Zachary returned his eyes to the road ahead after his humorous gesture towards Eli and the white haired girl next to the prince. He always took pleasure in simple jests. They would always serve as good ice breakers to soften the mood and bring a smile. Even the bard’s bird friend was tweeting excitedly at the atmosphere here. Zachary patted his horse lightly as the conversation continued on. Soon enough Eli responded to Biscuit’s naming and Zachary feigned an overdramatic response. ”How dare you mock mi caballo,” the bard speaks as if he were a damsel. “He but a simple horse with a simple name. For now, I shall let your comment slide mi príncipe.” The bard softly chuckled at his poor acting skills, his ears perking when the kimono bearer Jauna approached from behind. Her compliment only served his playful act even more. With a big grin, he gestured towards his horse as he spoke. ”See, Eli? My stallion’s name is one of excitement and love!” How is it possible someone could put that much enthusiasm into naming their horse? Not even Zachary knew, he was just trying to rouse laughter.

Before he could earn himself a proper response, the loud guardsman Maize spoke once again to inform the group of their mission. The bard fell silent and looked forward as he listened carefully to the announcement. Even though Zachary was not a combatant it would be best for him to know the groups’ plans for now. Four days travel, four stops, no problem. I have done much worse in my younger days. Zachary thought this before he finally heard of the pirate attack on one of their stops. His heart panged with slight pain for the people affected by the attack. Zachary wished the victims the best and hoped everyone was fine from the attack, and he made it his personal goal to raise the town’s spirits with his music once they arrived that day.

Time went on during the ride before Zachary heard a womanly shriek from behind him. When he whipped his head around, he saw Jauna promptly sitting in fresh dung as her horse walked away to graze. Stifling a laugh and quickly turning his head to face forward, Zachary’s face was red from restraint. The bard knew those around the girl would take the situation seriously so he decided not to openly react to them. He decided, instead, to jest with the prince. ”Dios mío,” the bard said only loud enough for Eli to hear. “It seems nuestra amiga has landed herself in a crappy situation.” Zachary stopped himself from audibly laughing to prevent the poor girl from more humility… but internally he was dying of laughter and amusement. His face was contorted in what the bard was holding back his laughter as he face forward on his steed. Zachary took the pipe off of his hat, lit the tobacco in it with a match, and puffed it while riding to help mask his enjoyment.

The bard did not wish the girl ill will, and he hoped that the prince would see it as a simple, yet well timed, joke.

---

Tiu simply smiled, looking at the head of the horse. After a few short moments, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh, honestly wondering how she could explain why she adored creatures that were as wild as could be instead of any 'civilized' race. After a bit of thought, she decided a simple, yet truthful, answer was the best.

"Animals are free, they can go where they please when they want and nothing can stop them. When they are born, they are what they are, they follow their path and carry on, no matter what... Horses will always wander the grasslands, foxes will slip through the woods, birds will fly and fish will swim. They stay true to what they are and only fight when needed. They are simple creatures, yes, but they have a wisdom in their very existence that I wish to follow. So to answer your question, yes, I do like animals, but not entirely for simply what they are, but what they represent." She said before looking back to him. Admittedly, it wasn't exactly a straight answer, but it was the best she could think of without saying that she herself was pretty much half animal herself.

@Tenma Tendo

---

Eli looked over at the priestess with a raised brow, as if the name of the horse really mattered. He had made the whole thing as a joke, even if he did name the horse with a somewhat silly name. Taking hold of the reigns, Eli slowed his horse down a bit in order to mimic the pace of the two riders at his side. Reaching into his bag, Eli hoisted a book out with one hand, and used his other to open it; the contents were seen as blurs as the boy flipped from page to page with incredible speed. His eyes darted about as he took the information in quickly, trying to find the right page as he skimmed. When he finally reached the desired page, he smiled at the two, and held his hand out in front of him. "Check this out...don't Rhea know I'm showing you two, though. She might scold me about how it should be used for emergencies only."

Suddenly, without warning, a small light flashed within his hand, the intense heat resonating towards them, despite the small size of the flame. He toyed with the small ball of fire for a few seconds, the heat bouncing back and forth between them as he switched hands, the book resting on his lap. Letting out a deep breath, the flame disappeared, and it seemed that the cold from the wind arrived as soon as the fire was gone. He smirked, closed the book, and placed it back into his bag. "That's not even the kicker. I'll show you both later - I promise. I don't want to go back on my word, do I?" His smile grew wider and he turned his attention back towards the road, until Maize spoke up. He listened carefully and seemed to grow tense at the mention of a pirate raid on a port.

Traveling

@Mercurial

Gaivred's eyes cut towards Siran before he shook his head. "That's what a bard is for. They're supposed to be entertainment like jokes, stories, and songs." He stated as he got Jauna on her horse. She was clearly not a happy girl considering the hiccups and tears. It seemed she was not built emotionally for travel and small mishaps while on the road. It seems not many nobles are as emotionally or mentally sound as people are led to believe. He thought as the horses plodded along. Arin had come over to chastise Siran and Jauna and gave him a look as well for some reason.

"A little adversity never hurt anyone. But don't rub salt in someones wounds, emotional or otherwise." He stated, keeping it simple. If his helm hadn't been in the way he'd have dragged his hand down his face. Teens were so emotional, he didn't remember ever acting like this at their age. "Just try to be friendly now, who knows how long this journey will actually be." Gaivred continued, hinting that they should be a little more aware. Few journeys were as smooth as Maize made this one out to be. Especially with pirates on the rampage.

Siran Vahramyan Arshakuni

"Yeah, but they don't do pratfalls." Siran remarked to Gaivred bringing up bards. Now that she thought about it, the bard was the weirdo that had smiled and winked at her earlier. She wasn't entirely sure if he was up to the task of being charismatic and entertaining, but she would just have to see. Before they could move along, the young cleric in their party suddenly shoved herself into the middle of their exchange and chose to admonish both Jauna and herself. All her words served to elicit from Siran was further laughter. "Are you for real? Are you trying to be my mother or something?" It was really too amusing for Siran to have this young girl lecturing her so seriously. She had even involved Gaivred like he was the father in this situation. "Okay, real talk; if I fell over like that, I would have no right to complain about anyone laughing at me, and I would also like to think I could see the humour in the situation myself. If Jauna finds my words oh so hurtful, then I have severe doubts about her ability to see this journey through." Taking a glance over at the weeping girl, she could tell she was already probably at her limit. It was a wonder anyone agreed to take her with them to begin with; how on earth was someone that was reduced to tears by falling off their horse, or worse, by one joke, ever supposed to kill pirates? Siran wouldn't be surprised if the girl turned around and scurried off back to her mother in due time.

"Now if there's nothing else, I'm going to ride ahead. But by all means, you can keep lecturing me. I could use a good laugh on the road." She wasn't sure just how badly this cleric was going to take this, but if she was half as upset as Jauna, that just made one more person that didn't really belong on an expedition to fight pirates. If she had no intention on following up on this, Siran was just going to carry on ahead.

@Kazemitsu @Poi

@AmbraGorou hopped off the Wyvern without hesitation, landing lightly on the balls of his feet before bending his knees to absorb the impact. His first few steps had that wide, awkward gait to them as was normal for someone who had spent a long time on the back of a mount, but he soon shook his legs out and seemed to recover. It wasn't that he had any long term experience with riding like Rhea and the others did, simply that he was flexible and fit enough that his muscles could take the strain and wouldn't be sore for long. They headed for a tavern past a small marketplace. Was this to be their refuge for the night, or were they just going to get a meal before continuing on? It was only midday, after all, there was still plenty of time to travel. But then, a gaggle of fellows who seemed to have had their fill of the local liquor began causing some kind of ruckus with a shopkeep. Rhea approached without hesitation, and Gorou followed behind her as silently as a shadow.

She took a step forward, grabbing hold of Icarus' reigns and tugging him closer to the unfolding scene in front of her. The drunkards were surprised at her advance, but, seeing as they had greater numbers, did not scuttle back into tavern-- even at the sight of a beast as large as Icarus. "Is there an issue here?" Rhea demanded. The group of men exchanged looks with one another before the leader, a burly man with a sweaty mustache, curled his lip at her.

"Ain't no issue that pertains to you, lass," he slurred at her, his right hand toying with the hilt of the sword at his waist. Her eyes remained on his face, watching the other men fidget apprehensively behind their leader.

One of the other drunkards, a thin man with bloodshot eyes, pointed his sword at Icarus. Rhea's shoulders stiffened at the motion, and she heard the wyvern rumble lowly in a dangerous growl. "You thinks that you can scare us by bringin' yer monster on a leash? Big mistake!"

"A man shouldn't draw a sword lest he be ready to die with it in hand." Gorou stepped out from Icarus's flank, and boldly stood right in front of the drunk man, close enough that the blade he had pointed at the dragon was now mere inches from Gorou's own neck. The bandit, his already flushed face growing redder, started to say something...then he stopped, his pupils shrinking as his mouth moved without any sound. It was as if some invisible force had grabbed him by the throat.

There is a "sense," of sorts, that goes beyond the physical body's capability to perceive its surroundings. It is the sense that animals seem to possess naturally, though beasts of prey are more equipped to receive it while the predator emits it. It is the reason why the antelope will suddenly lift its head from the watering hole, even though it can't see the lion crouching in the grass. Humans could still feel this sense, though it was diluted; with training, however, it became much more clear to them. It was the feeling a guard might have, that he was being watched even though he had no knowledge of the assassin aiming an arrow at him from afar. It was the feeling an experienced warrior had when he felt an attack coming at him from a blind spot, and reacted to block or dodge it without conscious thought.

The old clans called it "Sakki," and in the modern tongue it was simply "Killing Intent."

It rolled off Gorou now, a complete and utter shift from the calm, composed, polite man Rhea had spent several hours riding with. It was not anger, nor was it condescension; it was simply a fact, a testament that Gorou could and would take a life right here and right now. It was directed solely at the man holding the sword, but it was so potent everyone who had any experience with life or death battle could feel it like a knife poised over their own heart. Thus, for that singular man, it had to be like staring down a lion with its fangs bared and knowing that whether you choose to fight or run, you will still die with absolute certainty.

Gorou's hand was on his own weapon, but not the hilt--he merely held the scabbard below where the handguard sat upon it. And it was his left hand, not the right which would have been used to actually draw the weapon. He wasn't even in a fighting stance--he stood completely relaxed, even nonchalant.

Yet looking at the cold, expressionless mask was like looking at the skeletal face of Death.

"Put it away." he told the drunkard.

Fei remained quiet and listened patiently to Tiu as she explained her love for the creatures that surrounded them at all times of the day. She had brought up how animals can do whatever they want and are free from the very start of their life, and hearing it said like that, Fei couldn't help but wish he was one of these animals that he feared so much. They never had to be molded to fit someone else's idea, or changed to make them a part of a matched set. They're just animals, simple as that. And while Fei didn't expect that first comment to hit as hard as it did, he couldn't help but lower his head in thought. Next came how they fight only when necessary, which made a lot of sense. Most animals run away from Fei if he moved to fast or was bigger than them. They didn't care about winning or killing those around them...all animals focus on were survival and making it to the next day; that's an accomplishment in of itself.
"I wasn't e-expecting such a deep answer, but I liked it. Animals...represent freedom, something that every human, a-although they might not think so, wishes they could have...if o-only we could be more like them..." Fei mumbled the last part to himself, knowing that Laguz were a touchy subject for plenty of people, regardless of if they were one or not.

---

Five hours had gone and past before Fei even knew it. He spent most of his time talking to Tiu, napping, and flipping through his tome. The boy had been sleeping once they reached their location, and if it wasn't for the sun's rays shining down on them, he probably would have remained in his motionless state for the rest of the day. Furrowing his brows, Fei's eyes fluttered open to the sight of people moving around the different stables and shacks like ants within a colony. The bluenette would have been amused if he wasn't so drowsy. He watched absentmindedly as Tiu moved their horse over to the stables along with the others. When it was time to dismount, Fei waited for the other to get down first, so that she could assist him on landing on the ground safely and not on his butt. By the time his feet were firmly planted on the ground, the others, well Gorou and Rhea, had already gotten into some messy business. Yes, he was tired, yes he wanted to go back to sleep, but seeing how those foolish men were treating his allies was a little bit annoying. Immediately as the leader of the drunken group had unsheathed his blade, aiming for Icarus originally, but with Gorou now standing in the way, Fei's expression had darkened, his hands wrapped tightly around his book. His electric eyes sparked as he glared at the lackeys of the group, since Gorou seemed perfectly capable of holding down the leader, his body practically itching to release a bit of sparks to wake himself up.

Traveling/Bolsan

Gaivred sighed as Siran talked before shaking his head slowly. Women always over-complicate things.... He thought as they continued to plod along. "Everyone is built differently, Siran. Physical, mental, and emotional. Maybe she can't take some humility but maybe she can kill pirates without feeling anything." He said while guiding his mare around a rut. No one could seriously gauge how a person acts in every situation from a single moment in time. It was one of the more unintelligent things you could do, assuming everything about someone from a single reaction. Doesn't help the woman is pretty rude.../ He thought while giving Arin an apologetic look through the slits in his helm.

Thankfully some time passed without incident and there was some small talk between the other members of the group. Not much of anything happened which was both a relief and incredibly boring. Thankfully their first stop came into sight just Rhea brought her flying steed down and walked the rest of the way with them. "If this place ever got in trouble it'd take to damn long to save it..." He muttered, noting their five hour journey on horseback. Granted forces would probably gallop but no animal could go this far for that amount of time.

Unfortunately it seemed like some local drunks didn't take well to the presence of a wyvern. Gaivred might not like flying but he didn't begrudge the reptile its right to live or exist in this world. Gorou seemed to be cowing the one who actually drew steel which got the axe-wielder to chuckle. "Considering you lot are drunk this early in the day I'd say go home and sleep it off before you get hurt." He said while leaning forward and resting an arm on the base of his mares neck. "No blood needs to be shed, just go on your way and we'll be on ours soon enough." He continued, trying to be a little more reasonable than Gorou's threatening words and aura.