If Nymira had to explain herself to Amuné then she wouldn't waste her breath. She was not being mean or even berating the Machina, it was more like imploring him not to be so ready to throw himself in harm's way. Machine or no he was still among them as an equal, as one of her unofficial retainers and she'd be damned if they just threw themselves in front of her. Nor did she wish for it, though she tried not to put too much stock into it there was a matter of her pride to attend to and it had already been partly shattered by the Varuna. How could she be a proud warrior if she was needing to be saved every day? She would train to become stronger and not need saving, no self respecting leader should need to be rescued like some helpless child.

"We all have training to do Cecil but a meal won't delay that too terribly much. If you want to join us you're more than welcome, even if you don't eat." Nymira was trying to be nice to the Machina and instead he was turning away at every offer. It was so much easier when you could just order people to do things and they'd obey, but without actually being in her service such a thing wasn't going to happen. Raising a hand to make another point the Dimuran frowned at a knock of the door and turned expecting to see Kensen or Gage come to fetch them. Ah... That man from before, what was his name again? Watching the boy address them uncertainly then go silent she rolled her eyes and looked back at Cecil, shrugging her shoulders and rubbing at her forehead. Whether they were off to eat or train she just wished to get moving, daylight was being wasted and so too was time to forward their journey.

No clear objective or plan had been laid out but they'd have time for that yet, Mutebo would probably be their home for a few days if not a week. And though both her and Ethan were still weary from their trial training and improving themselves was much too enticing a proposition to pass up, fatigue be damned. Cecil and Amuné were the first out of the room and a perturbed Gage was hot on their heels, clearly annoyed at having to spend his day with a child. If that man didn't learn to breath he was going to stress himself to death. Nodding for Ethan to leave as well Nymira stepped out herself and closed the door behind her, hardly giving Adrianna a passing glance as the two of them headed towards the doors with Kensen in tow. Much to her chagrin Adrianna wasn't finished with them yet and had a question for them as well, one she would much prefer not to answer right now. Yet if she didn't speak up Ethan certainly would and that clown would readily accept another member no matter what.

The name Midkemia meant nothing to the Dimuran and Ethan's bewildered echo of the name said he didn't either. So another crime ridden place like so many others it seemed, it was a wonder the kingdom didn't tear itself apart with how rampant criminals seemed to be. If a Dimuran acted out in the way many criminals here did they'd be thrown in a pit, lose a hand or be killed, there was little tolerance for criminal activity when simply surviving some days could be challenge enough. So it had been that woman Taliya who had planted the absurd idea in this man's head, she'd have to remember to thank her for that "pleasantry". As if trying to give them an incentive to accept Adrianna's help he offered to act as their healer, to which Nymira promptly turned up her nose and grit her teeth in distaste. While it wouldn't be a terrible thing to have someone who could bandage them and provide traditional treatment she was certain Adrianna had every intent to use magic, something which she'd more than made her position on clear already.

"We all have our own business to see to. Are you asking us to postpone our own travels simply because it would be convenient for you?" Pleasantries be damned if Adrianna thought asking nicely was enough to get them to oblige her. Stopping in her tracks and standing before the healer she crossed her arms, looking up at Adrianna defiantly as she scowled. "We have had trouble with the Church, yes, and I understand you're from it as well. Whether you're still their ally or not doesn't concern me, but if someone is after you too then we will not protect you, that is not our job. Nor can we help you with whatever it is you're after, we're busy enough as it is."

Ethan had come to a halt when he'd realized it was only him and Kensen still walking, asking the Dimuran to wait as he hurried back to Nymira and Adrianna. Whatever the two were talking about Nymira didn't seem at all pleased with, and he'd only just caught the tail end of the conversation when he'd arrived. Adrianna was wanting to travel with them too then was it? He could understand and respect Nymira's problem with a healer even if he thought it was a bit counter-intuitive but that aside what reason did they have to deny him? If Adrianna was willing to do the work and could be helpful there wasn't any reason to deny them their request.

"Oh come on Nymira, it's not like we didn't have other people with us before," Ethan urged gently, smiling as the Dimuran shot him an angry glance. Counting off on his fingers he continued, "Let's see... We had Asta, and then Zander and Geoffrey too. This is the smallest our group's been even so what's the problem with one more? Besides if Adrian is from the cities then he'll know how to get there and back, something none of us know how to do," Ethan pointed out, grinning as he gestured to himself, "Unless you want me to handle that?" For once his ineptitude at finding directions paid off, the very idea of him leading them to the cities and through them was enough to make Nymira roll her eyes and turn away, muttering something about "incompetence" under her breath. Ethan hardly cared though as she seemed to fold to his argument, and with a smile he extended a hand towards Adrianna cheerfully. "I think that means you're one of us now! But uh... You do know we're not leaving right away, yeah? We have training to do and that's going to take a few days at least. So long as you're okay with that..."

"If he means to travel with us then he has no choice, he can wait," Nymira interrupted curtly, looking over at Kensen before grabbing the back of Ethan's shirt and pulling him along, "Come now, we're going to make our dear instructor angry. Let's be done with this so we can eat."

Cecil knew he probably shouldn’t think too much about it, he was not like them and to be treated like them was just wrong. All this was already telling him that, especially having to remain around all these people who didn’t know what he was like and how different he was to other Machina. He was supposed to do a job, not act like them and try to fix in. He was a combat Machina, not an organic lifeform who could eat, sleep and joke around openly with friends. The moment people caught on that he was a Machina and saw how much emotion he was able to express he was immediately hated and feared, something they didn’t have to worry about at all. If he was going to do his job he would need to do less of what they were doing and simply learn to accept the fact that he was supposed to be able to fight and not end up destroyed. Nymira would probably see him being tossed if he got damaged like that again. He wouldn’t be able to blame her for that if it did end in that, though, seeing how much money he was costing them and, from the sounds of it, having to pay off favours to these people who helped called Norman to get him all fixed up.

It didn’t matter anyway. They all had new friends from it so it wasn’t a total loss for them. Right now he needed to go see Norman like he was told to do if he was to make these people happy and owe them back. Seeing one of the new people they had met come along to see them he was soon on his way, simply ignoring what Amuné was going on about. She didn’t have to shout back at Nymira, she had her right to tell him to straighten up or he was going to end up in a worse place. He wanted to show he could do something right, sure, but he didn’t know if any of it was going to matter anymore when he couldn’t feel proud about doing something right openly with these new people around. He had to act like that other Machina from the manor, he needed to act emotionless and able to follow orders.

Continuing on his way he wasn’t really paying attention to who was following him, gasping lightly when someone grabbed his hand. He tried to shake her off without causing too much of a fuss, but she wouldn’t let go. He didn’t want her following him, he didn’t want anyone following him in fact. Trying to ignore her he simply continued along, trying to find his way back to the shop without having to have her tagging along for too long. He needed to get to doing some fairly serious stuff which involved refining his abilities, all of which were pretty deadly. She would probably get hurt if she was around him while he was doing all that kind of stuff, so she shouldn’t be around him for too long once Norman told her to go back to the others.

As Amuné continued to prattle on he was only growing more anxious, seeing as how she still wasn’t leaving yet. Trying to shake her off again she seemed insistent on trying to make him feel better about what he did, but he knew it was wrong. She should just accept that he wasn’t like them and shouldn’t care about loneliness or anything like that. Trying to ignore her just seemed impossible, she was simply insisting on being with him way too much.

“I shouldn’t need anybody to talk to! I’m not supposed to be like this! It’s fine for you, you can get over that kind of stuff by being around other people! But what am I supposed to do? I’m not even supposed to be around other people!” he spoke quickly, finding it fairly hard to keep up the act, “I shouldn’t be feeling lonely or scared or things like that! It’s fine for you, it’s normal for you! I’m supposed to be an efficient working Machina…I’m not supposed to have all these things highlighted! Now stop treating me like a person…because I’m not one! I’m just going to get in trouble and be trouble for everyone else!”

--

Kensen was a pretty patient guy, he could do with all this waiting around if that’s all he needed to do before they were going to get to training. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to training them, he knew Nymira was going to act like a pain at every opportunity she got all while trying to insist that he’d return. He just had to ignore all that, she just didn’t understand any better and was simply following her father’s orders. The other was probably going to not be too much of a problem, he just seemed clumsy and easily screwed up under pressure. Maybe he would be faster at learning than Nymira, that girl was definitely pretty stubborn and was probably still trying to think of a way and find out the biggest reason as to why he wouldn’t go back to the clan. He was exiled for a reason, she didn’t need to be pushing him to do all these things. Seeing as how they were all heading out he was going to be following along to see where they were all going, especially now that they were being joined by what was turning out to be a new friend for them from hearing their discussion. Staring at them as he moved behind he heard that it was food they were going to go and get, feeling a bit more enthusiastic himself already. If they were getting food then he would be able too, he was pretty hungry and did spend a lot of energy this morning. He didn’t have to sit with them and demand that they’d hurry up at least, he just needed to make sure they trained with him at least some time as to not waste too much time, plus it seemed like they were going to be around here for a while anyway.

Adrianna was a bit surprised by the haughty attitude Nymira displayed at the request. She hadn’t really seen too much of that before, and she stared in shock for a few moments before she recovered enough to reply. “I…No. I was simply suggesting that if you were going in the same direction, I could travel with your group.” There was safety in numbers, except for when one wanted to backstab the others. Nymira brought up the Church, and Adrianna grew pale. What the… How had she known about that? Of course, even as the question occurred to her, she knew it was Lionel. A simple punch in the face was going easy on him. How many people had he told, and how had that even come up? She couldn’t imagine any conversations from which “Oh yea, that healer guy used to work for the Church,” would have arisen naturally. He was doing this just to screw with her life.

For that reason alone, Adrianna was willing to leave the group. People with mouths as big as this weren’t safe, and it was better to travel alone. Of course, the fact that Nymira was refusing her request was another reason that she knew it was better to simply depart. “Fine then.” It was no use reminding the woman that Taliya suggested this. Clearly, the woman didn’t care.

She was already turning to walk away when Ethan came over and began to recount other people who had traveled with them. Adrianna couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to those other individuals. Had they all died? It wasn’t exactly a reassuring thought. Then again, perhaps they just went their own ways, like she planned to. Adrianna didn’t entirely understand why Ethan was suggesting he was let capable of navigating himself, but she really didn’t know him well yet. The Dimuran, however, seemed to catch his reference, and looked rather grumpy about the whole affair.

Despite Adrianna saying they could take their time and talk it over, Ethan extended a hand immediately, telling her that they would be staying in town a few days for training. Adrianna wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to travel with this group anymore. Who knows what Lionel had told them, and the Dimuran seemed rather upset about the whole thing, not to mention that it hadn’t been discussed with the rest of their group. “ummm Okay.” Adrianna took his hand and shook it briefly. He was about to say that he didn’t mind waiting, and ask what exactly they were training for, but Nymira interrupted and pulled Ethan away.

Adrianna stayed in her spot for a few moments, wondering if she was supposed to follow along. She didn’t need training, but she didn’t know where and when she was to meet them later…and frankly she didn’t have anything else better to do either. If they wanted her gone, Adrianna was pretty sure that Nymira would say as much. Initially, Adrianna thought that the woman was… stubborn, but perhaps the leader of the group. Now, she was beginning to think that the Dimuran was bitter and more than a little negative. Just before the group disappeared from sight, Adrianna picked up her step and followed them. She had traveled with strange folks before, and she knew the hard way that they weren’t going to slow down or accommodate her. She kept up, or was left behind.

Ethan uttered something unintelligible as he stumbled backwards with Nymira, turning around and fixing his shirt once he was freed from her grasp. "He's probably hungry too, we all had a lot of work today! Let's go fill our bellies and then we can get cracking at this training, he won't mind. Right Kensen? Maybe you can show us some good places around here!" Everyone had their own preferences for food, he himself loved poultry and Nymira seemed to usually go for the more gamey meats, though maybe that was just a result of her traveling. With Amuné and Wyth having gone off with Cecil to train that was two less mouths to feed, which made everything easier. Of course there was the matter of Adrian too, if he was going to join them then it was only fair he dine with them as well! Looking back to find Adrian and realizing how far behind the other man was Ethan stopped in his tracks and waited, beaming as he waved in greeting when Adrian rejoined him. "We're going to grab a bite to eat before we train, want something? It's our treat!" he explained as he clapped Adrian on the back, "Maybe you know some good places around here? I mean we only just arrived yesterday and haven't been to much besides Taliya's place, think you can show us around?"

"Oh, by the way! In case you still didn't get all of our names I'm Ethan, and you met Nymira earlier. I know she can be a little... Difficult," Ethan stressed the last word with a smile and laugh - a strained laugh at that - as plenty more could be said about Nymira. "She's a good person though, I promise. Maybe you can't talk to her much but she'll help you when you're in trouble, no doubt. The little girl and her pet are Amuné and Wyth, and our Machina friend is called Cecil. I figure if you're going to be with us you should know our names huh?" They needed to be friendly to potential comrades, he figured that someone like Nymira who was trying to forge alliances would know that better than anyone. She'd been friendly enough with the mayor but even then only enough that the guards didn't hall them off, anyone who wasn't potentially a leader of sorts got the cold shoulder. "So uh... You're from the Church huh? I kind of figured Lionel was just kidding but..." Ethan trailed off slightly as he looked ahead, his mouth pulled in a thin line as he thought carefully about his words. You killed Cedric huh?. Not directly of course but by association, and yet he knew there was no way Adrianna had personally done it, and throwing the death of his friend on someone new certainly wasn't going to make them on good terms. Shaking his head he flashed Adrianna a smile and shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever happened in the past is in the past, right? The future's all yours now! That's all that matters now!"

"He'll try to make friends of our enemies before long..." Nymira grumbled irritably as she overheard Ethan prattling to Adrianna. There was being cordial when the situation demanded it and then there was simply being idiotic, Ethan quite comfortably belonged to the latter. No amount of traveling with him was ever going to make watching him bumble about, befriending people at every turn any less bewildering. Having comrades was good, foolishly placing your trust in every single person who so much as said hello? Pinching the bridge of her nose she closed her eyes and muttered to herself about having patience, looking at Kensen after a moment with a frown.

"I meant to ask... That man Gage, was it wise to leave him with Amuné? Cecil is there but he'll be joining Norman, and the child is far from a warrior, even with that animal of hers. And I've not gotten the impression Gage is a man who does well with children." Or people, he had less social graces than most anyone she'd ever seen. He also wandered around like a man who had grown far too big for his own blade and thought he had the run of the place. He'd been capable during their encounter with the beasts to be sure, rather capable actually given he never seemed to use magic, but that didn't earn him the right to act like the arrogant swine he was. He had zero respect for her or anyone save perhaps their leader. "At least we seem to be in agreement on one matter: That man is a nuisance."

Listening to this machine and the little girl prattle on was beginning to make Gage ill. Why was this even a discussion? Yes Cecil was a highly unusual Machina and far more emotional than any he'd seen before but ultimately that was all the boy was: a Machina. Calling him "boy" even was pushing it when Cecil was the equivalent of the prosthetic limb Gage himself possessed. Running a hand along his face and groaning aloud as Amuné went on a tirade about feelings and emotions he quickened his pace and stood behind the pair, narrowing his eyes as he cleared his throat loudly.

"Listen you little shites, quit blabbering about things that don't matter none, will you? You're giving me a headache and we haven't even started your training yet," Gage grumbled irritably, throwing Wyth a look that dared him to bare his fangs against him. "And don't even try it you cat, I've killed beasts meaner than you while on my ass drunk, you won't even be worth it." He was not here to make friends with any of them, he wasn't here to console anyone and he sure as hell wasn't here to listen to some little girl and her pet robot have a heart to... Whatever Machina had. That said he did feel like he should say something if only to keep them from continuing on this obnoxious trail of thought they'd been on.

"Cecil, you're a Machina, end of story. If you feel emotions then that's how you were built, that's all. Yes you're not human, you're not a living being, get over it. We die, we tire, we age and we grow weak. Machina will never die as long as you're not destroyed, so its a trade off. If I had my way I'd be a damn machine like you, save me a shitload of trouble if I didn't have to worry about so much..." As if to prove a point Gage placed a hand on the back of his neck and rolled it, popping joints audibly with a groan. Stepping past Cecil and Amuné then he gestured over his shoulder for them to follow as he headed for Norman's shop. "Accept what you are and move on, ain't no use in whining about what can't be changed. Make peace with it and everything will be a lot easier."

Kensen didn’t much care for what the others were talking about, not was he going to say anything about Adrianna or even look at her as she spoke to them. It was all a big ‘whatever’ to him whether she decided to be pals with them and go off to do whatever they wanted to do once they were away from this place. It was all okay, it wasn’t his place to dictate what they were and were not allowed to plan for the future nor was he going to mention anything about them. In a little world of his own for a moment there he didn’t realise Ethan was talking to him until he mentioned his name, thinking for a moment over what was said. “Hmm I know a few places. I have a place in mind”. There was plenty of bars that sold food but there was also a grill designed for travellers on the go and workers to which there was a lot of. So long as they were into meat then it was all going to be fine for the lot of them.

Not having many other thoughts running though his head he made a casual glance to Nymira, staring at her before looking away again. “If he wishes to keep his job, then sure”, he spoke quickly, waving his hand, “All you do it learn to mostly ignore his tone of voice and casual insults and he’s fine. I doubt he’d be trusted with others at all if he was a loose cannon”. It was true that Gage was pretty loud and strutted around like he owned the place but if any of them so much as stepped out of line then there was punishments. They had a mission here and to throw that all away because someone got annoyed at a little kid would just be idiotic and scarring to the whole cause they were fighting for. They were supposed to be the better people, they had no reason to show they were nothing but thugs.

--

Just why was their group so dead set on treating him like he was a person, especially when he was supposed to be a machine that was supposed to kill their kind. He was around so many strangers and everybody was just treating him like he was flesh and blood, like his cover wouldn’t be blown around so many strangers. He didn’t know who these people were, he didn’t know them personally at all. The whole group were all just coming out and treating him like he was one of them, that was going to end in his death if they weren’t careful. Who knew if they would be willing to take him apart once they found out, especially when he apparently had a crystal inside him. Who knew how much that would sell for, it was probably enough to pay off how much it cost to repair him. It was wrong to treat him like a person, that was just the end of it.

Amuné didn’t seem to understand, she was still pretty set on judging him by how he looked and not who he really was. It just wasn’t right to do such a thing, he didn’t even understand their social structures very well. “Don’t call me special…that’s nothing special about be. Just means I’m difficult to repair”, he spoke lowly, looking away, “And also means I’m getting chased all the time…” Amuné seemed to had forgotten that he was something others wanted and they didn’t care whether he was destroyed to get a hold of his parts or taken away whole. She just didn’t get it; he wasn’t like them, he was somebody’s creation and whoever that was they wanted him back. Murans didn’t seem to need to worry about that, they all had their own lives, but he had a purpose and straying from that meant he needed to be taken back to where he came from.

She was making this terribly difficult. She couldn’t possibly understand how he felt. Just because she thought of her animal as a person didn’t make him one, instead it would make him not much better than a pet instead. He didn’t understand. What did anyone want with him? Why was she so set on calling him a person? Why was there people after him? Why were they so willing to have him around despite him showing how dangerous he could be? He didn’t understand any of it and all this was just confusing him, he just shouldn’t be treated like one of them when he definitely wasn’t. How was it right to confuse him so much? Pressing his chest a little bit as if to test how fleshy he actually was he sighed lowly, not buying what Amuné was telling him at all.

Gasping when the sound of someone sounded out he jumped back a few inches, staring at Gage in mild surprise and confusion. They had followed them? This was just getting worse as he went along. He didn’t need someone like this man finding out about him, even if he was mostly berating him and being insulting. Not knowing whether to attack this man to silence him or just play dumb he was left confused and unable to move, simply staring at the man rather blankly. He didn’t know who he was but he was threatening him, even if he was trying to tell him to get over his insecurities. It wasn’t that easy, he didn’t even know anything about what was going on in his life and was just throwing out words because he was an angry man. Watching him as he passed he hesitated, not knowing why he was going the way they were heading.

“…You don’t understand. You don’t know me. There’s people hunting me because of what I am and that's a problem concerning my existence! They wouldn’t care if there was many innocents around me, they’d still use excessive force to get me”. Walking on towards Norman’s shop still he felt no intimidation towards the way Gage was acting or talking, hearing him talk with great confidence as if they should all be scared of him acting out. “I’ll only accept what I am when I know what I was made for and for what purpose. And don’t say you don’t care because if you didn’t you wouldn’t had bothered talking so much about it and just told me to shut up…” Cecil held no fear towards Gage, he didn’t have any worries about being destroyed by him when he cared so little about himself in the first place. Even if Gage shouted, berated and threatened him there was nothing he cared about at this point. Gage could get angry and threaten to destroy him all he wanted, he could even ignore him all he wanted, he wasn’t afraid of him.

Adrianna quickly caught up with the group when beckoned, and raised her brows at the offer to have food bought for her by the group. She could certainly pay for herself, but she appreciated the gesture all the same. She had heard the tail end of Kensen saying he had a place in mind, but as Ethan asked her as well for good places in Mutebo, she tilted her head a little. “To eat?” She asked. Ethan looks at her a bit strangely and confirms that of course he was asking for places to eat.

“Sure, there are definitely a few places that I think give you a good amount for what you pay.” She said. Kensen already had a place in mind for now, but since they would be here for a few days. “An older man named Octonion has a food cart with meat and some fresh vegetables put on a stick and roasted. It tastes pretty great. I tend to be wary of stews because you never quite know what was put in them to make the stock, so I like that you can see exactly what you are getting. The mead at The Steep Archer is a staple worth trying. Their mulled mead is flavored with some fruits and spies, and then warmed by shoving a hot poker from the fireplace into it.” She gestured off in the direction of the building. Jerard had taken her there as a thanks for healing him, and though she had only been back a few times to try different meads, they were all fantastic.

Ethan then introduced some of the group, including the Dimuran she had thought was in charge initially, Nymira, who he described as difficult. Adrianna frowned slightly, wondering why she wouldn’t be able to talk to the woman. They had spoken fine the first time, and she wasn’t sure what had changed. “Yes, Amune introduced herself to me when we met at Norman’s before.” Adrianna recalled. She had frightened the girl by acknowledging the girl’s magic, and her over-exertion. “I could always just call you all, ‘Hey, you!’” She said, chuckling lightly. Adrianna glanced over to Kensen, trying to recall if she had gotten his name already, but figured she would just ask when she desperately needed it, or avoid using his name at all. Wasn’t there another man in their group as well? She thought she remembered seeing another when she first met up with them.

Adrianna’s polite smile fell when Ethan mentioned her being from the Church once more, and having thought it was a joke. “I was born in a city where the Church still has a strong influence, yes.” Adrianna replied. Saying she was from the Church sounded like she worked for them. Okay, well, she did work for them, but it sounded like she…actively created their doctrine and supported the practice of harming those with magic. Ethan seemed to get over whatever dark thoughts he was having, declaring that the past was best left behind them. “I suppose so.” She replied.

As they continued on their way to the food joint Kensen had picked out, Adrianna spoke up once more to Ethan. “When you asked about other places, I thought you meant just like…other shops and things. There is a neat training area if you are interested in practicing melee attacks.” Adrianna didn’t know that they were getting more formal training from professionals, and was just trying to be helpful. Someone had re-routed some trees whose branches were all removed, apart from a few that were strategically there to represent arms to practice attacks. The split bo staff she used in the area still swung on either hip. “There are some wood mages I know who fix it when it is broken, mostly by some people who practice their magic over there as well.” It wasn’t used by the guards and Taliya’s fighters so much as whoever else wanted to make sure they could defend themselves. No place was truly safe, after all.

"Yes... Once you get past all of his unpleasantness he's an upstanding man, I'm sure," Nymira muttered with a roll of her eyes, "Forgive me if I have difficulty liking the man still." But then their purpose here wasn't to make friends now was it? Though she could still argue as to why she required any training it was clear that Ethan required some formalities, and any help Cecil could get would do them a great deal of help. She would go into this business with very little expectations and, should anything useful come of it, she would admit as much; pride was natural when one was to be the heir to the throne of a powerful clan like the Rumia line, but humility and willingness was equally so. And she liked to think she was getting along rather well in those domains - an opinion others may argue with - and it was just a matter of 'growing into the throne' as her father often put it.

Ethan's face lit up excitably at the promise of meads and he very well would have asked to visit the pub had Nymira not shot him down before he could even ask. If the Dimuran knew anything about him it was his lack of navigational skills, and how much of a lightweight he was. It still flummoxed him how she'd managed to empty so many glasses before without any notable side effects. Was there some special kind of drunk magic she had? Someone little like her should have been passed out after half that many! The roasted meats and vegetables sounded good and maybe would be pretty inexpensive, and then Adrianna went right back to discussing meads. Ethan's mouth watered excitably but he remembered himself when Nymira looked back at him accusingly, a sheepish smile crossing his face as he rubbed at his neck. Just food for tonight, besides it would be difficult to train if he couldn't even stand up straight!

Any fervor over their potential dining stop faded when Ethan brought up the matter of the Church and for an uncomfortable moment he and Adrianna went silent. Of course he knew that their newest member hadn't personally killed his friend but still... They were part of it, they had to know things like that went on. But then that was probably why Adrianna was here now, right? Because they knew and couldn't take it any longer? There was bitterness towards the Church but Ethan realized how terribly misplaced it was with the healer and set it aside, smiling again as they reached Kensen's chosen eatery. "I'd say sure but I bet Kensen's got a place all picked out for us already! Maybe we can use it on our own time though!" Their choice of food would be seared meats it seemed, and long before they'd even reached the stalls themselves he could smell the delicious odors on the wind. Before them lay a large bed of coals with a long fire spit hung above the flames, several slabs of various meats hanging from the pole. Before the flames themselves was a long table with various raw pieces on display ripe for the taking, it seemed you selected your own slab and they cooked it to order. Rubbing his hands excitably as he walked up he began trying to pick over what might be the best, giving Adrianna a hopeful glance. "Er... You've eaten here before, right? What's good? I can't decide!"

"A simple meal over a fire... How nice." It was reminiscent of home and the countless dinners spent gathered in the village center, warriors and others all gathered together, sharing a toast and singing while enjoying a hard earned meal. And yet the fire spit was about as far as the familiarity went and Nymira found herself more annoyed by it all. Smaller towns weren't as guilty of this, but it seemed like the cities of the kingdom - and larger towns as well - were no strangers to having an excess of food. How nice it must be to wander about haplessly and be able to take whatever you wish to eat without to work for it. "Most of these people wouldn't last a moon in our lands," the Dimuran muttered as she pointed to a thin steak, lamb apparently, and dismissively told the owner of the stall to cook it however he saw fit. "Does it not bother you? Just how lazy these people are...?" Nymira questioned, frowning as she watched Ethan continue to fret over his selection, "No wonder this Church is so easily able to control everything, most of the people in this kingdom are useless... I'm astonished most can dress themselves."

----------

"Guess what? I've been on the other side of the law near all my life, I'm no stranger to being hunted, but you ain't hearing me bitching about it now are ya? And I don't care, but I also don't want to listen to you bellyachin' all fucking day either. It's like I said: accept who you are and what your lot in life is, or change it. Complaining ain't going to change anything and it'll just piss off everyone around you." Children complained, children whined and moaned and expected things to change because of it. If you wanted something to happen though, if you wanted real results, you had to take action and take matters into your own hands. He could argue with Cecil all day about the idea of having a "purpose" but Gage had better things to waste his time with. Besides they were at the gearheads place now and with luck he could be done with them for at least a little while. Hopes of that however faded rather quickly when the first words out of the Ydran brats mouth were "Mr. Norman, Cecil's a person, right?" Growling lowly he folded his arms and stood at the door, scowling as Norman gave him a perplexed look. "Don't look at me, your problem now."

Well... He hadn't expected Gage to be sent along with them. He was familiar with the man's less than amiable personality and so it was of little surprise to find both Amuné and Cecil bothered by the man. The girl came to him with questions perhaps far too philosophical for a child and for a good moment Norman hadn't the words to offer one way or another. Deciding it was best to just not even get into that mess he smiled and squat down before Amuné, taking off a dirtied glove and patting her head with a laugh. "Cecil is fortunate to have someone who cares about him enough to argue with Gage, you're a brave little girl, Amuné." Or a little foolish, though even Gage wasn't the sort to strike a child for speaking against him. Slipping his glove back on Norman pulled his goggles up to his forehead and smiled at Cecil, stepping aside and gesturing to the shop, "Taliya told me all about our plans and I've got everything set up for us, come in and make yourself comfortable."

"And Amuné? I know you'll be doing your own training with Gage and I'm sure he's got plans for you to practice elsewhere, but you might be happy to know we've prepared a range nearby for you to practice at, if you'd like." There was of course an ulterior motive to his suggestion and Norman's wide smile should indicate as much. Calling for one of the shop's assistance to fetch "the weapon" he seemed to grow more eager as a box was brought out to them, almost as long as Amuné was tall. Taking it and placing it down before the girl Norman unlatched the locks and smiled as he pulled the lid off, revealing inside a repeating crossbow. "It's a bit crude honestly and its still in its prototype stages but I think it's a perfect weapon, if you have to have one," Norman explained before looking up at Gage curiously, "Er... You're absolutely certain she needs to be trained? I'm still against the idea of giving a child a weapon at all."

"Tali's orders, don't matter what I think about them," Gage answered gruffly as he stepped forward, leaning over Amuné and snatching the weapon up in one hand. Examining it closely he took a closer look at it, interested in the design. "Looks like a regular ol' shooter, except for this here..." he muttered as he tapped a conical cartridge affixed horizontally beneath the weapon's barrel.

"Each shot moves the cartridge forward, automatically lining up the second arrow for firing," Norman explained eagerly, standing beside Gage as he pointed to various mechanisms, "The string has to be drawn back manually still since we couldn't decide on a suitable automation for that, but reloading the weapon itself is, pardon the phrasing Amuné, child's play. It can hold 8 bolts simultaneously and the weapon itself is highly accurate and light thanks to an ash composite for the body and a carbonized steel plating for the- Er... What are you doing?" Seeing Gage taking aim at one of the walls Norman gasped and tried to stand in front of it to prevent him from firing, ducking when Gage pulled the trigger and turning to see the bolt having pierced through the shop wall, albeit a very thin sheet of wood wall, and ending up goodness knows where out back.

"Not bad, good stopping power for such a small toy," Gage noted as he turned it over and dumped the remaining bolts into his hand, dropping the emptied weapon then into Amuné's lap. "Try that out kid, if you can manage to fire it without falling on your rear maybe it'll be yours yet."

---

What was the reason to call him all the way back here? Hadn't he done everything that had been asked of him? There was the Magi in Terranova that was causing a problem and they had been dealt with, so had the woman in that small village by Geromaine's Gorge, a tiny little place at the base of the Boehm Highlands to the north. Not that Bernadette had sounded terribly cross but there was a slightest hint of urgency to her voice and that rarely bode well. Unlike when he'd been teleported to his locations there was no such convenience for his return, he'd be on his own. Remus had to charter two ships to journey down the rivers and even then had only managed half the trip by boat, the rest had been done on horseback and changing three times over before finally reaching Balkova. His body ached from the culmination of battle and the weariness of the ride but he carried on down the busy streets, his head high and eyes forward as he walked through the crowds. Further east was where most of the heaviest population centers were and, in turn, where the Church's presence was most felt. Indeed banners denoting the Church hung from many high places and their priests were on almost every street, handing out fliers for events and gathering donations for just one of the numerous local churches in the city. Was it right of them, a group who essentially owned the city already, to be asking for donations? It wasn't his place to say.

A boisterous crowd outside the bar was parted by two members of the Church as Remus approached it and the proprietor, a portly older gentleman whose sweat stained his white wool coat jacket greeted him at the door. In her usual fashion his handler seemed to spare no expense in creating as much inconvenience for others as she could while setting up a meeting. Thanking the man at the door he ducked beneath the low bearing frame and into the bar. None seemed to pay him any terrible mind as he entered save the few drunkards who, probably if spoken to, would find enough reason to foolishly get into a fight with him. He was not here to take part in any drunken spats however nor did he have any desire to, his destination was through the door behind the bar. Greeting the young woman behind the counter he made a mental note that she was likely the owner's daughter judging by their resemblance - an uncanny and often annoying habit Remus found himself doing - thanking her for her work before disappearing inside. He'd barely shut the door at his back when a knife found itself at his throat, stopping promptly and glancing to his side at a smiling Ydran.

"Oh, its just you gramps. Hehe, sorry, don't want anyone unexpected popping in," the Ydran laughed as he lowered his blade, spinning it on his finger before dropping it into a sheath at his hip, "Took you long enough to arrive, what kept you? Run into some women on the way here?"

Remus didn't bother with an answer and instead looked to the woman behind the desk: Bernadette. Though a false name as he well knew, it was simply yet another moniker that she'd taken on during her work. Her actual name alluded him and she'd never made any mention of it in their brief discussions, nor did he ever care to ask. "You called for me? I assume there is more work to be done?" There was no immediate response and for several seconds she simply looked at him, her smile never leaving her face. Feeling like he was being silently picked apart Remus shifted his weight and opened his mouth to speak again, being cut off instead by Bernadette.

"So I understand you and Sero had a little fight again, hm? You two should really learn to play along..." she cooed, resting her head on her hand as she traced the table grains with a fingertip, "That's twice you've fought now, and twice someone's gotten away because of it. I know you don't see eye to eye but please, be a dear and get along, won't you? I'd hate to have to punish you for disobeying us again..." Remus visibly tensed at her veiled threat and there was a very distinct look of anger in his eye but he remained silent, her smile widening as she set both feet on the floor and leaned forward. "That's a good dog, you know your place. Now... I know he's not your favorite fish in the world and you've asked not to work with him, but... I have a job for you that you might like." Looking at the Ydran she waved for him to speak, settling back into her chair and folding her leg over the other again. "Elluine can tell you the details."

The Ydran was rather pleased with himself though he was little more than a messenger: anything to get under this stoic old fossil's skin, tormenting him was always such a joy. "Sero's got a problem of causing scenes during his jobs, it's becoming a real headache to clean up his messes. After all, we're not supposed to be causing scenes while we work, it'd be very unflattering for the Church," Elluine began as he broke into a grin, reaching into his tunic and pulling out a parchment, rolled with a red string and stamped with a familiar seal. "This one comes from above, they want you to make sure he doesn't go too crazy with his next job. If he causes a problem then clean it up and bring him back, we'll handle disciplining him ourselves. Oh, and Remus...?" The Ydran grabbed the man's hand as he was putting away the paper and he snatched it back, waving it in the Muran's face with a wink. "This here's an order for you to deal with whoever else shows up there. If its another Magi you can kill them on sight, we'll argue it was self defense and that's that. That said please don't go laying waste to everyone, it'll look bad."

"Besides, the game's no fun if you wipe out all the pawns immediately," Bernadette interjected with an airy chuckle, "Keep Sero on a leash and make sure he does his job, after that bring him back, drag him if you must, I really don't care. And don't mess this up, my patience with you two is thin as it is and I'd hate to have to report that two of my men ended up dead."

Kensen was pretty chill, he wasn’t going to get mad if they were going to take their time eating. He wouldn’t call himself lazy, he just didn’t much care about forcing objectives on others when it meant he could skip out on working too. They were still going to get the same length of training in the end, it wasn’t as if this was all going to get a shorter training session in the end. He may be very lax but he wasn’t going to be irresponsible and not do his duties. He would never be in the position he was now if he was a slacker. Having the idea of food before training was fair enough for him and he was going to allow them to eat something when he was a bit hungry himself. He didn’t see himself moving much in this training to start, they could barely control the direction their magic went in nevermind use it on someone else. That would be funny, them hitting him with their magical abilities.

Letting them get on with their own little chatter he sorted himself out once they got to the humble little joint, not caring if the others might complain about it. So long as they had money it would be fine, otherwise if they did not they would have to owe the group more than just the debt they had to pay for them repairing their Machina. With the thought mainly on his food he was quick to get to the front, minding his own business when Nymira seemed to had squeezed herself in right near him as well. With a look down at her momentarily he soon looked away again, frowning. He didn’t really want her to be so close, he knew why she would be too. She was just going to try talking him out of staying here again, probably because she was angry she wasn’t getting her own way.

Tilting his head back when she finally decided to speak he slowly lowered his head again, feeling annoyed already even though a question hadn’t been asked at that moment. She was pretty persistent, that was for sure. He did wonder if she had met any other Dimurans outside her own territory too. They were out there, she just didn’t seem to care that much about finding them because they probably weren’t from her Clan. Looking to her with some degree of irritation in his face he questioned just whether she really was that dense about other cultures and ways people live and survive. “Hmm. How very insensitive of you, Princess…” he sighed, looking away again, “Just because they’re not all warriors means they’re useless. You should be more sensitive to different ways of living if you’re supposed to be doing stuff in this kingdom, seeing how you’re wandering around here in the first place. The Church stuff doesn’t affect most of the population here, so why should they have to worry about something that won’t hurt them? There’s not many Magi around, anymore…”

--

Cecil just wanted to know what he was and how he was supposed to fit in, but Amuné was constantly trying to confuse him with her own ideals. A combat Machina with emotions, just how was that supposed to be useful? He could get frightened in battle and retreat, so surely he wasn’t made for that kind of thing. Why was he so aware of his existence? Where did it all start and why did he feel the need to flee from his point of origin rather than face it head on? Hearing Amuné being so insistent on him being considered a person was just causing him to question everything even more. Maybe it was time to just shut up about it. Everybody had moved on since then and were all minding their own business so he shouldn’t be dwelling on it.

He didn’t care much for Gage’s response either. That guy just looked like a horrible person and while he knew he shouldn’t judge people by their looks he just looked like he wanted to be considered one by others and act like it too. Of course he would be one to be hunted all the time, he looked like he had something to hide that others would want. Whatever though, he was probably just saying what everyone was actually thinking as well anyway. “Fine…I won’t say anything! I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone, anyway”. This whole journey was about him trying to find his place among these people, but if nobody cared enough to get angry at him when he spoke about it then there was no need to continue with it. What was he supposed to do now then? Quit trying to find answers? Whatever though, he was likely not going in the right direction to find them knowing his luck.

Once they arrived at the workshop again he stared at Norman once he showed himself before to the workshop, frowning a little. This was going to be a disaster no matter what they were going to do, he just knew it. What if he was set off again and accidentally killed Norman? That was certainly worrying but as Gage said he shouldn’t talk about it being a possibility. Just what was he supposed to think about? He had no other hopes or worries unless hoping he wouldn’t kill somebody again counted. What did living beings do when they didn’t want to find answers? They consumed a lot and shut themselves down at night a lot, those were two things. What were the others doing just now? They said something about food so that came under consuming. How was he supposed to be more like them if he did neither of those things?

This was so confusing to him. Everybody had their end goals but his was nowhere to be found and annoying people. He did think of the end results if he asked Norman to remove the crystal from his chest, if that could be considered a goal. If that was removed then those men probably wouldn’t try to chase after him, so maybe that was a good goal to have. Without it he could go back to doing something, he wasn’t sure what. Maybe he could also ask what his type of Machina were capable of doing, at least something that wasn’t destructive and going to kill people. Maybe lifting things, but what? Definitely not anything in the workshop, all the things in there looked pretty settled on where they needed to be. There had to be something a Machina could do, at least one like him. Sighing lightly to himself he found he hadn’t really been paying much attention to what was actually going on and instead gasped when something was fired. That was just startling and certainly brought him out of his thought process. Shaking his head he slowly moved away, mostly wondering why he was standing around while all this was going on.

Adrianna saw Ethan’s face light up at the mention of the meads that the pub had to offer, as well as Nymira’s death glare towards him immediately after. Her brows furrowed in confusion, but she didn’t inquire about it. This group had been traveling together for quite a while (at least she assumed) and they clearly knew each other well. Besides, Ethan was an adult…at least, he looked like he was probably an adult. If he wanted to have a drink, that was his prerogative, and if he chose to listen to Nymira, that was his choice as well.

They made their way to a place Kensen had picked out. Adrianna had been there a few times, but the guy who was usually in charge of cooking occasionally set the food on fire and left everything blackened. Fortunately, he wasn’t the one cooking this time, which meant there was a chance that the food would be decent. “Depends on the kind of meat you like.” Adrianna replied. “I’m a fan of venison, so I would go for that. It is rich, and much leaner. I don’t care much for fat.” The loins would be quite expensive, because the cut was so good, but the steak was a fair enough price usually. The stew meat and roast cuts had already been sold off to make stew with one of the other vendors no doubt, but there were some ribs and the osso buco cuts of the venison, along with some beef, poultry, rabbit, squirrel, and other animals.

She picked out a smaller cut of venison steak for herself, since he was treating and she wasn’t terribly hungry anyway. “Why don’t you try some of my venison, and then pick out some beef for yourself, so you get to try both?” She offered, gesturing to the prime rib cut. “That one would be good, it is very tender, and works well over dry-heat like this.” She explained. Of course, he could get whatever he wanted, but she was happy to offer her opinion since it was requested.

While Ethan was still deciding, though, Nymira began to complain about laziness. “I’m sorry?” Adrianna asked, confused for a moment whether the woman was even speaking to her. “I am not sure that I understand what you mean by calling these people lazy.” Adrianna replied. “I would say that they are efficient, in most respects.” She imagined that the woman was complaining because they had someone else cooking their meat, but that was ridiculous. It was good to have specialists. Otherwise, everyone would end up being mediocre at everything. She agreed that there were problems with the Church’s control, but trying to break everyone apart and make them fend for themselves would make them all weaker as individuals.

"Insensitive...? It's the truth Kensen, or do you truly believe every person here to be a capable hunter and warrior? People in the kingdoms don't understand how we Dimurans live, even the smallest of towns I'd visited have it easy compared to us. So forgive me if I come across as a little jaded but I don't think most people in Adelon to be the capable sort." She had yet to see terribly much to discount this idea of hers either. After traveling several hundred miles from home Nymira was convinced of two things: people within the kingdom proper were complacent and the Church was never going to be an ally to her or her clan. What Kensen said was true - the Church was not an issue for most people - but it was a major issue for her and her goals. Her exposure to them consisted of listening to their people decry the use of "free magic" and being attacked by their people on numerous occasions, not exactly things which would build favor with her. Kensen wasn't the only one to argue against her point: Adrianna was quick to denounce her assumptions as well. Merely acknowledging the healer with a sidelong glance she returned her gaze to the fire instead.

Watching her selection brown over the fire Nymira watched the flames dance, becoming lost in thought. Would she even be able to make allies? Given all that she knew now - and what she still may not yet know - the probability of anyone openly allying themselves with a Magi seemed increasingly slim. If not for their ability in combat the only thing she and hers could offer were rare minerals and blacksmiths, neither of which the kingdom appeared to be wanting in. Diplomacy was the only option and yet they had nothing to use to forge an alliance, they were smaller in number, had less to trade and arguably little value outside of being soldiers. And no Dimuran would rightfully allow themselves to become a soldier of the Church or whoever was in power here, something which still baffled her concerning Kensen.

"Kensen... What is it like in the inner cities? From what I understand the capitol is further east still, and there are many cities further still, larger than any we've seen yet. Have you been that far?" If forging an alliance in the traditional manner was out of the question she would have to rely on other means. Gathering information would be important then, and only after she understood enough to have her way of things could she perhaps hope to make ties to the people here. Crossing her arms she clicked her tongue and looked back to Ethan who was practically leaning over the fire as his food cooked, rolling her eyes again and shaking her head. "I'm beginning to wonder if this journey of ours is a... How do you say... Idiot's errand? I'm traveling with a man-child, a literal child, and a machine. It sounds almost as absurd as the tales they used to tell us around the fires..."

"Or why don't I try both? We're probably going to work up a big appetite later so we should eat all we can!" Not too much though or he'd get ill and cramp up during training, something he'd incidentally done quite a few times. Between the two Dimurans it was probably not a good idea to hinder their training, not unless he wanted both of them furious at him for the rest of the day. Ethan happily accepted Adrianna's offer and order himself a thin steak as well just to be sure he filled up. As soon as the meats were licked by the flames he could smell them beginning to simmer and his mouth watered, causing him to lean over and take a long hearty whiff of his meal. Should he see if they had some kind of sauce? Maybe he should see if they had bread, or vegetables... Was there a chance he could go get some mead without Nymira noticing? Engrossed in his musings he missed the brief exchange between Adrianna and Nymira, looking back a moment later confused to see them both annoyed. Were they arguing again? Ethan really didn't understand why, Adrianna seemed like a nice guy!

----------

Norman stared at the hole in the shop wall for a moment before hastily ordering one of the workers to make sure they hadn't just killed someone. As the man rushed out the door he let out a lengthy sigh and pulled off a sullied glove to rub his face, looking at Gage impatiently. "Please refrain from firing off weapons indoors, thank you!" he ordered, "I'm already on a thin rope here for dragging my vehicle through town, there's been dozens of complaints coming in about the noise!" Then, growing defensive, the engineer sighed again and shook his head dejectedly, "I can't minimize the noise, the engine and the exhaust has to be left open in order to properly vent the fumes and..."

"Stand down cat, I am not in the mood," Gage grumbled as he knelt down before Amuné, "We can take that outside and you can practice firing it. I'll teach you how to properly hold the weapon and how to control your breathing to steady your shots. It doesn't seem to have proper sights so you'll be winging it." Which was not exactly great for even an inexperienced fighter, let alone an incompetent child. Ignoring Norman as he continued to prattle on about some mechanical device of his Gage looked about the room until he spotted a far door, moving aside a worker as he reached it and held it open for Amuné, simply pointing to the gap for her to move through. "I was told to train you today and we're going to train, your machine friend is going to be just fine without you hanging onto his damn leg. Now move it girl, before I drag you out."

"A little tact goes a long way Gage, you might want to try it..." Norman uttered in exasperation, giving a shake of his head before passing Amuné a patient smile, "Go ahead and try it out, let me know how it works. I'm sure you'll be able to find something back there to use as a target, fire a few bolts and tell me how it feels. I'll adjust it to fit your needs. As for you..." There was a decidedly eccentric glean to his eyes as the engineer addressed Cecil, and placing an arm around his shoulders the Machina was led over to a table with numerous tools strewn about it. "As a combat model you should be capable of a number of things, both offensively and defensively. You have some offensive enhancements but nothing for defense, obviously. Otherwise you'd not have shown up the way you did." Rubbing his hands together while smiling Norman looked through his tools before grabbing a wrench and then grabbing Cecil by the arm, examining one of his gauntlets thoughtfully. Turning his arm over he tapped at a panel and seemed to become bothered by something until a light went off in his head, voicing his excitement as he turned and moved across the room. "A shield! Of course, so simple and yet invaluable! But it can't be a physical shield, no... Corrosion would be too much of a risk, not to mention repairs..." Norman began as he started to sift through a bin of what only seemed to be scraps, "Tell me Cecil, how's your power consumption since your last tune up? Any difference?"

---

Playing keeper to a homicidal Varuna was hardly the type of work Remus was used to. Not that he was complaining, the majority of his assignments had him playing executioner to Magi who refused to bend beneath the Church's thumb. Matters were only worse too when one considered how thoroughly violent and unpredictable Bernadette could be, the woman seemed to revel in her job; Magi were under such scrutiny that it always struck him as odd that they should be fighting one another like this. Given their combined strength, if none stood with the Church, could they even hope to enforce the laws they had now? Not that humoring such thoughts did any good as the state of the world clearly did not favor their kind. On his way out of the tavern Remus thanked both the owner and his daughter, giving the latter a handful of silver on his way out: under the Church's orders they operated and the others used that to their full ability, often traveling and dining places without having to pay. The very least he could do was throw a little coin their way to make amends for the rude behavior. For members of such an esteemed group his fellow hunters surely had no issue with abusing their authority.

It brought so much satisfaction to make men like Remus heel and obey her every word. He had absolutely no choice in the matter, Bernadette knew this, as she knew he loathed her and hers with every fiber of his being. A wry smile crossed her face as she pulled a dagger from her sheath and examined the pristine blade with a soft him, running a fingertip along its edge before looking at the Ydran before her. "Elluine? Tail him. He's failed as well and I want to be certain he does his job. Should he fail then you have my permission to kill him too. And try to do it outside of a settlement won't you? I'm still trying to clean up the mess at Orosi."

"That was your doing my lady, you've no one to blame but yourself," the Ydran cackled, "But as you wish, I'll see to it that they fight outside and away from civilians. Though... If any do happen to be caught in the crossfire-"

"Avoid that, that's an order," Bernadette demanded as she pointed to Elluine with her dagger, "I've already had to go back to the capitol once because of you fools, if I have to go back again it will be with your heads. Now get going, I've got other business to attend to." That was quick to get him out and thank goodness for that, the moron thought he had the freedom to do as he pleased under her. The only reason Elluine was even under her command now was because he'd been so unruly before with his former leader, a problem they had been unable to rectify. Now that he was her responsibility she would be damned certain he never stepped out of line. Shame killing your subordinates was so frowned upon... But then that's what she had subordinates for, they could do her dirty work for her. "And Remus will do it no matter how much he detests it, won't you Remus?" Giggling to herself Bernadette stuck her dagger into the top of the desk and slid out of her seat, cracking open the door to the office and getting the owner's daughter's attention. "Dear? Tell me... How would you like to be of service to the Church and your king?"

Man, she really was incredibly naïve, wasn’t she? She didn’t know anything about the outside world and that much was hilarious to him. “Hmm. Maybe, just maybe, we wouldn’t have such a hard time living if…you know, we didn’t fight against each other all the damn time”, Kensen spoke, looking to Nymira and shrugging hard once before looking away from her again, “The Muran don’t care about conflict and battling as much as Dimurans do, you know. They want to grow up to be farmers, bakers, florists, hunters…mothers and fathers. It’s their sense of community that allows them to thrive and be happy”. She was never going to get it even if he explained it a thousand times to her, she was just that kind of stubborn. Her reasoning for coming to this place was purely from her father’s self-importance, probably. He had come to realise that these people were reasonably good and peaceful, at least once you got passed the fact that there was still homeless and thieves around; however, that didn’t compare to the problems the Dimurans had. They would fight against each other and only see importance in one’s self once they were able to prove their strength. That’s where his clan lost out against hers: his may have the power of flight and was fast, but hers were strong with the reputation of being masters of the earth.

Feeling his own memories beginning to drag him away he soon stopped himself from going further with Nymira’s help of all things and her asking about the cities. It was an odd question, one he didn’t really know an answer for. “I’ve heard it’s hard. A fair number of people who live here came from the city so I can imagine you can ask around and…interact more with the locals…” She was probably never going to do that. She certainly acted above and beyond the ‘commoners’ and would probably never stoop to that low a level. She was only talking to him because he was a Dimuran that she was slightly aware of existing prior to her coming here. Mostly wanting to mind his own business at this point he lowered his head a little bit and turned to look at Nymira once more, listening to her doubting her team. “You know, you don’t sound much better yourself. You’re also having to get trained by me, you know. Aren’t you just helping the child find her parents as well? Then there’s the Machina: if you feel it’s weird having it around, just sell it and hire some professional warrior or whatever. You certainly complain a lot about others and their abilities when you’ve yet to prove yourself to me alone who is supposed to be a lesser rank than you…”

--

Just who were these people, anyway? Cecil felt completely lost, he had no idea who these people actually were and seeing all these weapons and aggressive residents made him pretty concerned. He didn’t get told anything, everyone just acted like he was aware of what was going on the entire time even though he wasn’t. He really wished he was told more about things, but then again he was supposed to be a pretty mindless machine and not have this much self-awareness. All this talking about weapons definitely had him on edge but there wasn’t much he could do or even ask them about. He just had to stare at nothing as if going on standby, his mind lost to the confusion of the moment until he was suddenly pulled by Norman and out of the moment that had utterly confused him. His current thought pattern had been interrupted by the sudden change of environment as he was now staring at a bunch of tools on a table.

Staring at the tools was like staring at his possible destruction. Norman could take him apart if he wanted to and probably have no problem with it either. He was feeling particularly nervous about that now, but he understood he was probably going to need it if he really was just a prototype model. Problem was what if the tinkering broke him? He didn’t know how well his body will be able to handle any sort of medication, he might end up falling apart if Norman wasn’t careful. “Why do I feel I’m being blamed for ending up like that…?” he frowned, staring at his gauntlet as Norman decided to give it a closer look for whatever reason. He didn’t really know what a lot of his own body did until his programming kicked in, he just knew he could fire his gauntlets and project electricity out of them. Not entirely certain as to what he was finding to be so interesting he simply stared at him giving it a poke, gasping when he suddenly shouted about a shield. “Huh…? Since last tune up? Okay I guess I mean I don’t have any issues to report. It was at 87.63% when I was switched back on which is kind of low for how long I’ve had the battery for, but I have been using a lot of power…I just don’t know how to recharge if I can at all”, he spoke, slowly looking away as he spoke before quickly looking back again, “I’m at 99.95% at the moment, though…since I was recharged. Why? Is that too bad for a shield…?”

"Are you saying our people don't have artisans? Have you truly been away for so long you think us savages?" Annoyance and the slightest tinge of anger colored Nymira's words, her eyes holding Kensen in no small degree of disdain. Were they back in their lands and had she the authority to she might just smack him. Instead the Dimuran refrained from striking out and exhaled deeply, opting to use her words instead. "You speak as though our people use violence for the sake of violence. Its how we've decided a ruling clan, how we decide on our leaders, its been that way since the first clans settled. Do you mean to say our people are wrong then? Because we do things differently?" On one hand Nymira did agree with Kensen to an extent: fighting among themselves for supremacy weakened their people for a time as warriors were inevitably taken on the fields of battle. But with their numbers smaller than any other race in Adelon they needed that strength for a time, power enough to force outsiders to seriously consider trying to attack them. But the age of warfare was passing and, as her father argued, time had come to pass for a change.

And perhaps that was the issue with their people, Nymira would admit. There was a clear divide on those who wished to keep things the way they had been and those who wished to move forward - she herself was stuck somewhere in between, forced to choose between what was new, and what their people knew. On her father's behalf she'd forge alliances but she couldn't deny some small part was always questioning if the effort would even be worth it. "If we're to be stuck in Mutebo then I suppose it can't be helped, I'll need to speak with the common peoples..." not terribly thrilled Nymira conceded with a frown, "And I suppose you speak of our fight with the beasts? A fight with something that we've never encountered? You may as well tell a child they're a worse warrior than you for all the good your logic does. I don't think myself so powerful that I can triumph over any foe, known or otherwise." Accepting her meal from the vendor she reached for her coin pouch and simply handed it over, instructing the man to take whatever was needed for their food. Nymira noted curiously how unlike so many merchants before the sum of coin that was taken seemed paltry by comparison: perhaps she had been a little too generous with her givings.

Ethan could scarcely keep himself from salivating as they walked, his eyes fixated on the lamb like a hungry wolf. Wanting to be polite however he had waited for everyone to have their meal, stopping himself twice from taking a first bite. By the time he'd finally sank his teeth into his meal he happened a glance up front and saw Nymira, half through with her meal, and his eyes widened as he stammered out a weak protest. And he'd tried so hard to express patience too! His complaints fell on deaf ears as the Dimuran ignored him and continued to speak with Kensen on the finer points of their training regiment. "That's so not fair... And here I've been drooling over mine the whole time..." a whimper and a sigh accompanied the words as Ethan slumped his shoulder slightly, smiling slightly as he looked at his meal, "Oh well... Time to dig in!" With how hungry he was he'd have sank his teeth into a wooden plank, though this was a much tastier alternative. How had he never had venison before? There were loads of deer around Kinsgrove and yet he'd never tried it, not once. Or maybe he'd had it and simply forgotten which was entirely plausible.

After their meal they were going to get right to training at last. There was a tentative excitement bubbling up inside of Ethan as he wondered just what Kensen had in store for them. They had been told their magic was lacking - and after fighting the beasts earlier he'd be inclined to agree - but he hadn't the foggiest idea of how they'd improve that. His speed magic while perhaps crude was his bread and butter, and while he could use wind as a means of attack it was by no means effective normally, or efficient for that matter. "Hey... Did you run into much trouble while traveling? Like... People from the Church, monsters, that sort of thing?" Either they had terribly unfortunate luck or their situation was just one of many similar cases. Ethan took another sizable bite from his meal and hastily wiped his chin as juice slid down it, smiling at the flavors assailing his taste buds. "Mmmph... Cuz... We've been running into all sorts of things while traveling and I don't really get why. It's like we've got a target on our backs or something," he mentioned before giving Adrianna a curious look, "Uh... You know... How do you fight? Not that you'll have to, just... Well you're a healer right? So your magic isn't exactly for fighting... I think."

----------

Norman was unable to keep himself in check as his enthusiasm bubbled to the surface. It was a rare chance nowadays he had an opportunity to actually upgrade anything, most works were either commissions - usually fixing a broken Machina or tool - or personal hobbies of his, like his bike. Upgrading things had its own unique flair to it, trying to push a technology to its limits was exciting. Cecil was in need of many things and they had a limited time to work with, he'd have to be fast if they wanted to get this work done. What took priority though? Power consumption? Defensive upgrades? Offensive capabilities? Perhaps they should try and remodel Cecil so he didn't stand out quite so much. The latter would take far too much time and, as Cecil revealed, his power consumption wasn't terribly pressing. That left the choice of offense and defense. Considering he'd fixed Cecil twice now for damage perhaps it was best to think of defense first and foremost.

"Bad? No, not at all. Though it depends on the style of shield we employ for you," Norman noted, placing a beneath his chin as he examined the array of parts before him, "We can opt for a solid, expanding sheet of metal for you to use. It would work well against deflecting projectiles and melee attacks but it would suffer against magical strikes. There's the option of a magic-imbued shield as well. We could use Demacite as a core and with two conduits create an arc of magical energy, and since it would have its own power supply it wouldn't drain your energy at all. Of course that shield wouldn't be as effective against weaponry, given it would be intangible. So what do we do then..." That was a pressing matter wasn't it? Each option had its benefits and yet neither was foolproof, Cecil would need an absolute shield in order to ensure his best chances of survival. For a short while Norman went silent as he began to examine and work with several items, muttering to himself and shaking his head as he threw aside a few he deemed lacking. It was both in his own best interest as well as that of the group that he got this right the first time but what should he do?

"Ah, of course! Why didn't I see it earlier! We simply use a tempered steel allow imbued with Demacite dust, make a double-plated shield from the metals, use conductors to pass a magical signature through the weapon thus inducing a reaction that would ignite the crystal dust, creating a magical coating on a physical surface! It would not only nullify magical blasts but the physical shell would help to absorb and redirect physical strikes as well!" Brilliant and simplistic! The only issue with that was grinding up Demacite crystals and having the shards retain their properties was no small matter - very specific machines had been designed to do such a task, machines he lacked - and the steel he had in mind was of high grade and terribly difficult to acquire outside of major cities. Nonetheless it was the best option, he needed only to pull a few strings for the materials. "Cecil! Tell me, if I were to forge a retractable shield for you what would be the best place to put it? We could... NO WAIT, I HAVE A BETTER IDEA!" Grabbing a small container from the table Norman circled around Cecil and pressed it to his back, adjusting it a few times before smiling and nodding to himself. "A barrier that forms around you! Demacite can act as the energy source and you control the power used, thus influencing the size of the barrier. It would allow you to move while maintaining a constant shield around yourself and it would take no power on your part to use, how's that sound?"

Teaching this child was going to be impossible. Why did she have to be so insufferably difficult? And why in the hells was she afraid of him? He wasn't the enemy! So maybe he wasn't quite as "soft spoken" as those who she kept company but she'd just have to learn to deal with him and his language. Saints above he really was being turned into a damned babysitter wasn't he? Picturing Taliya's smug face and her biting laughter in his mind Gage growled under his breath and folded his arms, his foot tapping against the dirt as he watched Amuné even try to find a stance. Unbelievable, she'd traveled with these people under attack and she didn't even understand how to wield a weapon? A bleedin' crossbow of all things!

"Listen pup, you're doing it completely wrong. If you try holding it like that you're gonna lose yer grip on the damn thing." Finding a rusted pipe in a pile of scrap Gage held it up to his shoulder, resting the end against his upper pectoral as he aimed the imaginary weapon at a tree. "See? You need a steady base to fire from or you're going to stagger, though I doubt that puny thing has any kick to it. And you'll want to hold the weapon steady, place one hand under the barrel," he explained as a hand cupped the middle of the pipe, "And your other will rest around the grip. If you ain't moving then that'll be your best bet for firing accurate bolts. 'Course chances are you won't have much time to just stand around takin' aim when someone or something's trying to kill you. But let's get the basics down, ain't gonna do us any good if you can't even aim properly." Live fire exercises were the best way to learn but Gage wasn't sure Amuné could even manage to shoot without killing herself yet. To think he could be on a job right now instead of this. Settling down against a discarded crate he reached into his coat and pulled out a rusted canteen, pulling off the flask and taking a long drink from it, exhaling and shaking his head as the liquid burned down his throat. "Let's see if you can figure out a stance before I finish this," he teased as he shook the container, "Show me you're not just some helpless whelp."

Even though Adrianna had interrupted Nymira’s conversation with Kensen while waiting for their food to be prepared, they still ignored her. It wasn’t a big deal. It was better to be ignored than despised. As they were conversing, though, a word Kensen used to describe Nymira rolled about in her mind a few times. Had he…called her Princess? She was a bit slow on the uptake, because they had moved swiftly past that and were going on about differences between their lives here and in Dimuran homes. Even if she had wanted to have a conversation with Ethan, or either of them, it would have been impossible with their bickering, and so she found herself continuing to listen.

In truth, it offended her that Nymira suggested they weren’t capable. If they were not capable, then why hadn’t the Dimurans come and taken over the lands? She was tempted to interrupt and ask as much, but Kensen was already answering her, suggesting that the Murans had different goals. She couldn’t really compare the two, and so stayed silent. Though she desperately wanted to remind Nymira that she could not even bandage her own wounds, which was a bit of a mark against her so called “capability.” She had been so prideful about not wanting to be healed, and yet she had no skills with keeping herself upright after injuries. Was it assumed that all Dimurans on the battlefield simply fought until they collapsed? Adrianna honestly didn’t know much about the Dimurans, or their royalty, but she didn’t like anyone making such generalizations.

Nymira asked Kensen about the inner cities, and Adrianna wondered how many of them he had been to, compared to her. She had no reason to think that Kensen was uninformed, but the fact that Nymira was going on about Adelon as a whole when she had not been to them was laughable. She scoffed, realizing that Nymira had not even been to any of the cities she already proclaimed to understand and turned to her own food, pushing aside a piece for Ethan when he finally tore his eyes away from the food being cooked. Kensen only had hearsay, but Adrianna didn’t bother to interject to talk about it. They would find out for themselves if they stuck around long enough.

The woman’s anger flared further, and Adrianna nearly smiled as she realized that Kensen was definitely getting to her. They bickered like an old married couple. She lost track of the point, though, as Nymira began to talk about how the clans decided things, and continued eating her meat. When everyone had their food, Adrianna tore off a piece of what she had gotten to share with Ethan, since he wanted to try multiple things. As they walked, Adrianna fell into step beside Ethan, who asked if she had been getting into trouble during her journey. “Not…particularly.” Adrianna answered. Was he wondering if she was going to put them in more danger? Or was he trying to gauge if she was capable with a weapon?

He answered the question a few moments later, saying that they were definitely getting into trouble when they traveled. “Ahh… Well, no. I can’t say I have run into much in the way of Church or monsters. A few bandits, a batch of slave traders, some general scoundrels, but nothing terribly interesting.” She answered.

“Some healers fight with their magic. I…can manage a few light-based attacks, but I’ve never been too pressed into a corner for that. And I have my own closer combat weapons.” She transferred the skewer to her left hand and pulled one of the pieces of her bo staff out of its sleeve on her right hip. “I keep a two section bo staff. So I can wield it with one hand, or link it together with the other and have a larger beating stick.” Adrianna spun the staff through her fingers quickly, and then twirled it around her body quickly and with very little effort. She had decent strength for attacks as well, but as she was eating and they were walking, she wasn’t going to do a full demonstration. Adrianna slid it back into the sleeve and resumed eating. She didn’t think she needed to tell him about the dagger she kept in her boot, or her proficiency with a bow. None of them were carrying them, so she doubted she would have the opportunity to demonstrate it.

“So…is it just the Church that has been attacking your crew? Or monsters as well?” She asked. “Could it be because of your company?” She gestured with her nearly finished skewer to Nymira. Though the woman was annoying, Adrianna was attempting to refer to the woman’s royal title, and see if she could learn more about her company in the process.

“Yeah, comparing our people to Murans we’re absolutely the savages”, Kensen retorted, sounding fairly neutral as if it was a matter of fact. Unless her father could chill out and not consider himself a supreme overlord of a war-like clan and have people not fearing their deaths maybe he wouldn’t call them savages. “That whole clan system was made so long ago. The fact Dimurans still fight for leadership is primeval. Being strong doesn’t make you smart, after all”. If he was to take on Nymira for the title of leader he would win no problem. She barely had a handle on her own magic, nevermind fight against him properly. If they let the smartest and most level-headed Dimuran take charge they would probably be in a better place right now. She was fair riding on her father’s status right now. This whole training thing would definitely see if she was actually going to be able to keep up with him, maybe she could even prove him wrong although doubtful. She wouldn’t had nearly as many life challenges that he had in the past few years, the fight against the beast proved that.

Kensen was just wanting to sit down and mind his own business while eating his food, watching a little impatiently as the server gave Nymira hers first before he could get his. He already had the money waiting, but Nymira insisted on being pretty useless and not have the right amount of coin waiting to be handed over. She was so wishy-washy about riches, it seemed, and was quite happy to throw her father’s money in all directions. This was quite the waste of time, she could’ve saved them the shock and just had the money organised. Looking at her in a side glance he sighed in annoyance, looking away briefly before setting his eyes on the server when he was finally able to get his food and pay. “Hah, yeah. Now you know how we felt when we were sent out to combat a beast worse than that one. Pretty horrible, wasn’t it?” he spoke slowly, taking his food after paying, “I was just a child when I was exiled. You see how that logic fails you? Your father sent me and those warriors to their death that day”. There was probably no use talking to her about it anyway, she’d never understand. Turning quickly he moved back over to the main group as they were the ones he was supposed to be watching over, not that he particularly cared about sitting with them all that much. As fast as Nymira and he had sat down the pair were quick to get stuck into their food, Kensen barely giving the others a second glance.

--

Cecil wished Amuné would stop trying to be around him all the time, it just didn’t make sense to him logically. She had been scared of him up until a certain point and now didn’t want to leave him alone. He wanted to be left alone with Norman to get worked on, but having Amuné around would just put her in danger of all these tools that surround them. That wouldn’t be terribly good at all, he would just feel worse too. Luckily she wasn’t going to be hanging around and he was soon left with Norman, his eyes staring down at the tools once more as he went back into his own personal thoughts. He mostly wondered what was going to happen to him today and how much of him was going to be altered, but there was also things that he might end up having removed from him. If there was no use for the crystal then shouldn’t it just come out of him? He should probably ask about that, seeing as those men in the suits seem to be after it and not caring about the rest of his parts.

Looking at his gauntlets for now he was concerned with how he was supposed to use them in the way Norman wanted him to use them, namely for protecting rather than attacking. Using power for a shield might make it a little risky if he couldn’t find any other way to recharge his battery when Norman isn’t around with his equipment. Norman couldn’t possibly follow them all around on their little journey when he had work to do just to make sure his battery was going to stay charged up. That would be rather silly and very selfish of him, expecting somebody to always be there for him just because he was often careless. It didn’t help that he was probably seen as a rather frail fighter, otherwise he wouldn’t be needing all these shields despite being able to use his electricity to somewhat nullify certain attacks. Cecil couldn’t help but frown at the Demacite idea too, considering how he thought about having it inside him in the first place. “Is more Demacite even a good thing when I apparently have some already in me…? I’m worried about becoming an even more valuable target”, he spoke up, not entirely thrilled to be the subject of more attention like that, “I barely know what the other one inside me is for…”

Norman probably knew what to do, he shouldn’t be questioning him so much. Questioning was just something a Machina wasn’t supposed to do, he was supposed to be pretty obedient; however, he just couldn’t find himself getting into that kind of thought pattern. He didn’t understand why he wasn’t like other Machina, even though being different was supposed to be a good thing according to his friends. When Norman suddenly shouted out in excitement Cecil took a step back, staring at him as he went through a kind of mind spark that set off a fair big reaction. He was already confused, he lost track when the Demacite dust was mentioned. Looking to his gauntlets briefly again before suddenly gasping when Norman suddenly got really loud, his eyes immediately going to him before yelping as something was slapped against his back. What was he doing and what was that thing? “A barrier? From my back? What’s it made from? Will I be able to see? How durable is it?” He had so many questions but Norman definitely seemed like the type of guy who would rather see it in action than tell him all the little details. How was he supposed to activate a barrier? He didn’t have anything in his data banks to tell him how a barrier functioned, he figured he would only get things to work if he had the knowledge on how they worked already.