"Well still... You saved us, I don't care whether you were made to do that or not, you saved us. So thanks Cecil," Ethan reiterated with a grin, "We'll pay you back somehow, we'll uh... Well we could..." Trailing off lamely the Magi was utterly confounded as what he could get for a Machina as a reward. Food wouldn't work, he probably didn't need anything materialistic, so... What? Could he teach Cecil something? He did seem to want to know more about the things they did and even a dope like Ethan could share some knowledge. Cecil was always wondering about what they did when they set up camp and why so maybe teaching him was a good way to repay him!

"Unless you want some nasty burns I'd listen to Cecil, he's quite warm right now," Norman agreed with a nod, reaching up and adjusting the goggles on his forehead before wiping grease from his hands onto his pants, "Normally we'd keep you shut down and cool the pieces but it should be fine as long as you don't do anything to jostle them. That means no going and picking fights with people like you kids seem so apt to do," the engineer warned as he smirked, "Mutebo is probably going to be a nice break for you all. Enjoy it while you can." If they planned on leaving the city it would be right back to the hectic lifestyle they'd been living as of late. It still struck him as odd that they were getting as much attention as they were; at face value no one in the group was of terrible importance until you really looked into it. Nymira was the heir to one of the most powerful Dimuran clans, Cecil was clearly a special model of Machina and likely not meant to be out as he was, and Amuné and Ethan likely played some part in it as well. There had to be a reason they were being chased all the time, but why?

Lionel couldn't be the answer since he wasn't traveling with them. Why was he here anyway? What was Taliya thinking having someone like him around in Mutebo, that was just asking for trouble. "Uh... Lionel was it? Are you with Taliya's group as well?" Norman pressed, curious as to what his answer might be.

"Sure am! She has me on as a healer helping tend to anyone who comes back injured, and I teach other healers too. But of course I don't have any magic so I do everything the old fashioned way." There was a slight tic from Norman just then, his eyebrow twitched and the corner of his mouth seemed to pull up into a smile. Lionel smiled at the older man and folded his hands behind his head, turning towards Adrianna and Amuné, nudging the former with his foot, "In fact I was supposed to teach Adrian at one point but he kind of up and vanished. He's even worse at avoiding... Er... Missing work than I am!" He should probably be back there right now in fact checking supplies and restocking but he really wasn't feeling up to it. One of the other healers could handle it in his stead, they'd chew him out as usual and he'd apologize only to do it again the next day. He was nothing if not consistent!

Ethan was just relieved that everyone was finally better after such a hassling last couple of days. They had all the time in the world to relax and recover in the comfort of Mutebo without any worry of another Magi attacking them. Maybe they could actually have some fun together and take some time to actually look around Mutebo. There was a lot to sort out too, least of which was trying to decide what he himself was going to do from hereon out. There was no reason for him to keep traveling and returning home to Kinsgrove would be the easiest choice. There was a problem with turning around and leaving however: Taliya was right in saying his leaving was a disservice to Cedric's memory. He wasn't going to go on an insane journey to seek revenge but he should at least try to make something positive out of it, which brought him to his second point; Amuné needed him to find her parents, Nymira might need him to finish her task and Cecil probably had use of him too, he could help others and in turn help himself.

"Uh Nymira... Should we get your leg healed?" Ethan asked as he looked at the Dimuran's injured ankle. She seemed annoyed that he suggested it again but he couldn't understand why. It was visibly bloodied and she was having a hard time walking on it so shouldn't she want to get it fixed? "I'm sure Adrian won't mind helping you if you're worried about that, I mean he helped me," he continued with a smile as he pointed to his shoulder, "You probably won't owe him anything, but if you want-"

"That's not the problem you imbecile. It's not a matter of owing someone a debt or not, it's a matter of carelessness." Unsurprisingly Ethan was utterly confused by that and could only try suggesting the same thing again. Groaning as she rubbed at her face Nymira turned to Kensen in hopes he could corroborate what she was about to say. "Unless we are gravely injured our people do not use healers, its a waste of energy. And if you go into battle thinking every wound you get will be healed you become careless, there's no reason to fear injury if you can just erase them. If you lose your fear of pain you become reckless in battle, and that's how you lose your life." People in the kingdom seemed to have no issue with getting rid of the pain as quickly and that arguably made them weaker for it. Every town had enough healers to care for almost every resident it seemed, why did they need so much? They had no pain tolerance. "I cannot accept your offer to be healed, I'll manage just fine without you," Nymira directed towards Adrian, frowning as she leaned against a low table for support, "Your offer is appreciated but unnecessary, I'll heal just fine."

So... Nymira wasn't going to get healed then? Ethan supposed it was fine if that was her choice but it meant their doing anything was really complicated. The exercises today showed that both of them could do with a touch of training but doing so with one leg bloodied and burned wasn't going to be easy. "Well uh... I guess that settles that! Looks like we're good to go back soon," Ethan smiled, kneeling down beside Amuné and patting her head, "Do you want me to carry you? My arm's probably okay now."

Cecil did want to talk to Ethan more, but he felt he couldn’t. He couldn’t be talking normally with so many people around or act like he usually did, he was pretty stunted on possible reactions. Staring at Ethan for a moment he slowly looked down again, his attention wavering as Ethan didn’t quite know how to repay him. He was just doing what he was made to do, there was nothing that he could do anyway since he wasn’t like them either. He didn’t much care anyway, he didn’t know enough about life to know what he wanted and just kind of existed along with them. He wasn’t like them, so anything that he might want wouldn’t be something they would understand. Even he didn’t know what he wanted, he was completely oblivious when it came to his own desires and wants that the very concept confused him. It just made him feel even more out of the ordinary, he didn’t have anything other than his looks that connected him to people.

Looking to Norman quickly he soon looked down again. He didn’t understand, if he should’ve been offline while his body cooled down then what was the point of having him functioning? It didn’t make sense to him, it would’ve been more efficient to have him kept offline and not walking around like this. There wasn’t much he could do just now that the others could if he was too hot for anything. He shouldn’t be near people with how he was, he was dangerous to touch and if they were in a new place with this many people already then that meant this Mutebo place would’ve been incredibly busy with a lot of people everywhere. They could go off and have a good time with their friends, they didn’t need someone like him hanging around. Listening to them all talk amongst each other he gave them a long staring at, eventually turning around and facing back at the machine he was connected to. Surely they were happy now that they saw him if that’s all they wanted to do here, they didn’t need to be here anymore if they were happy enough to talk amongst themselves again.

Kensen didn’t know what was going on but that wasn’t one of his concerns, he was just here to keep an eye on them and make sure they got back to the building. It was important that they were brought back in one piece, even if Nymira wasn’t willing to get healed. He didn’t much care that she wasn’t wanting to be healed, it just meant she would heal by herself. While he was feeling a little bit bored of hanging around waiting for them to finish up he made a glance to Nymira when he noticed her eyes on him. Staring at her as she spoke about general pride he shrugged a little, looking away. He also didn’t accept healing for minor injuries, not unless they were going to hinder him in the next battle. If he ended up cutting his hand up he wouldn’t want it healed, but if he had to be in battle later on or the next day he would get it all healed up. He didn’t know if he should say something about the whole training thing, mostly because he didn’t know if it was final.

Casually glancing over at the others he stepped outside, stretching his arms and wings out. If they were all done in the workshop then they should really get out of there and give the mechanics some space. Taliya was probably going to get mad at them if they were late in getting back so he was going to prevent that for the most part. The exchange between Ethan and the Machina was pretty odd, mostly because he might as well had been talking to a doll except this doll could talk back. It wasn’t unusual for a Machina to have basic AI, but what was weird was that one looked like it was trying to hold back something like a proper response. Whatever though, he had more important things on his mind that would eventually require some seeing to.

Adrianna affirmed the young girl’s statement about her blessing. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Amuné Ris.” Adrianna said. The young girl said that her mother was a healer, and Adrianna nodded again. She was pretty confident that the girl’s mother was not among their group, and didn’t have the fortitude to ask where the woman was. The answer wouldn’t likely only upset the child. Amuné said that she didn’t have good control of her magic, and there was no one to teach her. That ruled out some of the very common magic types, unless these other people were just incredibly shitty friends. It also meant she wasn’t likely a healer.

“Well being tired is pretty normal. You could be a lot worse off. Now you know what losing control and trying to use it feels like, so try to stick with a bit less next time, and work your way back up. Magic types are all different, but they all take dedication, concentration, and a little bit of imagination to master.” Adrianna had always liked kids, and she found that another…friendlier side of her came out when interacting with them. Her cheeks were already beginning to hurt from smiling at the kid, which was either a testament to how much she was grinning now, or how little she had been smiling lately.

Turning towards Lionel at the nudge, Adrianna tilted her head at the remark that he was supposed to train her. Clearly, it was just before she left, and though she still didn’t remember him, perhaps it was because he was shown her but never properly introduced. Would she have stayed if she had met him and knew that he was going to be teaching her some of the non-magical healing methods? Not likely. “I managed just fine, and I would venture to say that I overcame the lack of instruction from you.” She opened up the pouch where she kept all of her non-magic healing supplies, like herbs and bandages, and then stood up, leaving the kid with her water.

Ethan asked the Dimuran about healing, and Adrianna moved over towards them as she heard Ethan tried to convince him to be healed. The woman then called him an imbecilic—rather harsh for friends—and explained that she didn’t want to be healed because getting hurt was her own damn fault. Good on her.

“I respect that.” Adrianna chimed in, addressing the woman. She wasn’t going to criticize the woman’s choice of nicknames for her companion. That was their business, not hers. “Some people really abuse the whole idea of having someone around who can heal, acting reckless and taking for granted that a healer will always be around to pick up the pieces.” Her friend seemed content with the answer, leaving her to stand on an injured leg as he went over to check on the little one. Perhaps she could offer a walking stick, or something to help her manage despite the pain, rather than remove it.

“That being said, I do have quite a few non-magic healing supplies as well, if you would like it properly cleaned or wrapped, or learn how to do it yourself…” Adrianna trailed off. For all she knew, the woman already knew how to clean her own wounds, but the healer doubted it. She didn’t give much indication of that sort of knowledge, and would have likely just said she would take care of it later. This was more about stubbornness and arrogance than knowledge.

Nymira saw absolutely no reason to allow Adrian to tend to her. Her wound was not life threatening and she could treat it well enough on her own, let it heal of its own accord. For all her experience with stubborn people since arriving in Adelon at least Adrian seemed to be reasonable and conceded to her reasoning and for that she was grateful. The healer was exactly right in their reasoning as well: Why be cautious when any injury could be erased? Only those on death's doorstep should need immediate care, fighting while injured was very common for her people and you simply battled through the pain if the injury allowed for it.

Amuné lecturing anyone was comical at best, and Nymira found herself rather annoyed by the girl. Why would a child of all people think themselves right to criticize anyone? Let alone her entire culture and her people's beliefs like the Ydran seemed to be doing. She was not discrediting healers nor questioning their use, the Dimuran was only pointing out that using them too frequently and too willingly was a problem. She wasn't going to waste any breath arguing with a child though, if Amuné wished to think that way then so be it.

"To be honest I would have no idea how to deal with my wound," Nymira admitted, frowning as she lifted her leg and peeled back the bloodied cloth, "There are herbs that can be found in the steppes near my home that we would use but I don't know where to find any here. There are foods too which help stave off infection but none of those animals or fruits are here either. I wouldn't mind if you taught me, but again, I'll have to ask you don't heal it." After all there was a stark difference between maintaining and tending to a wound and healing it outright, a discrepancy that appeared to utterly soar over Amuné's head. At no point had Nymira said she'd ignore it and simply will it to get better, rather she refused to allow magic to mend it in seconds.

"Let me take care of her Adrian, don't waste your supplies." Lionel offered to take care of Nymira's wounds if the Dimuran was willing and while questioning his offer she seemed to allow it. Smiling politely he removed his satchel from his waist and knelt before Nymira, fetching a roll of bandages and two small vials of solutions as well as a tuft of cotton. "Taliya gives me whatever I need for supplies but I'm guessing you've had to buy or gather your own. Save your things for an emergency, let the boss pay for this," Lionel explained to Adrian with a grin, laughing as Nymira gave him a disapproving look. She was not fond of his using his superior's resources so casually, she had said, but he defended it by saying they never went to waste and it simply allowed him to help more people. Taking care of a burn like hers, magical or otherwise, required much in the same treatment and solutions. First a harsh but powerful disinfectant was applied and Lionel could see Nymira's jaw go taut as the liquid was applied. After cleaning that with a gentler solution he applied a soothing aloe blend, and once that was put in place the bandages were wrapped around the wound, securely enough to stay on but not enough to pinch vessels or limit movement.

"No running around until it starts to at least scab over, and try not to put too much weight on it," Lionel ordered as he wiped his hands clean, "Also assuming that was caused by some kind of rot magic it might take longer to heal, and if you notice it turning green at all come and see me. Or Adrian, he can probably help you too." Hm, there were certainly traces of some kind of poison around the wound that had notably faded since the wound was inflicted but it was still curious. Just what had caused this wound? If it was a Magi then it was a fairly rare type of magic that caused it, and if it was a Void beast, far more likely, then at least she would learn not to get too close again. "Anywho... I should probably get back before I get in more trouble!" He had technically vanished during the middle of one of his shifts again and no excuse was going to let him worm his way out of his coworkers wrath. Smiling as he gathered up his materials Lionel gave the group an exaggerated bow, bidding Adrianna a farewell in particular before rushing out from the shop.

They really should be getting back to the compound themselves, it was time for a meal and to rest. Ethan wanted time, no, needed time to think about where he was going after learning about Cedric and that meant somehow finding a window to be by himself to think. Fortunately for him Amuné was rather tuckered out today and she'd probably nap when they returned so that should give him plenty of opportunity. "I got two arms don't I? I'll be fine, don't you worry Amuné," Ethan replied, smiling as he lifted the Ydran into his arms. "Go ahead kiddo and nap, we'll be back to the compound before you know it." Nymira may still need assistance walking but she turned down his offer when it was made and voted instead to walk under her own power. That flew in the face of what Lionel had just told her and Adrian probably wasn't thrilled either but Ethan wasn't in the best position to be carrying two people anyways. Waiting for Cecil to finish charging and for Norman's blessing to let him go they left the shop and began making their way back.

---

"Well I'm impressed runts, you actually managed to not die out there! You're more capable than I thought!" That was probably Taliya's idea of praise if Ethan had to guess though it wasn't exactly uplifting. Had she really expected so little out of them that she was surprised they'd even come back?

"Gage told me you even killed yourselves a Rökorm too. Shit, I'd be impressed if it didn't almost kill you two," Taliya went on, grinning as she gave Ethan and Taliya a patronizing round of applause. "And our little Machina friend is all better, everything's screwed on tight and good as new! You look much better than the jumbled bits and pieces you showed up as." That was probably enough teasing the kids for now, she was earnestly impressed they had managed to win against a Rökorm by themselves. By Kensen's account they had been utterly hopeless and sloppy in their ways of killing the creature but the fact remained they had done so and gotten out mostly intact. She took into account too of course that had Kensen and Gage not been present to kill the Vazra these two would not be standing before her now, which confirmed her suspicions about this little ragtag bunch from earlier: none of them really knew how to fight. And Magi who traveled on their own had to know how to defend themselves otherwise you ended up being caught, or dead.

"Since we're all busy people I'll get right to it. Your fighting ability against Void beasts sucks, and I mean it really, really sucks. What you saw today are some of the lesser creatures from the Void and if you can't even kill those things easily you're fucked. Then you have the Church and their Hunters wandering around, snatching up or killing Magi that are waltzing about like idiots. The short of it is you kids are as good as dead if you keep going like you are now, and unless you're on a suicide mission I doubt that's what you're after."

Nymira was rather annoyed to be having someone speaking down to her like Taliya was, but she also understood her position perfectly well. They had struggled to even harm the Varuna whereas Kensen and Taliya had made him flee outright, her pride wasn't so great she couldn't acknowledge the power gap. And since this woman was so keen in pointing that out time and time again it was obvious that their lack of training, though she'd argue that more pertained to Ethan, was a risk for them all. "So what are you suggesting then? That we give up and go home?" The Dimuran refused regardless of the risk to herself, she'd travel alone again if she had to. "I can't do that, and neither can any of them. We all have reasons for traveling and we refuse to just give in."

"I'm not asking you pups to give up either so don't get the wrong idea princess. I'm saying you all need training, proper training too, not some wishy-washy bullshit," Taliya explained as she got up from her seat. Kensen was present which was good, she'd need his help with this if they were ever going to make it work. "Cedric was a hell of a Magi but he had a totally different element than yours, right kid? He was earth and you're wind, shit doesn't work together. So you'll need an actual wind Magi to help you, and Kensen just so happens to fit that bill. Same for you, Dimuran, you need some proper training with your flames. You brats are lucky Kensen's got both elements under his belt, he can teach you both how to be half decent Magi." Of course Ethan and Nymira were not the only members of this group that needed some instruction, if they hoped to survive long enough to get whatever they were after every single one of them had to be able to fight and protect themselves.

"I looked into finding you a teacher too, Amuné, and there's no one in Mutebo to teach your kind of magic." Plenty of people knew of it but not a single person within the city possessed such an ability. Sight was rare after all, even more so since the Church went crazy and started hunting people, and those who were good enough to use it well were rarer still. "I've got a lead though that might help you out, but it's going to take some time to get to it. So until that happens you should work with Gage and Helmann, they're our experts on weapons here. They'll sort you out with something you can use, since your magic isn't going to do jack shit against anyone else." Putting a weapon into a child's hands would horrify anyone else and the girl's parents would probably lose their fucking minds if they knew but Amuné needed some way to keep herself safe, that was just the world they found themselves in. Plenty of kids had been taken away and killed already by the Church's people and Amuné would be no different unless she could protect herself.

"As for you, Machina, you should work with that gearhead Norman about learning how to use your abilities. Bastard is a pain in my ass but he's about as smart as they come and he already seems to know a lot about you. Guessing this wasn't the first time he's had to fix you up." Being a combat Machina should mean he was perfectly designed for keeping these kids safe but he seemed to break all the time, probably on account of not being able to actually fight properly. Many of them appeared confused why she was bothering to go to these lengths to provide training for them and Taliya found it amusing, her reasoning was simple really. "The less people the Church gets the better it is for us. And besides we might need you brats someday, it won't do us any good if you wind up dead in a ditch somewhere," she explained, "So if you're planning on sticking around in Mutebo for a bit we'll set you up with training. Of course that means you're pulling your weight in exchange." Seeing the concerned looks on Ethan and Nymira's faces she laughed. "No more missions, relax. I've got better people to do that shit, people that won't nearly get themselves fucking killed. Nah, you'll help around the city, fair's fair. Got to earn your keep."

Taliya was forcing training upon these kids for their own good. As they were they'd be snatched up or killed by even the most half-decent Magi the Church had, never mind if one of their more lethal hunters showed up. If they were aiming to hurt the Church in any way possible then it was in her best interest to make sure they could stay safe, the less power those bastards had the better. And, if the kids were ever to join her at least she'd know they were somewhat competent when they came in. With more than enough reason to receive training she was surprised that Amuné was so against the notion of learning how to fight. Her excuses and alternatives would almost have made Taliya laugh if she wasn't giving the Ydran such an incredulous, disbelieving look already. Did she sincerely think any of that would be enough? As a snide smile crossed her lips the Muran folded her arms and scoffed, arching an eyebrow at the little girl before her.

"And what's going to happen if you get attacked? Are you going to bake them cookies and hope they stop? Or will you offer to wash their underpants, maybe they're just mean because there's a shit streak running down the middle? Wake up kid and face the world you're in, you have to fight. And that cute little sling of yours isn't going to do much either, not against anyone who's a decent fighter. If you give two shits about your friends you'll learn to actually use a real weapon. And don't you think it's unfair, putting it on your pet kitty there to fight for you? What if he gets hurt then huh? What do you do?" The fact these kids had been attacked several times now and Amuné still thought something so small would be enough was outrageous really. Taliya shook her head and walked across the room to a wide cabinet along the wall, prying open the doors and retrieving a crossbow from within. "Something like this is easy to use, even for a kid like you. Gage can teach you to use this thing in his sleep and your ass doesn't have to be anywhere near the enemy to fight with it. It's like your pissy little slingshot, only it might ACTUALLY do some damage."

Ethan bit his lip as Taliya went about shooting down Amuné's suggestions and further pushed for her to learn to fight. Whether the woman was right or not wasn't really the point, the fact was Amuné most likely wouldn't be fighting at all. If she was far enough to use a bow then she was far enough not to even be in the fight in the first place, right? Maybe there was something to making Wyth fight for her even if Ethan knew the moorcat did so willingly but even then that was a guilt trip at best. "She's been safe so far with us, why would she have to fight now?" he asked as he smiled uncertainly. Taliya gave him a perturbed glance and he backed down slightly, swallowing before continuing. "I mean... If we all get trained then we'll be able to keep her safe no problem right?"

"And when you're not there who's going to help, huh? Just going to leave it up to the cat to do all the fighting again?" Taliya asked with a sneer, "Or are mommy and daddy going to fight? Until the Church is dealt with those fuckers aren't going to let any Magi rest easy, not unless they're one of their dogs. And they know she's traveling with other Magi by now thanks to you lot, she needs to know how to fight. And she's going to learn, it's not like I'm sending her out to fight, she'll shoot at some fucking targets or something, that's all. What's the problem with that?"

There was none, and while Nymira could sympathize somewhat with Ethan's point Taliya also wasn't wrong either. "We can't always be there to keep her safe, knowing how to fight may well mean the difference between life and death some day," the Dimuran agreed with a nod, "And it cannot hurt to learn how to fight. If nothing else it means she could hunt on her own and protect herself if we ever get separated again. I say you should do it, Amuné." Really children in her clan and others knew how to fight even younger than Amuné so knowing the Ydran was all but defenseless save a sling, a child's toy in essence, was surprising.

"Good, then it's settled. Gage you'll handle weapons training for the runt, Kensen you handle the training for these two. I'll let you guys decide on how to train them, if you need anything let me know. I think that's it... Get them out of here will you? I've got other stuff to do today besides chewing out you brats." There was always so much damn work to do since she took over this place. Taliya was getting used to it but being cooped up in a building and organizing shit all day was really not her idea of a fun time, she needed to find a replacement. Or someone she could dump the work on so she could go out and actually fight, do some field work instead of playing manager to what was mostly a group of misfits. "Oh and send Adrian in on your way out, he and I need to talk. And get Lionel's ass in here too if you see him, I need to smack that bastard for running off yesterday," Taliya grumbled as she sank down into her seat and groaned, folding one leg over the other and reclining, "Moron's always running off..."

Ethan didn't need to be told twice to go, dealing with Taliya was never exactly a fun experience. Smiling awkwardly as she told them to effectively sod off he waved before promptly turning towards the door and ushering Amuné along ahead of him, relieved to be through with their meeting with the boss lady. Passing through the door Ethan exhaled in relief once they were out and stood against the wall, leaning back against it and smiling wearily. "So uh... That's that then, huh? Looks like we're going to be training together." Though he wasn't entirely sure what for if none of them were going to be joining this group. If they continued traveling then maybe there was some use there, but what else? Was he even still going to keep traveling after learning about Cedric?

"I guess it'll be fun though! I can't wait to see what you've got to show us," Ethan continued to Kensen. With a friendly smile he extended a hand towards the Dimuran and ignored Nymira's groan at his display, figuring he might as well try and make friends with the man who would be instructing him. "I'm looking forward to it! You were really impressive against the Vazra, you must know an awful lot!"

"Shit kid, work the balls while you're at it," Gage grumbled as he rolled his eyes, smirking at Ethan's shocked expression. "Quit buttering the guy up its embarrassing. We aren't doing this because we like you or want to be your friends, we're doing it because Taliya told us to. Don't think we're going to be sitting at a tavern throwing back ale together, it's a job, that's it." Honestly teaching a bunch of snot nosed little kids how to fight was about the last thing Gage ever imagined himself doing. He'd instructed people coming into their group when they had still been bandits sure but that was a completely different beast. "Get that girlie? Don't expect me to be all sweet to you while we train, you'll do what I say, when I say it," he continued as he smiled down at Amuné, "But no pressure, it's only life and death if you mess up right?"

"Hey come on now, you could be a bit nicer than that don't you think? She's never really fought before so all of this is new to her." Gage was even worse than Taliya right now and Ethan was beginning to not exactly love the guy for it. More than a head taller than him it was a bit intimidating when the former bandit stood before him though he tried to keep his ground, tensing up as he lifted his chin to look at the face of the man. "Besides... Uh... If she doesn't want to train then Taliya will get mad, right? So uh... You should be nicer, otherwise you might not be able to do your job." Two could play at that game and use leverage. Though immediately after Ethan had spoken he regretted it when Gage's face went dark and his jaw visibly taut, a vein protruding from his thick neck. The fact they were just outside Taliya's room was probably the only thing saving him from getting pummeled right now and he realized that, taking a half step back from the man.

"Let's just focus on our training, I'm sure Taliya will keep her men in line," Nymira spoke up. "When will we begin, Kensen? Do we have some time to rest before then? I think we need a moment to speak among ourselves, if you'll allow it." Having to defer to him, an outsider and a defector was a little humiliating. People like Kensen were generally treated as criminals and those without honor, made into slaves or servants for abandoning the clan. Yet here he was clearly the one with power and she had none, that much she'd recognized.

Once everyone was rounded up again and the Machina taken back with them it was all a good time now to start talking about the future, namely concerning the new bunch. Kensen didn’t much care for this whole little meeting, he had already said what he needed to and was more or less there for observation. He was feeling pretty confident that they were going to accept what they had to do after that fight, there was no way Nymira would let herself be bested by a creature that was apparently a pretty easy kill once magic was easily wielded, then there was Ethan and his constant obsession with Cedric. It was certainly a little amusing, he hadn’t seen someone so shook up over the death of someone they barely knew anything about but maybe it could be motivation for training too. He was hardly happy with this though, he didn’t really want to have to train some kids but there was nobody else who could do so quite like him. He was just there to watch for now, his attention not on anybody as he kept to himself.

Cecil, on the other hand, was stressing out to the point of not moving or showing emotion just incase someone caught him out. He didn’t know any of these people other than his friends, he couldn’t act naturally around all these strangers and just had to go ahead and act like a true Machina. He still had that stuck in his head though, the fact that he was a little strange even to Norman. He was scared now, he shouldn’t be something that was strange to a specialist who fixed Machina all the time. It just made him feel terrible that he was even around others who didn’t know better. He surely wasn’t safe to be around if he was an unknown, especially not people who got quite close to him. All these people around him too. He shouldn’t be here with them, he should be outside at least and away from all these people.

The woman approaching him on the matter of his combat skills had him feeling worried and confused, thinking he was safe from being talked to. He didn’t understand why she was telling him this, he had fought fine up until that moment from before. “…I’m sorry for being inadequate as a protector and combat Machina, ma’am”, he spoke in a rather monotone way, bowing slightly. He was definitely not used to this but he didn’t want to be seen as anything more than a Machina. It certainly made him a little depressed, he was even wondering why he was a part of this group. They had some new friends now and while he wasn’t jealous, he just saw himself as obsolete to them and probably too dangerous to be around everyone. He needed to go find Norman, at least to show he was capable of taking orders like a Machina would.

Kensen was pretty bored of the rundown to say the least and was busy picking at his claw-like nails. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested, he was just aware of the plans and knew how to go about them so he didn’t need to listen and just had to wait. He did wonder how they were going to take training with him, seeing how Nymira really didn’t like him for not wanting to go back to her clan. Why would he want to go back anyway? He would just be treated worse than he was here by a mile so that was hardly going to be an option for him. It was almost as if she wanted him to be a lowly slave again. His clan wasn’t exactly treated well within hers and if he returned after being banished he was going to be treated like a common criminal. Her arrogance was going to be his suffering if he decided to go back and he wasn’t going to allow that.

When they were settled with what they were going to do he stood up a little straighter and waved his hands lightly to shake them off. Looking to Gage briefly he folded his arms, sighing a little. He hoped Gage wasn’t going to be too hard on these two, he knew he could be tough with people even giving up altogether with him. Moving on out of the room he didn’t really give a look to the others until he was confronted by Ethan, staring at him for a moment. He didn’t really know how to react to that kind of friendliness and just remained pretty still for the most part, at least until Gage flew the kid’s compliments off. Sighing a little he shrugged, shaking his head. “When are you ever sweet, anyway? You really need to filter some of that salt out of your system…”

He had a fair idea on what he was going to do with them, hopefully they wouldn’t end up giving in too. It was always a waste whenever a Magi just gave up on improving their magic when there was so many who couldn’t even use any. Probably why Gage was always so sour, maybe he too wanted to be able to use it too; then again, Gage did like his big guns. When Nymira decided to act a bit more professionally than desperately wanting to drag him back with her. “…Sure. Have a talk if you want, so long as you don’t wait until the dead of night, I guess…”

The child disagreed with her older companion’s opinion regarding being healed, and Adrianna could understand why. It made more sense to tell a Ydran child to accept help when it was offered, especially since the girl’s mother was apparently a healer as well. Adrianna didn’t know too many Dimurans, but she knew that they were much more often fighters, and as such it made sense that they were meant to be more self-sufficient. It was the Dimuran’s body, and therefore her choice to be healed. Adrianna didn’t feel right interrupting the child, and imagined that the young girl and her older companion had a relationship better suited to advice. She was just a stranger to them all.

In response to her offer of showing the woman how to tend to it herself, the Dimuran seemed more open-minded. Adrianna wasn’t averse to instructing at all, and liked doing things without magic just as well. It was almost…more satisfying, in a way, to tend to wounds without the use of her gift. Adrianna nodded along with the woman as she said she didn’t know of the local herbs, and would appreciate instruction, as long as Adrianna didn’t heal her. “Of course, I know—“ Adrianna began to speak, but Lionel jumped in, telling her not to waste her supplies. Her smile fell quickly, and she closed her mouth as Lionel stepped forward and began to tend to the woman.

What Adrianna was going to say was that she knew much more about local herbs and salves, and could perhaps exchange that information with the Dimuran for knowledge about what she would use in her own home. While Adrianna didn’t imagine she would find herself there any time soon, she valued knowledge quite highly. In her pack, she even had a notebook filled with drawings and descriptions of important plants and their healing properties. She could have perhaps filled in more with the Dimuran’s help. Adrianna had imagined that the woman would have appreciated an exchange of information. She seemed like the sort to want to “earn” things…but Adrianna was just making assumptions, really.

Lionel used the excuse of getting his supplies from Taliya, but Adrianna stayed quiet. It didn’t really make sense to ask the Dimuran about herbs she would have used in her home now that Lionel was disinfecting and wrapping the wound. Her jaw set tightly as she felt cut off from this potential ally, and her respect for Lionel dwindled a bit more. He was the man who was supposed to have taught her? He didn’t ask the Dimuran about her home’s healing herbs at all. Give him the benefit of your doubts…Perhaps he already knows about all of those herbs, and so doesn’t need to ask. He must be good at what he does in some respects.

He isn’t even telling the woman about what he is doing, when she had clearly expressed a desire for instruction. Adrianna silently lamented. Her annoyance with Lionel only grew, but she did not need to cause conflict. Lionel seemed friendlier with the group, and perhaps they were old allies. Or perhaps this was just how he acted with everyone. Nothing about Lionel was intuitive.

At the mention of her being able to help if it began to rot, Adrianna nodded. “Absolutely.” He agreed. Lionel then mentioned having to get back, presumably to the healer’s den, and ran off.

Once he left, Adrianna debated addressing the Dimuran again for a few moments before speaking. “Lionel did a fine job with the cleaning and bandaging, but if you ever do want instruction on tending to your own injuries, you are welcome to find me. I am not sure how long I am staying here in Mutebo, but while I am here, I am happy to provide instruction or information.” Adrianna hesitated a bit longer, and then spoke up once more. “And…if you are interested in exchanging information, I would love to learn more about the herbs that grow where you are from.” She added. She breathed a silent sigh of relief for having at least posed the offer. It was always a risk, even in a place that was supposedly safe, to offer information, and ask for it in return.

Whether or not the Dimuran wanted to converse further with Adrianna, she followed the group a little while further, just to keep an eye on her foot to make sure that she didn’t find the wrapping too tight, or accidentally put too much weight on it. When the woman seemed fine, Adrianna veered off and busied herself with some other things. She went to grab a bite to eat, asking around about the plans of other folks in Mutebo. No one else was planning to depart, and so she began to consider putting her plans to leave on the backburner. A part of her felt cowardly for doing that because she couldn’t get together a party with whom to travel, but she also knew how much safer it was to travel with companions versus alone. Patience was a virtue, or some shit like that.

-.-

Adrianna next saw the Dimuran woman a few hours later. She had been speaking with Jerard, the man she healed who brought her to Mutebo, a few rooms away from Taliya’s office. When she healed the man, she hadn’t realized how important he was to the resistance. Hell, she barely even knew that there was a resistance then. Having heard that she was planning to leave, Jerard wanted to try to encourage her to stay. He talked about why healing them and aiding their efforts was protecting those with magic everywhere, and that if she wasn’t helping them, then she was basically helping the church. He believed quite sincerely in his message, but Adrianna simply didn’t agree. With the hospitality that was being extended to her these last few weeks, Adrianna didn’t want to start an argument with the man, and so she simply declined, reminding Jerard of what she said when she arrived. She would ask around for information about an old friend, and then move along when she (inevitably) heard nothing.

Upon leaving the building, Adrianna heard Ethan call her name (or rather, Adrian) a few feet behind her. Turning her attention to the Mura she healed earlier, Adrianna saw the rest of the group behind him. “Yes? Is everything alright?” She looked at his arm, and then at the Dimura, but didn’t notice any new injuries that needed tending to. She was told that Taliya wanted to see her, and she turned her gaze back on the building, wondering what Taliya had to say. She had made it pretty clear that morning that she didn’t care if Adrianna left, so what changed? “Thanks.” She replied to him, and then excused herself to go back inside, and straight to Taliya’s office.

She knocked briefly on the door before entering. “What’s going on?” She asked.

Ethan didn't like the idea of Amuné having to go off and train on her own any more than Amuné herself did. Gage hardly seemed like the nicest guy in the world and it was hard to say if Amuné even should be training at all. For all his optimism he had a tough time seeing much good coming of forcing Amuné to stay with Gage, but that was what Taliya had in mind right? Putting an arm around the girl as she wept at his side Ethan smiled sadly, looking to Gage imploringly as he rubbed the Ydran's back. "Could you be a little nicer? She's not an adult, you know? And... Don't push her too bad, okay? And let her take Wyth with her if you're going, it's the least we can do." It must be an awful lot of allowances to make if Gage's furious expression was any indication. Either that or he was just annoyed to be having someone from the outside giving him orders. They were more requests though weren't they? The guy could certainly say no and judging by the protruding vein in his neck he was probably about to. So when Gage stiffly agreed to the requests Ethan was taken aback a little, no more enthusiastic about Amuné going off on her own but at least having a peace of mind Wyth would be present.

"I know you don't want to go Amuné, but it couldn't hurt to learn! And maybe we can help you practice later too," Ethan said as he tried to encourage the girl. Getting down on one knee he smiled and placed a hand on her head, hoping she'd agree to the idea if he made a promise. The reality, much as they might dislike it, was they all needed some training. It was painfully evident when fighting the Varuna, if that could be called fighting, that they were all sorely lacking. "Plus uh... When you get back I wanted to talk to you, okay? About that thing before with the Vazra." So much had happened as of late that there hadn't been much chance to speak at all concerning the vision he'd had. That was a vision he had right? It wasn't exactly something Ethan got on a regular basis so it was hard to say but it sure seemed like one. Amuné had to have had a part in that somehow, she was the only one who had visions in their group. "So... Do your best and show Gage what a good learner you are okay? I know you can do it!"

Nymira would never get used to the sickening displays that Ethan gave Amuné. Not that Dimurans never showed affection or care but it was like he wouldn't let the girl stand on her own two feet. If you coddled children they were soft and weak, they had to endure to grow stronger. She'd learned full well by now how out of touch her people's views were with the kingdom's though and wasn't going to waste her breath trying to change the way they acted. "Yes I'm sure she'll do fine, now then could we have a moment? There are some things we should discuss before we train." Then, to Cecil, she added, "Please remain here too, this includes you as well. It won't be long and you can go right to Norman after if you wish." Why she was even having a discussion with a machine was beyond her but everyone else treated him like a person, she might as well too.

Adrian had returned just as the group was on their way off and Ethan passed along Taliya's desire to speak to her. Gage and Kensen graciously let them be and the group found some semblance of privacy in an empty room nearby. Setting himself up on an empty crate Ethan leaned forward, hands on the edge as he glanced between those he'd been traveling with. "So... We should probably figure out what we're doing huh? I'm guessing we're still doing our own thing, but..." That was with him as an exception since they had learned the news of Cedric's death. Still unsure of how to feel about that he'd need time to mull it over for sure, and he hoped to do so in the company of these people. Maybe they were traveling together purely for convenience but despite all the trouble they'd had he'd come to like these people. "So what's everyone planning? Everyone's still got a reason to travel, right?"

"My goal remains unchanged, I am here to gather support for my father's ideas," Nymira reaffirmed with a nod, "It's been harder than I'd imagined though, with all the nonsense that has happened. At least in my home you could walk place to place without being attacked... Mostly." There were plenty of people who resented the Rumia clan and their rule, though they would resent anyone who ruled over them so she hardly took exception to it. As much as there was a need for there to be a ruling clan there was also the infallible Dimuran pride, one which made people resent not being their own leaders. It was such a deep rooted sense that Nymira still fought to understand how it was Kensen was so detached from it all. Even if he hated the Rumia clan he still had his own to return to.

----------

All of these damned visitors were driving her insane. All Taliya wanted to do was throw back a bottle of whiskey and go take care of some work, instead she was spending her morning entertaining some brats. And now she was having to tie up both Kensen and Gage in training them too, there went two of her better men as well. Groaning she rubbed at her forehead before yanking the cork from her canteen and chasing down the last of her liquor, sighing when it ran out and trying to shake any last remaining, stubborn drops from its dark reaches. She'd have to go try and find more then in town once she had the time, though Kensen would probably get on her case about drinking too heavily again. Did Dimurans not drink? Or was it another weird thing of their culture?

"Yeah, come in!" Ah, and there was Adrianna just as she'd ask. "Or is it Adrian now?" Taliya teased aloud, grinning as she motioned for the door to be closed. At least some people here had a sense of urgency and showed up when you damn asked for them. "I shoulda asked you to pick up some fucking mead or something on your way in, now I'm going to have to go out and get it. Anyways thanks for showing up man, I've got some good news for you." Reaching into her boot she pulled a bound scroll and threw it across the room to Adrianna, smiling as she waited for her to open it. "That person you were asking after? Pretty sure we've found them, though you ain't gonna like where they are." It had taken a hell of a lot of time and effort tracking this bastard down but they'd managed, and Adrianna owed them big for it. It was one thing to find somebody out here in the backwater parts of the kingdom but a whole different matter tracking down someone in the inner cities.

"Your little friend couldn't have picked a more complicated place to settle in, you know that? Midkemia... Not exactly the prettiest of fucking places. Runs rampant with a cult of Zorander, bunch of thieves and murderers, and its one of the places the Church is clamping down the most because of it. If you don't run into trouble with the rats running around then one of the Church's dogs are bound to get you. If you really want to go through with this then go ahead, enjoy your suicide mission. Don't expect me to send any men with you though, that place is way too fucking messy to get involved with yet." They would need a lot more manpower to really take it to any of the larger places in the kingdom, and much as Taliya would love to deal a decisive blow to them it was unrealistic right now.

"I guess we can give you what information we do have on the place though, the people you can talk to and where to find them. Going in blind you're definitely going to end up dead," Taliya continued, pausing as she glanced back at the window behind her. Rolling her eyes she smiled at Adrianna and slammed her foot on the floor, the sound of earth splitting coming from outside and a muffled yelp of surprise. "I know you're out there, if you're going to eavesdrop at least come in here you little punk!" The window was opened a moment later and a dirtied Lionel climbed on through, smiling innocently as Taliya berated him with a silent glare. She'd asked him to be here but she had assumed he'd be a normal person and actually be in the room, not sitting outside of it listening in. "Lionel's the one that got you the information by the way, so thank him, not me. Though I don't imagine you'll be thanking anyone with where you're going."

"It's not that bad, you just need to avoid the bad parts of Midkemia... Which is most of it," Lionel chuckled at his own admission, "And don't worry about paying me back either, I had the time so I decided to take up the job. If you want to thank me though then find that friend of yours." Could Adrianna manage though? On her own he sincerely doubted it, the only reason he'd gotten anywhere was he knew the right people and had access to plenty of shortcuts through the city that others did not. If she was going to go into Midkemia and get out with her friend she'd have to find someone to take her, or better yet find someone to get her friend out. "So when are you going? I mean you've been waiting for this for a while right? Taliya mentioned its been a long time," Lionel went on, smiling despite Taliya's glare as he approached Adrianna, hands folded at his back as he swung a foot back and forth, "I'd come and help but I'm real busy with other stuff, but I'm sure you'll manage!"

Their previous exchanges had been fine, but Adrianna hardly considered Taliya a confidant. She had healed Jerard, and in exchange was given a sort of safe haven here for a short while. Additionally, Taliya had agreed to look into the whereabouts of a friend. Adrianna hadn’t said why she wanted Taliya to find out where her ‘friend’ had ended up, and fortunately the woman hadn’t particularly cared. Over the few weeks Adrianna had spent in Mutebo, she had only spoken with Taliya a handful of times.

As such, when Taliya made an overly obvious crack at her not actually being ‘Adrian,’ the woman tilted her head to the side. She knew she hadn’t confided in the woman. There had been a few over the years she had trusted with such information, but Taliya hadn’t even come close to such a status. She didn’t address the strange statement correctly, telling herself that she was jumping to conclusions. Perhaps Taliya merely realized that ‘Adrian’ might not have given his actual name.

As she continued to draw out the words that were more gender specific, like man, the last of the hope Adrianna had of her identity being protected fizzled away. It wasn’t so much that Adrianna was worried about Taliya in particular turning her in to the Church. She seriously doubted the woman would do such a thing. It was more that Adrianna kept that part of her very quiet, and she took precautions to protect herself, like everyone did. To have Taliya suddenly know, when she believed that she had been discrete, was unsettling.

In any case, she was summoned to get the information Taliya found. But she had found him. She found Finneas. Adrianna couldn’t help but smile, even as she complained that Adrianna wouldn’t like the answer. He was in Midkemia. Adrianna had heard of the city, and had been steering clear of it, like the rest of the larger cities. All of those places reeked of the Church. Taliya seemed to know this as well, and told her about a cult that was there, along with the Church’s dogs. “Got it. And I wasn’t going to ask.” Adrianna replied regarding asking for men to go with her. She would find him alone. Or at least find a way to send word to him, make sure that he was safe.

Still, Taliya was willing to tell her what they did know about Midkemia, which would be useful. Adrianna turned her head towards the closed window as Taliya summoned another person into the room. Lionel opened the door from the outside and smiled in an infuriatingly stupid manner. Adrianna glared at the man, the pieces suddenly falling into place as to why Taliya suddenly seemed to find her name and gender so interesting. She clenched her fist at her side, having to resist the urge to punch the man, even with Taliya’s assurance that the information had come from the man.

A few deep breaths later, Adrianna had calmed down enough to listen to Lionel’s words, though they only served to infuriate her further. She wasn’t at all worried about paying him back. Hadn’t even crossed her mind. “That…is none of your business.” Adrianna said when Lionel asked when she would go. “I’m sure I will manage better without you there.” She replied.

“Is there anything else you need of me?” Adrianna asked Taliya. The woman indicated that there was not, and Adrianna glanced once more at the annoying man who had told her just a few hours before that he would keep her secret between them. He was obviously completely untrustworthy, and she wouldn’t waste any more time chatting with him as if he was anything else. With nothing else pressing, Adrianna left the room, walking briskly out of the building. She needed to get some fresh air. Lionel was infuriating, and now she was even more eager to get out of Mutebo.

She had to remind herself of the positives in all of this, though. She knew where Finneas was. Finally. After almost seven years, she had a chance of seeing him, and making sure that he was okay. When he left Feldspar, Adrianna hadn’t understood. She couldn’t fathom why someone would want to leave the Church. It was their family just as much as their blood kin. She had been wrong, and he had left…without her. He was supposed to go out to the country—get a farm of something. But he was in Midkemia. Why? What drove him back to the cities? What drove him closer to the Church’s influence? She could speculate for days, but it would do no good. She would just have to find him, and ask him in person.

"Of course I'm going to help you find them, I said I would didn't I?" Ethan asked with a smile, "I'm not going to stop until we do, I promise." Meeting Nymira's gaze he frowned when she gave him a stern look and wordlessly they argued with one another before he looked back to Amuné, smiling again. Obviously he knew that there was a chance her parents had been taken into the slave trade, just as those other Ydrans had. There was also the very real chance that, given they were Magi or even associated with any, that the Church had taken them. In either case finding them and saving them was going to be no small ordeal. Ethan gave a nod of appreciation that Amuné understood his struggle with Cedric's passing: honestly it still felt surreal and, initial reaction aside, it hadn't fully set in. Or perhaps it had and he was lying to himself in hopes of not having to face the truth just yet. Cedric had been his whole purpose for traveling and for enduring all they had gone through, to lose that would shatter him. Hell, it had, he was just doing his damnedest to not show it.

It was good that Amuné was willing to help Cecil; not too long ago Amuné seemed to want nothing to do with Cecil for his actions. With perhaps the exception of Nymira the three of them were willing to stay together and help one another with their own goals, even if it meant delaying theres. Ethan still wasn't certain whether the Dimuran would stay if they decided to remain here in Mutebo for a short while longer. "Oh she could? That would be awesome! Since we're all getting trained it would be great if you could too," Ethan said cheerfully as he gave a thumbs up, "I bet that would be fun too, or at least it'd be nice being able to control it," he added with a laugh, "Imagine if my wind magic was out of control! I'd be flying all over the place!" Maybe a little joke could help Amuné relax and smile some more, they were all going to be awfully busy the next couple days and it would only be worse if they weren't in a great mood for it. It was hard for Amuné to be on her own, Ethan knew that, but it was for her sake as much as his own that he learn how to use his magic properly.

"Oh, you saw us fighting it? You had one of your visions?" Ethan thought about that for only a second before his brow knit and he looked down at Amuné carefully, kneeling and placing his hands on her shoulders. "You mentioned a book that Cedric wrote... Where is it? Do you think we can look at it? What was it about?" His friend had written a book? Why would a Rokorm be in it? He had to ask Taliya about that later. "That reminds me... I've wanted to ask you about something. When we were fighting the Vazra before you tried helping me, remember? And just before I passed out I swear I saw things, it was almost like I was having a vision myself. But I know I'm not a Seer, I've never had anything like that before," Ethan recounted with an uncertain smile, placing one hand over his eye as he got a headache just from recalling the event. "Did... Did you do that? Can you give other people visions? Is that even a thing?"

Nymira had hoped they might do something fruitful while together, not sit around and chat idly like the old matrons of her clan did every day. Amuné's ability to foretell events could certainly prove helpful but that was neither here nor there, they were to plan where they would go from Mutebo onward. If these people were truly her retainers then they would defer to her but she knew full well they weren't, and they had their own goals in mind. She'd at least enough decency to let them pursue their own goals without pushing her own so couldn't they give her the courtesy of not wasting her time?

"At least I can trust you're taking this seriously," Nymira muttered to Cecil, sighing as she crossed her arms and shook her head. "I trust you'll take full advantage of your time with Norman, we all need to be at our best if we have any hopes of even traveling in this forsaken kingdom..." How it hadn't just imploded on itself was anyone's guess, had any ruling Dimuran clan struck down and antagonized its own the way the Church did they would have been removed from power long ago. Was the Church so powerful it could just do as it pleased? "If it crosses your mind too, ask him what he would like for helping me. I do not like debts to go unpaid and I still owe him for providing shelter. And I suppose we owe him for helping you as well, so be sure to ask. However much money he wants is his." Onto the matters at hand, namely the matter of what they would be doing once they did leave Mutebo. It sounded as though they planned to travel together and pursue their own goals as best as possible, which so long as they didn't stray too far from major cities Nymira had no problems with. "Is there anything more we need to discuss? I'd like to begin training now if it's all the same."

----------

"Oh really? And how much do you know of Midkemia? Just its name?" A wry smile crossed Lionel's lips as he folded his hands behind his back, walking around Adrianna slowly as he watched her. "Because I know a good deal about it. All the Hunters they have there, and there's a lot, plus the cults like Taliya said. Even with her information you still have to actually get to it, and then there's still nothing to guarantee they'll tell you what you want. It's a real cutthroat place, the only way you're getting anything there is with gold." Or knowing the right people, and having a little muscle to 'persuade' didn't hurt either. Compared to most of the other cities Midkemia might well as be a prison for all of the criminals it housed, the Church and its Hunters the equivalent of the guards. And like any sizable prison it wasn't the law which controlled things, not really, criminals bought those in power and ran things from the shadows. So hearing the Church presence had increased wasn't too alarming, not if they were in the pockets of the criminals. But then again depending on who was there it could be a real problem.

"You're going to need help getting in, and the more the better. You show up with some bad looking fuckers and people will take you seriously," Taliya spoke as he smirked at Lionel. Not him, at first glance Lionel looked little more than a choir boy, his doofy ass hair, boyish face and that idiotic smile he always had on. Definitely not the kind of guy you'd want to bring into a thieve's den to help buy information. Then again... "And no, Lionel won't be going with you. He's got his own work to do, though doesn't look like you're not too upset hearing that. Maybe try the little brats that came in? They're traveling anyways and they're fucking insane, wandering about like headless chickens with the Church on their asses. If anyone's brave enough, or dumb enough to go to Midkemia it'd be them."

Those kids were interesting to be sure, Lionel wondered what in the world they were thinking traveling the way they were. A Dimuran princess of all things, a Ydran child, a bumbling backwoods good-guy and some weird Machina... Sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. Not exactly a crowd you were used to. They all had their own goals according to Taliya and somehow they decided the best way to do that was to travel together. "Going with them might take a while, they're all playing at heroes or something trying to save people," Lionel explained as he stopped before Adrianna. Smiling up at her he leaned in closer and raised an eyebrow, looking her in the face before chuckling and turning around, swinging his foot as he stepped away. "But you might enjoy that, it would be fun at least! Plus I'm sure they'd appreciate having someone to patch them up." And then she could leave again after she got tired of helping people. Just like a good healer.

"Anyway that's it, if you want more information talk to Lionel, got it? I'm done taking visitors for the day." She'd spent all morning arranging the training exercise for the brats, most of the afternoon going over Adrianna's information and now she was dealing with her and Lionel's idiotic self. For someone who was hardly a people person she sure was spending a lot of her day having to talk. Getting off of her impromptu chair Taliya lifted her arms in a stretch and audibly popped her back, groaning as she rubbed at one of her shoulders through the pad. "I'm going into town, my whiskey's run dry again... I think that fucker Gage got into my stash," she grumbled, walking past the pair and throwing open her door, making the boy outside jump. Rolling her eyes at his expressions she barked at him to leave whatever he had on her desk, watching him scramble inside and drop off an envelope before running out again. Rubbing at her forehead she grabbed the doorknob and stepped to the side, smiling at Adrianna and Lionel. "I'm like everyone's fucking mother around here, bunch of little shits... Speaking of which... Would you two be dears and get the fuck out of my room? Mommy's got to go shopping!"

Cecil would’ve felt and probably would be acting better if he didn’t feel like his existence was at risk just from existing and being online again. He should be going to Norman to get himself sorted, he shouldn’t be hanging around in this building surrounded by people on all sides who didn’t know who he was really and just thought he was a normal Machina. He was scared to say the least, but he couldn’t show it or move away since he had been told to stay put. This was bad for him, just what was he supposed to do now? He didn’t know their new friend or these people they had met while he was offline, he just couldn’t tell if they were going to try and take him apart or going to call those men to tell them he was here. He didn’t want to be taken apart and shut down, he wanted to keep living for as long as he could

He really didn’t know what to do. He felt so alone even with everyone here. His entire existence was all because he was able to get repairs and then everyone just carried on like normal. He didn’t know if him needing repairs was more inconvenient for the others or if they were actually worried about him, he couldn’t tell just what exact type of emotion they were feeling when it came to him. He was a Machina, they were living beings; he was never truly going to be one of them, he was always going to be the odd one out. Would they even be here if he didn’t need repairs? He wasn’t really told the story as to how they got here or how long he was out for so it was difficult to judge. He was just so confused, he felt awful too but all he could do was stand there staring as if he had no life in him and no way to express himself.

The others were all busy talking among each other, not really including him other than speaking about him in the third person. He was just there because Nymira wanted him to be, not because he actually had any use in the conversation. Just what use was he for being here, anyway? He was just standing around showing that he wasn’t offline or anything or ready to break into pieces. He had no input in this conversation, this was all stuff that had happened while he was offline so what was the point? He felt pretty useless, like he was only here for display purposes. There was attempts to include him into the whole discussion from Amuné, but him finding answers was hardly a big deal since it wasn’t going to change his existence much. It would just mean he was going to be more understanding over why he existed and then that was it. He was hardly important like they were who had families and friends, things he was not familiar with all that much. People weren’t friends with Machina, they were just tools to help them along the way.

With one quick look to Nymira when she spoke to him he stared at her for a moment before looking away, his head returning to a more neutral position. It was probably best that he did so he could fight again and not fall apart, especially when it meant saving their money on him. He felt pretty bad suddenly. He was costing them a lot of resources and if he kept getting all battered and broken they would have no money left. He didn’t understand it, they could just leave him broken on the side of the road and nobody would care. Was he really someone they would consider a friend? Maybe they just found him useful and that was what a friend was. He had no idea and it only made him feel sad, like he was missing out on something important but he didn’t know what. He didn’t want to ask them when it came down to it, but maybe Norman could tell him what exactly it meant for a Machina to have friends, what they meant to him and vice versa. "I will...ask him a variety of questions..." he spoke lowly, not really looking at anymore, "I'm sorry if I cost you a lot of money..."

Lionel began to tell Adrianna how much he knew about Midkemia, or rather, he boasted about knowing things without really telling her anything of use. Adrianna’s jaw clenched as he walked around her, and suddenly she found herself realizing that there was no way this man was simply a healer who had worked for the church. He was much to prideful. He much have had some sort of title among them. Was he a hunter? She doubted it. He seemed far too easily distracted for such a task. Perhaps an Acolyte? Some of them could be really uppity.

“I know a bit.” Adrianna said. Lionel told her that she would need gold. She could get that. Healing people, with magic or not, was a profitable job. She could make whatever she needed to secure passage to most places. Even savage cut-throats got hurt sometimes. Taliya chimed in, and told her to bring people, preferably scary looking ones, eliciting a scoff from Adrianna. She wasn’t going to hire bodyguards to get her in to Midkemia. So what if the place was like a giant prison? For all she knew, Finneas was in an actual prison in Midkemia. She hoped that he wasn’t. If he was free, it shouldn’t be too hard to get to him.

Taliya added that Lionel wouldn’t accompany her and Adrianna nearly snorted. No, she had no desire to continue to work with such a prick. The sooner she got away from him, the better. The latter suggestion was to ask the crazy kids who had been in earlier. “The group with the child, robot, and the woman who refuses to heal injuries? You think they are ‘bad looking fuckers’?” Now that Taliya knew she was a woman, Adrianna didn’t bother to hide her normal intonation, and her voice rose with disbelief as she repeated the suggestion to follow the rag-tag group to Midkemia.

“What the hell does the Church want with them?” Adrianna knew what the Church wanted with her, but they hadn’t seem interested enough to pursue her, at least to the best of her knowledge. On the one hand, she would be putting herself in their line of fire if she joined a group that was being actively pursued by the Church. On the other hand, at least she wouldn’t be putting another group in danger because she chose to travel with them.

Lionel was easily within distance of her right hook, but Adrianna summoned the willpower of Edos as she resisted the urge to punch him as he got all up in her face. Taliya said he had his own work to do, and a broken nose might just slow him down a bit. “I’ll pass.” Adrianna’s glare carried over to Taliya as the woman suggested she continue to talk with Lionel for more information. She would rather walk into Midkemia blind than have to pay whatever condescending price Lionel demanded for his ‘aid’. So far, he had done nothing but made her life more difficult.

She didn’t need any extra prompting to leave the room, tightening her grip on her pack as she walked out past Taliya and in front of Lionel as well. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that she would take whatever information she could get out of Lionel. If it would help her get Finneas back, she shouldn’t dismiss it right away. At the same time, the rest of her was screaming not to trust this man at all. Leaving the building, Adrianna paused outside, turning around to face Lionel for a moment as she made up her mind about what to say. She had thought she was relatively calm, and could tell the man simply that she didn’t need his help before taking her leave. The smug grin on his face reminded her of her anger, however, and she punched him hard in the face, her knuckles smashing into his cheekbone.

“Good luck finding a healer you haven’t royally screwed.” Adrianna said. Because even though he seemed to think that she liked just wandering around following people and healing them, she sure as hell wasn’t going to heal up the bruise she just gave him. He ruined things for her here. Yes, she had been keen on leaving, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to have her biggest secret revealed. These were magi, people she might want to depend on in the future, and he had taken that away from her. He had known her for all of a few hours, and he had already demonstrated how useless his information was, and how untrustworthy he was. Acolyte or not, he was a prick who enjoyed keeping secrets and boasting about it. “You seem to enjoy knowing and withholding things from people…so feel free to do that—far away from me.” Adrianna turned on her heel once more and stormed off from Lionel.

It wasn’t until she had put some distance between herself and Lionel, and had some time to calm her nerves, that she thought more seriously about Taliya’s suggestion to go to Midkemia with the strange group she had run into a few times. Were they even going that direction? She said it might take a while, but that would just give Adrianna more time to get information about Midkemia. Besides, she didn’t have to stay with the group. She could always leave and go her own way…that is, if they would even have her.

Like it or not Adrianna was going to need his information, and help from someone else. Lionel might be so inclined to lend a hand if he wasn't busy himself so her best bet then were the kids who had wandered in here the day before. Hardly a group that inspired confidence but better than nothing, right? After Taliya so eloquently dismissed them he followed hot on Adrianna's heels out of the building, stifling a laughter as he could just feel her bristling in annoyance at him. How much was she wanting to maintain this cover of hers? Enough that he could poke and prod without her breaking character? And really she was a healer, what was she going to do to him? Fight him?

As it happened a quick right hook was exactly what Adrianna had in mind. Getting sucker punched Lionel stumbled back and blinked in surprise, his smile returning promptly as he let out a laugh. "I'll not be needing a healer for that, hate to disappoint you. But thanks for the love tap!" Lionel teased, turning his head and spitting out blood before wiping his mouth. So that was definitely a no on his helping her then, her funeral. Snarky comments aside he did have information on Midkemia that was imperative to her getting in, and out, of that place alive. Maybe he'd be nice and leave it with Taliya before he went off again, just as a show of good faith to Adrianna. Didn't want her thinking he was a complete jerk! Watching as she walked off Lionel sighed and headed back into the building to fetch his things before leaving, figuring he'd be gone at least a few days. On his way in he happened by Gage and Kensen who were stood outside of some room for who knows what reason, and flashing them a smile he waved, trying to pass and being halted as Gage reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"The hell happened to your face, pretty boy? Piss off the wrong person again?" Gage questioned as he narrowed his eyes at Lionel, "And where do you think you're going? We have people coming in that need tending to, get your ass to the infirmary and do your job."

"I am doing my job boss, and you're getting in the way of that. Or do you think I'm being allowed to stay here and just slack off all the time?" Lionel smiled innocently as Gage removed his grasp from his shirt, fixing it before chuckling to himself. "I brought back everything they need and restocked all of our herbs, they might be understaffed but they'll manage. Taliya wanted me to pick something else up so I'm leaving Mutebo for a bit. If you have a problem with that take it up with Tali." He didn't always try to intentionally get under people's skin but with Gage it was just too much fun. The best part too was no matter how angry the man got with him he'd never do anything, not unless Gage wanted Taliya coming down on him like a hammer on brick. Smiling then at Kensen he winked, reached out and patted the Dimuran's shoulder before continuing on his way. "Good luck with the training by the way, should be loads of fun! I've got to go hunting for some materials, wish I could be having as much fun as you two!"

----------

"It's not the money that concerns me, its the way you fight," Nymira spoke lowly as she shook her head. Placing one hand on the back of her neck she frowned and looked over at Ethan and Amuné for a moment as she wondered what they were chatting about, dismissing it as nothing as she glanced back at Cecil. "I understand you're a Machina, not flesh, but don't fight so recklessly. Just because you can take the damage doesn't mean you should, understand?" Reckless abandon or so selflessly using oneself as a shield was about as idiotic a thing as anyone could do. Heroics meant nothing if you were dead, it left good fighters in the dirt and those who survived with a heavy, consuming sense of guilt. Nymira's eyes clouded over slightly as she lowered her gaze to the floor and ground her teeth together, closing her eyes before reaching out and grabbing Cecil's shoulder.

"Listen, if you are to act as my retainer then you take orders from me, understood? That means starting today no more of those foolish heroics, no more sacrificing yourself the way you did. If you are injured in battle that's unavoidable, but don't risk yourself like that. Maybe ask Norman about some... Defensive measures, something you can protect with without having to use your body," the Dimuran suggested as she stepped back, "Like warriors and their shields, find some other way to block damage and prevent injury. Do that for me and I'll forgive you." She would not allow someone to die for her sake again if it could be helped, she'd already enough lives on her hands and she had barely begun to gather support for her clan. The entire point of this journey was to prevent further needless death and so there was no way Nymira would allow the path to be littered with bodies, it would defeat the entire purpose. Their enemies were forfeit, they didn't count, but she'd be dragged to the deepest depths of Ralthor's Kiln before she allowed anyone else to sacrifice themselves.

So Cedric had known about creatures like that, what else about his mentor didn't he know? It still seemed impossible that the kindly old man from Kinsgrove had once been a warrior, or that he'd done things bad enough to warrant the Church capturing and executing him. If Taliya had a book like Amuné said though they really should try and get it, such a thing would be invaluable while they traveled. Then again it wasn't like they could pop open a book in the middle of a fight or ask a wild animal for a moment to read about how best to kill it. "Maybe we'll ask her if we can borrow it, might come in handy some time," Ethan suggested hopefully, "Could save us a lot of trouble in the future!"

There was more that needed to be said and Ethan didn't know how to say it besides directly. Days ago during the Vazra attack he'd seen things, things which he couldn't possibly ever have without some kind of magic influencing him. He knew full well he was no Seer and didn't possess Sight or anything of the sort, in fact he only knew of one person to have such an ability: Amuné. When he mentioned the vision to her she looked confused and doubtful even, like it wasn't at all possible for him to have experienced the episode. When a wave of recognition washed over her face and she recalled the event more clearly however that sold it, somehow he'd had a vision that day. It was a complete accident from the looks of things and like Amuné he hadn't the foggiest idea how she'd managed such a trick.

"Angry? Not at all! I'm just glad I know what the heck happened now, I thought maybe I was hallucinating. Bad food or something," Ethan laughed, smiling reassuringly as he reached out and pat Amuné's head, "Now we know that you can do that though we should probably mention it to your teacher when we find one, yeah? I don't know if that's something seers usually do or not." Actually he knew absolutely nothing about Amuné's magic other than it let her have visions from time to time. It was a strange magic too, one which she apparently had no control over. He couldn't imagine having magic like that, it would be insane if his wind magic just went off whenever it felt like it! "We can talk about it more later if you want, okay? Right now there's only thing I really want to do..." Ethan said before smiling sheepishly as his stomach spoke out of turn, placing a hand on it with a chuckle, "My belly wants food, hey Nymira? Can we go get something to eat? I'll buy!"

Nymira glanced over her shoulder at the closed door before shrugging, "If we can get away from them long enough to I wouldn't mind. It's been a while since we last ate," she agreed as her stomach growled as well, making her scowl slightly as she tried to ignore it, "Why don't we have a meal together before we go off our separate ways? That is of course assuming you don't mind joining us," she added in respects to Cecil. He didn't eat but that didn't mean he had to be excluded from their company when they did.

Kensen was lounging about for the most part, his job not coming into play until a lot later on whenever the pair were ready. He didn’t really mind that they’d take their time to get prepared and do whatever they needed to get done, he was fine with not having to deal with others who were still essentially strangers to him. He didn’t know either of them very well, even Nymira since he had been young when he was exiled. All he knew was they were pretty well acquainted with each other so they would probably try and team up on him if anything and possibly goof off, or at least he expected Ethan to do just that. It was too much really, to have to deal with two people at once but he was going to see to it that they actually learn something and not act like idiots with their magic. He didn’t want to have a frustrating time with the pair, that was all he asked for.

When Lionel appeared he was hardly very impressed with seeing the state he was in, simply sighing and dismissing it; although Gage thought otherwise. Gage was always the curious one, even if it was none of his business. He could guarantee that if he came around the corner looking like Lionel Gage would just laugh at him and make fun of him for the rest of the day. Folding his arms as Gage dealt with Lionel he sighed, shaking his head before looking to Lionel, his eyes briefly going to his hand on his shoulder before back again. Frowning, he waved his hand off quickly, not impressed with his casual teasing. “It’s going to be easy and if they’re rubbish at it then that’s not my problem! Just go out and be the little gatherer instead of bothering me”.

--

Cecil stared at Nymira as she told him off, drilling into his head that what he did was wrong. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say to that, he just did what he thought was right and did try to stop it, but he wasn’t strong enough. He understood that it was his own fault for getting so badly damaged and he did try to apologise, but it still hurt that even when he tried his best he still got a telling off for it. Lowering his head briefly he made a slight turn but was caught by Nymira by his shoulder, gasping as he looked back at her. He didn’t understand why she was so angry with him all of a sudden and so demanding, but it scared him. He didn’t mean for it to be seen as heroics nor foolish, he had managed to save her but all he was getting was told off for it. He had tried his best, his abilities just weren’t strong enough to withstand the attack. For all that he did he just wanted to save her, he didn’t want to make her mad over it.

Once she stepped back he made a step back as well, his hands grasping one another as if trying to shield himself from her if she tried to grab him again. He didn’t know what could be done to increase his defence, even if Norman found something for him he still wasn’t going to be able to do anything about extreme damage if he got careless which was something that seemed to happen often. He had very little faith in himself to do something right, even if he thought he had done right by trying to block the damage for her. Apparently that little faith he carried should be no faith because what a lot of good it did him to even have that much in the first place. He really was simply useless, he couldn’t do anything right.

Not really knowing what he was supposed to do he simply stood still, feeling like that was all he was supposed to do. They had made so many new friends and allies, none of them really knowing what he was like since he had obviously been in pieces when they first saw him. He was just a normal Machina to them and that was how he should act when they greatly outnumbered them all. It was a really big building with quite a lot of people, if they found out he was capable of greater thinking and emotion they would probably see him as a threat and try to pull him apart or secretly call those men in suits to get him. Not only was he a danger in battle he was a danger to himself and everyone he knew, it wouldn’t be logical for him to act like himself.

He had a lot on his mind now, all ranging from him being a screw up while also having to put on an act to hide his emotions. He needed to be a regular Machina, not whatever he was really. Looking to Ethan briefly when he mentioned food, his eyes going to Nymira who agreed. There they were, going to go off for their little social time that they enjoyed so much but he couldn’t enjoy at all. He wasn’t jealous of their ability to enjoy something like that, it just kicked him in with how different he was compared to them. They did so much he couldn’t take part in, he was always the odd one out in their little social events. It really hurt when it wasn’t supposed to, but not in a way any of them could understand. They had all grown so close, just from taking part in all these get-togethers while he felt he was growing distant, his role as a combat Machina only being drilled into his head the more he was reminded how useless he was at actual combat.

“…No. I need to go to Norman. I was told to go to Norman”, he spoke, sounding rather robotic as he kept his eyes off Nymira, “I don’t have time to waste doing…organic social activities…” He didn’t even know if he was going to go immediately to the workshop or even find Norman there if he actually did. He figured Norman would be away out doing whatever he wanted after working on him for so long. He had used so much time of others and so much money and resources too, his guilt pretty strong and only growing worse the more he was around the others. It wasn’t fair that he had taken so much from them and being unable to pay it back, it just made him feel worse.

Adrianna had gotten towards the more common areas before she realized what, or rather, who, she had stormed past in her effort to get outside and get fresh air. Standing outside of one of the other rooms in Taliya’s building was two of the men who had been with the group Taliya recommended she contact. She had walked right past them. She rubbed the bridge of her nose when she came to a stop. She shouldn’t have let her emotions get in the way. If she had been paying attention, she could have gone straight to them. Instead, she had stormed off with a temper tantrum.

Fortunately, as she made her way back towards the building, Lionel was gone, and so she wouldn’t have to take a stab at a comeback. He wasn’t worth the breath, even though quite a few things had come to mind when her called it a love tap. Love was the last thing on her mind, and if he considered that to be affection, then perhaps that was why he came across as such an obnoxious prick.

No. stop. Don’t waste your energy.

The group was just exiting the room where the two men had been standing outside, and were coming towards her. As she approached, she realized that she probably should have tried to figure out which of them was the leader. It didn’t seem to be the ones who had ignored her (and them for the most part) and were waiting outside, so she looked to the Dimuran woman who hadn’t wanted her healing. They had interacted the most of the group, and Adrianna was pretty sure the kid wasn’t the leader.

“Hey, uh…” Adrianna realized that she didn’t have their names, apart from the kid, and frowned slightly. That would have been another great question for Taliya, had she been thinking clearly. Stop blaming Lionel and move on.

Adrianna turned to the side and began to walk along-side Nymira. “I can walk with you guys, I don’t want to hold you up. Taliya suggested I talk to you guys about traveling. I’m making my way towards Midkemia.” She looked among them to gauge the recognition on their faces. “It’s… not a nicest vacation destination, but if you were going that way as well, I was hoping that I could tag along for some of the travel. There’s a bit of safety in numbers, even if you aren’t keen on going all the way…I wasn’t sure where you all were headed, and Taliya didn’t say—just that you all were traveling as well.”

“Anyway, I…uhh…don’t need an answer now, if you all want to talk it over or whatever. But I can take care of my own rations, do a shift on watch—“ She glanced over at the Machina, they probably didn’t need anyone taking shifts on watch. How relaxing that was. “I’ve heard you guys have gotten into some trouble with the church, and I don’t know much about Machina, but I am pretty good at patching people up.” Adrianna smiled. Knowing she had talked enough, Adrianna grew quiet, waiting for someone to tell her no immediately, or that they would discuss it as a group and let her know. If she couldn’t get them, perhaps she could work for a bit of time as a healer for some bandits in exchange for an escort. Bandits, mercenaries, idiots…any of them would do, really.