"Trust me," Gütta panted, breaking into a jog when he felt himself lagging behind. "Your secret is safe with me. Is, uh, is that where you're headed?"

Admittedly he hadn't taken much time to explore the place, once he had found the basic necessities: mess hall, barracks, lavatory, courtyard. If he really needed some new instructions from the Captain, or some clarification on the old ones, then he just needed to follow the noise, and go wherever the crowds had gathered to find her. He had aimed largely for self-sufficiency during his scarce months here, whetting his own weapons, oiling his own leathers, washing his own socks...in no small part because he'd been burned in the past by those people who walked that narrow razor's edge between "pranks" and "sabotage." Though before that, mercenary work instilled in the blood a certain romanticism of spirit, being able to glide over borders and between nations with a silky grace, relying on nothing but gold and camaraderie.

Rhydsar shoved the maid away when she came to dust him.

“My apologies sir---ma’am---I’m just not fond of mages. Not that I dislike you or anything. Just um...a bit afraid of people like you."

With good reason. Mages were the most efficient troop in any army. He had seen them at the war councils, positioned as tanks to counter entire battalions of men. He had seen sun mages melt the flesh off enemy soilders. He had seen the same mages sell out to the enemy and massacer his men. When people talk about the horrors of war it isn’t the swords or the screaming that gets to them, it’s your comrade after a mage gets to him. True horror isn’t a pile of bodies, it’s when you don’t have ne you can send home.

The expression on her face told him more than what she was about to say.

“I um...you’re a senior knight right? You know how things actually run around here? I’m gonna be honest, I’m new and I don’t really know what I’m doing yet.”

Rhydsar scratched the back of his head sheepishly, awaiting the knight's judgement.

@ghastlyInc

“Are you in need of aid knight? I think you mentioned having need of a song?”

"Huh?" Something had answered Jarde's pleas but it was not the spirits of Candaeln's library. It was a female of light brown complexion, white hair and, most notably, a pair of rabbit ears. Jarde had never seen her kind before. Though then again, he had not really seen other races save his own.

Still, help was being offered and Jarde desperately needed it. "Yes ma'am, the Spirit of Candaeln's Library placed a dire curse upon me. In order to break it, I must do the actions that is written here in this note." Jarde then gave the note to Nori for her to read. "It's a... an embarrassing thing to do but it must be done unless I want my hair turn into snakes and my food turn into... bad stuff."

Nori gently takes the note, attempting to read it. It takes her a few moments longer than it should. While she had some command of Thaln's tongue, reading still proved a major challenge. “Ah, I see. Well, I suppose you are in luck.” she rasps, folding the note and handing it back to the man. Taking note of the flip side of the note. She supressed her urge to sigh. Seems the spirit of the library was likely her mistress. Unless there was someone else with the ability to write a grocers list in Akitsushiman. “I happened to learn this song while my mistress was helping me learn your language.” She says, deciding to just roll with it. She'd give her mistress a lecture later.
The rabbit undoes the small jade choker around her neck, rubbing a thin ugly scar. She speaks again, normal rasp now accented slightly. “You will have to forgive me. Doesn't translate well.” She then takes a step back, placing her hands on her hips. “Now lets see if I remember this correctly....” she says, thinking deeply for a moment.

"The Milk Bunny went to town one day~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ He said he needed some place to stay~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~” She begins loudly, sashaying from side to side with each Ra. Despite the silliness of the act, there is an air of almost deadly seriousness about the rabbit. “ But all the townsfolk, they turned him away~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ They said how could a bunny need somewhere to stay~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~" Her hands move to her ears for a moment as she continues, "Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Ra ra ra~” She intentionally flops her ears on each Ra. “ Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Wa wa wa~" She continues, jumping with each wa.

"Night approached, the Milk Bunny was sad~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~” She feigns a crying motion with each new wa. “ He wanted kindness, something no townsfolk had~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~ But then he saw one more house~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~ He was told to go there by a mouse~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~"
"Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Ra ra ra~ Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Wa wa wa~"

"At the door, there was a young girl~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ Her hair, a mess, it was in curls~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ But when she saw the Milk Bunny, she said come in~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ She said she'd help even when harvests were thin~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~"
"Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Ra ra ra~ Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Wa wa wa~"

"The next morning, the Milk Bunny had left~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~ But the young girl got much more then she kept~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~ Cheeses and milk, and so much to eat~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~ And the jealousy of the townsfolk that she did meet~ Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa~"
"Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Ra ra ra~ Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Wa wa wa~"

"The townsfolk did learn a lesson that day~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ Treat others with kindness, and with kindness they will pay~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ And as for the Milk Bunny, this can be said~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~ Watch for the white ears on his fuzzy head~ Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra~"
"Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Ra ra ra~ Milk Bunny~ Milk Bunny~ Wa wa wa~"

She stops as suddenly as she started, returning the choker to her throat. “That should be it.” She says, adjusting the necklace. “Just remember. Wiggle your posterior on Ras and act like you're crying on Was during the verse. On the chorus you flop your ears on Ra and bounce on the Wa.” If there is any embarrassment in the rabbit, its not readily apparent.

Tyaethe spared a short look at Fanilly as she came in, then turned her attention back to the individual petals floating down into the water. Far be it from a paladin to interrupt another's prayers, especially when voiced allowed. Though it certainly gave more insight into the captain's motives and, seemingly, a worrying lack of faith in her own abilities to attribute everything achieved in her current tenure to direct intervention. Or maybe just erring on the side of politeness, even if it verged into false humility?

"It is good to have a captain that holds religion in esteem," the paladin said, turning to look and meet Fanilly's gaze, "More than once since we have split from the church have I served those who view it only as a duty, and would resist with all their might to keep the Knights' power separate from the churches.

"Tell me, Captain, what would you do if Elionne were to return?" Tyaethe asked as the remaining rose fell into the pool beside her, last living person to habitually refer to her as anything but a saint, "It is, and always has been, a possibility."

Fanilly took a deep breath. She knew that Mayon's guidance must have been a factor in her current victories... But at the same time, she had to try harder. She had to prove to everyone that it was worth believing in her. That is was worth following her as Captain. But for now, she asked for Mayon's guidance. If nothing else, it would help sooth her doubts. And... perhaps, even if that was the case, was it not true that Mayon had faith in her enough to merely watch? That was somewhat comforting, in the end. But it did little to erase alls her worries, at the moment.

It was then that Tyaethe spoke, mentioning how some captains of the Iron Roses had no care for religion. To Fanilly, the Iron Roses' duty was above all the protection of the innocent. This both meant directly defending them and also taking care of threats to the innocent. Those who would harm the weak who could not defend themselves. For the sake of those who could be preyed upon, of those who could not fight for themselves. That was why the Iron Rose Knights existed, regardless of the faith of those they protected. But the Danbalion family was quite religious. It was possible that, had Fanilly not been born under a full moon, she may have found a place as a Priestess in the Church of Mayon. Of course, it was more likely that she would have simply remained nobility with no real military role, as her family had been for quite some time.

Fanilly was uncertain how she felt about those possibilities.

When Tyaethe asked what she would do if the Starlight Saint of Roses returned, however...

"If... if Saint Elionne were to return, I would step down," Fanilly replied, without much hesitation. She could not justify remaining in that position if the first Captain of the Iron Rose Knights returned. She didn't deserve this position nearly as much as Elionne Carthet, the Slayer of the Black Knight of Duiren Ghas and a True, Unquestionable, Faithful Saint of Mayon. Indeed, in spite of the period of time since her disappearance, it could never be said that Saint Elionne would not return. "There is no way I am as deserving of this position as the Starlight Saint."

@ghastlyInc

Jarde watched the bunny-eared girl perform the little dance. "Wow. That was good." He said. "Though, I think you should've smiled a little bit more."

"But can I sing that while running backwards around the courtyard three times? I'm not sure if I even recall all the lyrics correctly." He asked, more to himself than the rabbit girl with him. He made a heavy sigh. "At least it didn't tell me to actually dance. Just to run." He then turned to the rabbit-eared girl with a bright but defeated smile. "Thanks miss. I'm Jarde by the way and you are...?"

Regardless of the rabbit girl's reply, Jarde would then make a big inhale followed by the inevitable exhale. "All right. Let's get this over with." He said as he began stretching his arms and legs. "Hey uhh, can you pretend not to see what I'm about to do?"

Jarde then began running backwards while singing the nursery rhyme. And by 'moving', he was doing a slow jog and by 'singing', he had already replaced some of the words of the lyrics with either synonyms or homonyms or completely unrelated words. The amount of 'ra' and 'wa' was also inconsistent.

He had stumbled several times already but quickly recovered. However, he was not even finished with the first round.

@PaulHaynek

Nori nods at Jarde. “of course.” She rasps, “I will remember you advice next time I need to perform that routine. Thank you for your input.” There is little, if any, indication that she took the evaluation with 100% seriousness.
She bows low for the introduction, watching at the young man prepares for his task. “I am Nori Ito, Vassal to Merilia the Witch Knight. It is a pleasure it make your acquaintance.” She watched silently as he began to run, moving through the lyrics clumsily. In the back of her mind, she doubted that her master actually cursed him. Probably just the womans attempt at having a little fun with those of the order she'd yet to get to know. Still, the off chance existed.

“It is three ras and three was each time Sir Jarde. Do you wish for me to join you? It would make it slightly easier if I lead you in the song.” She asks, watching stone faced as the boy starts his second lap.

Nero scratched her head thoughtfully, as she eyed the situation unfold. Well, it looked like Merilia was indeed here, in the library, in a manner of speaking. Suddenly the elder of the twins felt slightly embarassed about her outfit, although fortunately, the mage was leaving as easily as she had appeared. The rumour was most intriguing. What was that about some kind of chant in the courtyard?

Nero shrugged. Maybe the recipe could wait. She thought to herself as she ventured outside the library, with graceful steps. The imagery that displayed in the courtyard didn't disappoint. Marianne's dog. Tiral. And there was this odd newcomer dancing some stupid song. Probably a prank.

But her eyes rested on something else. It was one of these fabled Akitsushiman bunnies. And just like her own sister, her higher thoughts were momentarily nullified as she approached the newcomer with the stealth of a maid, her hands lashing out to pet the creature's ears.

"BUNNY!" She managed to utter, a testament of her simplistic thoughts at the moment.

Nori continued to watch as Jarde jogged, still considering if she should join or not. It nothing else, it would possibly alleviate the poor man's embarrassment in doing this alone. And his mangling of the lyrics was, while entirely understandable, upset her constitution on a level she wasn't aware of having. There was also the possibility her mistress did curse him, and she would be remiss not to clean up after her masters pranks.

Something grabbing her ears quickly pushed the idea from her mind, now replaced with the rage of a million fluffy rabbits in a meadow. She draws akaiittou with unimaginable speed, twisting slightly so the sword lay uncomfortably close to her assailants neck. “Unhand my ears this instant you...” She begins. Nori regards the woman as best she can from her angle, by all accounts she seemed a maid, though the figure and the...more liberal aspects of the dress suggested something else all together. “Serving whore.” She says, deciding that is the best fit for the woman.

Nero's eyes went slightly wide upon noticing the cold touch of the steel in her neck. Fortunately, the irate rabitt had halted the sword in the precise moment to not even graze her skin. Whoever this Akitsushiman was, it was no amateur in the use of the sword. Understanding the stern warning, Nero removed her hands from the absolutely fluffy ears of the creature, before taking a step back.

She had been called a servant whore, but hey, not everyday one was in reach of such an exotic folk. Besides, it was rather fluffy.

"I'm sorry, I don't really get to see one of your folk up close. So fluffy." She said, wisely avoiding any comment about her actual background or when she had seen one of her race. Doing so would reveal her actual noble blood status. "My apologies."

You're a grouchy uncute bunny, aren't ya?

Nori slowly lowers her weapon, continuing to eye the girl. "You are forgiven. I apologize for drawing my weapon on you." She says, returning the red sword to its home then bowing. "It was simply that you caught me unawares and touched my ears. Such an act is considered very inappropriate in my home land. If you wish to touch them in the future, please ask before hand." She does not retract the comment about servant whore. After all, the practice wasnt uncommon (nor in bad taste) in her homeland.

"I am Nori Ito, despite the introduction, I hope we can move past that and work well together in the future." She adds, deciding to recover some semblance of tact from this situation.

Now that someone else was well informed to watch the festivities, Merilia made her way to the courtyard and watched the man jog backwards, haltingly singing the song. That was even better than if he'd done it flawlessly; he managed to make himself look inept as well as gullible. It was completely priceless how little prepared the knights were for such things with her long absence--naturally, the one person here who knew to expect it would try and inform people... but there was one Tyaethe and so many knights.

Nori knew but she could be trusted to enable the fun.

Nori, who had just said something rather uncouth, and whose view that she decided to drift into (behind Nero, even) with a smile directed at the rabbit. More of a smirk, really. "They're nice. But you shouldn't touch and she shouldn't say things like that."

---

"Not the reason I would expect the post to be yielded," Tyaethe stated, breaking her gaze, "Regardless of worth, and you have shown yourself to be more than capable of holding the position and with more education than she came into it, Elionne never formally left and neither the Church nor the Crown removed her as Captain. That would make her your senior and automatically restore control to her upon return.

"As a Saint, her actions are divinely guided and beyond us to induce punishment. There was one captain around thirty years ago that told me she would arrange normal proceedings for dereliction of duty. Even if the Knights were answering to the Crown then, the Church still disapproved of the idea. Especially as we were a religious order when she chose to leave; this was an ecclesiastical matter.

"She left the post within a year."

For a few moments Fanilly merely sat and listened to Tyaethe's explanations. A Captain who wished to level punishment against the Starlight Saint? What was she thinking to even have suggested that? It seemed... incredibly foolish, to say the least. However, before she could open her mouth top make her own response, something finally sunk in to her. The senior knight had, in fact, praised her as Captain. The blonde girl's cheeks colored with embarrassment as she averted her eyes nervously. Praise? But... but it had mostly been the acts of her knights that had won both of the prior missions, had it not? She had some luck, but in the end her role in things was not so pronounced... she was hardly worthy of such praise!

"... I-I... I see," Fanilly said, hesitating, before continuing her response. "But, ah, er... I-I am not worthy of much praise, er... my capabilities are surely beneath any previous Captain..."

Now that she had spoken her doubts, it was difficult to get rid of them.

@ghastlyInc @AtomicNut @Raineh Daze

After the second round, Jarde had slowed to a stop in front of Nori and a couple of others who had probably just came there. He was tired and needed a short break, his torso bent forward with his hands on his knees. "Haaah... haaah... I need a... I need a break. I could run backwards. I could sing. Maybe. But I can't do both and not get this tired." He wheezed as he took a glance the new people with Nori.

"Oh... hey..." He said to the maid as well as the figure behind that he could swear he knew. "There's... someone behind you... She's... familiar."

Marianne Delacroix

Blinking and hearing Sir Indrau's introduction as she peeked around Ricard's body, she placed a hand on her chest and breathed a relieved sigh. For one reason or another, she had jumped to the conclusion that the man was an unsavory character that was after her. It wasn't as if during her youth she ever experienced having assassins hired by her political enemies looking to hunt her down and take her out, no. The Delacroix had many defenses and safeguards in place to prevent that from ever happening, with Sir Ricard being one of them. Why she though so negatively so suddenly of the man, she had no idea but was thankful to learn that he was a fellow Iron Rose. A combat veteran from the looks of it as well. How rude of her to jump to such conclusions.

Looking up at Ricard, she patted at his side to get his attention.
Ricard however ,refused to take his eyes off of the stranger.
Still snarling and glaring at him, though one of his ears swiveled towards Marianne's position.
She frowned and patted him again.
"Etre deconsinge, Sir Ricard."
At her command, his gaze flitted to her before he took a few steps back.
Though, he still remained close at her side.
By this point he learned that it was possible every stranger was a comrade.
But that didn't mean he could completely lower his guard.
He didn't have to like any of them.

With a smile, Marianne stepped forward. Curtsying and bowing her head ever so slightly towards Sir Indrau.

"Forgive my companion, he is distrusting of others. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Indrau. I am Dame Marianne V. Delacroix, and my companion is Sir Ricard."
Clasping her hands together, she tilted her head slightly.
Why was Sir Indrau here?
Was there someone he was looking for?
Something he needed help with?
Or just curious?
"Is there some matter that you needed assistance with, Sir Indrau?"
Marianne knew that probably seemed rude of her to automatically assume the man needed or wanted something. But it was also rude to ask about his mission. It was none of her business anyways. Unless...

@PaulHaynek @AtomicNut@Raineh Daze


"Please forgive my impudence Mistress." Nori says as she takes a knee, even tone suddenly replaced with one of deep apology. She was about to ask if she should let the intruding girl examine her fully as a way to apologize but was interrupted by Jarde stammering behind her, clearly winded. "Oh. Did you finish your laps?" she asks, casting him a curious look. "And yes, this is Lady Merilia, my mistress and witch knight of your order. And I believe she was the one who may or may not have cast that curse upon you in a fit of mischief."

"I must admit I may have been motivitated by a need to introduce myself. My duties often require me to take to the road so I am typically out of touch."

His posture relaxed slightly with more weight being bourne by the cane. Indrau gave a respectful nod to Sir Ricard before continuing.

"It's often that I can miss meeting new inductees to our order and as such take every chance I get to exchange introductions."

It was strange. She should be just slightly younger than himself but he found himself treating her as someone much younger. Perhaps having such a young captain skewed his perception a bit. With the exception of Tyeathe and Merillia he would be amongst the oldest current members.

"I've been meaning to ask the Captain about events that I might have missed, but she seems to be quite busy at the moment."

Wandering the grounds was also a much better alternative than completing his reports. It would also keep him well away from Fanilly's damnable maids.

Tiral saluted towards Indrau as the man introduced himself, one arm still carrying the assortment of papers to be used at a later date. He himself had seldom seen the knight in front of him, though given his comments about having returned from an expedition from the north, it was to be expected. Nevertheless, it was likely in his best interests to introduce himself, at the very least. Maybe it was by pure coincidence they hadn't met before?

Well, that didn't really matter right now, now did it?

"I am Sir Tiral Yevan,; it is an honor to make your acquaintance," the mage responded, taking into account the man's inquiry. "If it's the Captain you're looking for, I'm afraid I can't help you there. However, if you want a summary of the recent incidents, I would be more than happy to give one. To be quick, the Knights set out on an expedition to rout a bandit lord, and returned in short order with few casualties. Afterwards, during the princess' ball, an attempt was made on the heir's life by an assassin. The Knights split up and, in short order, found the enemies hiding within the Cal family crypt and summarily executed them, save one to interrogate. No further attempts have been made on the royal family as far as I know, but it is also partially the reason for the lack of knights milling around. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask; we were present at both incidents, and thus should be able to clear up anything you might be curious about."

'Twas a tad lengthy, all things considered, but Tiral hoped that it at least covered the basics of what had happened over the last few days. There wasn't much to say other than that, to be fair, unless he wanted to get into the whole vampire affair or the sudden appearance of two Sults...
Or the demon currently held in custody...

Hm. In retrospect, there might've been a lot more to explain that he first thought...