesterday." The guy said in a stern voice while carefully the stitching the wound close." Whoever made this injury sure did a very good job. Though its apparent that their goal was to let you slowly bleed to death. At least that's my guess." He mumbled.

Once the stitches were don't Killian wrapped them up as tightly as possible in order to limit the teacher's movements for the rest of the night. The human turned towards the counter and grabbed the pain killers, placing them inside Charles' hand, as the mention of an offer came up. His eyes darted between the men as what seemed to be a frown slowly crept on his lips, only to be replaced by the usual blank look that he was accused to using. The smile caused an uncomfortable feeling to seep into his stomach as the conversation came to an end. Killian's voice toned down to a whisper towards the mentor." You're injured, have a what looks like a teenaged girl to raise, and you're inviting people over willy nilly. Good way to get yourself killed Charles."

---

When Killian cut the wrap easily with the scissors, Charles shivered at the touch. The bandages fell off then pooled into the floor at his feet before being tossed away by the student. The young man’s attention finally turned to what he was patching. A few bones were bent inward and swelled, gradually mending the damage caused. Several missed splinters were removed as Killian started to clean then attend to the wound.

Listening to the conversation playing out between Zeki, Archene and Mairyell, Charles noted that one of Archene’s comments was all for making the Prae’s public image suffer. However, Charles didn’t enjoy making their public image burn up in smoke. Primarily because if the Prae had nothing to lose image wise, their tactics could become unreasonably aggressive and difficult to work around for the resistance. At least that was one possible outcome he could think of immediately. Humanity might have the numbers in the city, but it was hardly an advantage in Charles’ mind over how little they knew about their oppressors or their counter tactics.

Debating about pulling this point up, Charles was interrupted by Archene’s voice directed at him. There was a hint of mockery in his friend’s tone causing him to pause at it.

His lips tightened in question slightly then receded in acceptance when Archene chuckled. It was followed by a display of the seed forming in Archene’s hand before he touched the lower half of Charles’ hand with a soft tap. Unsure what to expect, the immortal’s expression promptly braced for a painful experience and scrunched his face up.

Gradually, Charles’ right eye then followed by his left opened up slowly. If it wasn't for the numbness and Archene’s comment, he would've questioned if the Eximius had done anything at all.

At Killian, Charles couldn’t help the reply to follow the man's comment, "I’ve made due before I met you and with much worse injuries. As for intentions behind the injury… they are complicated and I would appreciate it if you would drop it.”

Charles’ arm lowered as Killian finished up his task, the student's paranoid nature rearing its ugly head heavily.“I’m in no condition to protect us and I trust him. If those Prae that paid me a house visit return…”

He purposely let his statement trail off for the boy to piece together. Neither the fifteen year old or himself was in any shape to protect themselves from any attack and having additional assistance was welcomed in the immortal’s mind. He mainly didn’t want either of his responsibilities dying before their time and at least Archene would assist him in that task. Taking a moment, he breathed then made one last comment. “I’ll figure out arrangements after we leave. It might be a little crowded, but I'll get it sorted.”

Guilt swelled in his conscience over forgetting his responsibilities as he mentally tried to ease it, his attention lingered over the child sleeping in the chair. Her image reminded him of her mother. The thought nailed deeper the stigma that he was now her current guardian and should’ve had her care as his primary focus. Not this and tomorrow he would resolve in correcting it.

There was little use in dwelling on his failures of the day, Charles noted before their quietest member stepped forward. The professor’s eyes shifted to the individual when he heard the name Szayeis mentioned.

Again, his mind flipped through his mental collection of information and shortly found what he was looking for. Szayeis. An Eximius whose name was at the top of the Prae’s most wanted list and name smeared for reasons not fully clear.

One of their number seemed to believe the Prae propaganda and it was odd to Charles why such an individual would show up at the meeting designed to undermine them. He was about to give his view on it when Archene beat him to it. Much like Charles himself, the Eximius was on the fence when it came this Szayeis character and Charles agreed since the lack of information couldn’t help determine the Licenti’s reputation.

“To start with, I have an issue with arming the prisoners,” He voice his thoughts for the first time when he spotted the break in the conversation. His hand pulled upright and declined the offer made by Zeki, the immortal’s mind turned to address things in the order they were discussed.

“Doing so, we end up giving the guards rights to defend themselves with more aggressive tactics. I’m not too keen on leaving more bodies in the fray for either party, even if the chaos gives us an edge,” Charles’ views obviously didn’t begrudge the guards-who he assumed would be mostly human- for doing their job or the prisoners for wanting to escape. The hand that Archene had planted his seed in had numbed in a spot causing him to shake some feeling into it, “At least without being armed, the guards will likely be less aggressive and focus more on subduing them then merely shot first. This makes things more difficult for them in reining in the situation.”

Adjusting his position to lean against the counter, Charles made one final point on the matter, “Another matter to keep in mind, not all of those individuals are completely human or without means to defend themselves. I’m sure some of the humans are mages and Licentia tend to have some form of magic naturally.”

Before he could get much farther, another late arrival entered the shop causing Charles to pause. The man spoke in a footle fashion then made a careless display, expending his magic to add what he viewed to be an impressive flare. Charles found himself more annoyed at it than amazed.

“I agree with Archene,” Charles started, ignoring the man’s entrance, “With little information about this Szayeis- aside from Prae claims- there’s little way to tell if he would be of help or hinder the purpose of this group. He might not even become involved since it doesn’t outright benefit him.”

The professor paused enough to catch his breath, “I’m not an expert on Prae, but they don’t slander individuals without a reason, even if the person might not deserve it. I believe until more information is learned then we should exercise caution if we encounter him.”

“Another thing we’ve forgotten is the matter of keeping our identities unknown. As one of us pointed out, the Prae controls a lot within Ominar,” Charles said then gestured toward Mairyell, “If we’re going to break out several individuals and cut them loose to return home, all the Prae need is one good identification to rip our lives apart. Merely capturing one, which is very likely to happen at some point, will give them a lead.”

Putting forth something useful, he presented the faint possibility for a solution, “I’m not a fan of being hunted down and I have one possible solution within my spell collection to allow us to hide in plain sight. However, if someone has another option that isn’t magical and feels it’s better then by all means, I hope you will lay it on the table.”

Zeki Glaedwine

Zeki eyes flared slightly, his smile set in stone, and his hands playing with his cane. He was obviously enjoying watching things come together a little too much. It was almost a pity this was a sideshow to him, it seemed much more entertaining to the main act. He was honestly tempted to skip out to entirely watch this. Still, the Prae had annoyed him, now they had to fall.

The first to speak was the man he'd roped inside, asking about Szayeis. At the question, he laughed, waving it off. The others started talking about it quickly, and turned to him, who hadn't recovered.

"The enemy to my enemy is not my friend. Whose to say he isn't my enemy as well? He is, however, the enemy of my enemy. That alone has value. Still, I don't think much of him."

He turned to the man, and gave a knowing smile taking an assumption.

"You can tell your boss I plan on keeping my distance from him, however."

Charles progressed with his preference on the mission. Zeki acknowledged with a nod.

"I believe I said you were incharge, so very well. Let me know what you'll need logistically, and it will be done. If there's one thing no one in this city can do like me, besides my charm, it's logistics. If you prefer no weapons, it is on you."

He pointed at Archene with the hook of his cane.

"That goes for you as well."

It was then a new comer burst through. Zeki was probably the only one who found it amusing.

"Wonderful! Welcome to the Anti-Prae fanclub. I'm your host Zeki Glaedwine.."

He pointed to Archene a second time.

"This is your boss."

It was obviously better for someone such as this individual to be a distraction, and not a stealth operative. Zeki liked him already.