Avery Ackbar Celestia and Vesta Celestia

@demonspade64@noodles@Sir Lurksalot@liferusher@Seirei No Hai@ADamnFiddle@ZekariVoblis@Rekaigan
Avery couldn't stop the wide grin that he felt forming as Duncan finally caved. Hehehe, not even the Canadian could resist his charm, wit and stubbornness!
Ok, maybe just the stubbornness. Avery was more stubborn than a mule after all, in fact if one looked up the word stubborn in a dictionary, one would just find a picture of Avery. Same with stupidity, but that was a story for another time.
Avery paid his two conditions the bare minimum amount of attention, and even less respect, as his smugness level had reached beyond critical as Aya agreed to coming, and his face showed it.
He couldn't read the strange language that was imprinted on Kuro's police badge, and to be honest Avery wasn't too sure what to make about this slave talk or homeland stuff that the former drunk was going on about, so he simply gave a polite nod of appreciation before turning back to Duncan.
"Hehe, I already have the perfect thing in mind! I brought it for Lady Alicia, my cousin, and she's about your size...though she's 14. Oh! And the nice merchant I brought it from said it was interwoven with special fibers to make it more durable!" Avery chattered away excitedly, not seeming bothered by how suspicious that might sound.
All that mattered to him, was that he got what he wanted. It tended to happen too, since he was a mastermind at bending people to his whim. Not even Vesta was safe.

"Of course! I'll go get Aya some food, so I'll meet up with you guys. Oh and Ease, I assume your place has a bath?" The trap sounded defensive for a moment, having noticed Ease's look. Not too sure what his problem was, hadn't Avery already said he was going to look after and defend the younger girl?
A Celestia never went back on their word! A Celestia also always repaid their debts.
"I'll get a weapon while I'm at it. So, you guys take Aya and get her cleaned up and get Ease's gear." As Avery spoke, his held Aya out to Duncan to hold. Once the older man had taken Aya, Avery stepped backwards quickly while rummaging through his bag.
"Here's the cute outfi-I mean gear." Avery corrected himself slightly as he pulled out a brown paper bag and tossed it to Ease "Don't lose the Huskey, kay? That's how I'll find you guys. Catch ya!" Without really giving anyone the time to argue, Avery had taken off, leaving the group outside the alley.
He really was whimsical.

---

Vesta had seen many a spirit, ok maybe not that many besides the ones that Avery 'created', Shiro and a few others here and there, but compared to many people she had seen far more spirits than one could ever hope to meet in a hundred lifetimes. Despite that, and all the bizarre ones that Avery created, she had yet to see a spirit like this one. It was like a cross between a field and a turtle, a rather unnatural looking creature with flowers and the like sprouting from it's shell.
Despite that, it's small size made it 'cute' one would say and it certainly caught Vesta's interest. Picking up her cup once more, the Celestia heir took a long sip of her tea as she listened to the turtle speak.
At the mention of strong magic, Vesta slowly lowered the cup back down onto the table again and looked down at it, locking gazes with it for what might seem like an eternity to those around.

Having seem to come to some sort of silent agreement, Vesta nodded briefly.
"I don't have a problem with looking after Young Elanil, despite what Father has to say about it. Though my line of work is a risky one, so I cannot guarantee her safety at all times. But if it's tutelage in magic she requires, then look no further than the Celestia family." Vesta seemed to be thinking hard about something, something that the turtle said that bothered her. It wasn't the possible power that this girl harnessed, honestly Vesta didn't judge too much on such appearances. After-all, she herself had been vastly underestimated when she was the girl's age only to embarrass older children in her use of magic. No, it was the other thing the turtle had mentioned.
"Though I must ask. What do you mean by 'short life'?"

---

With interest one could only associate with madness, Summer sat there brewing her tea as she allowed Blanc to delve into her entire life story. As in, every single second of her 188 years it would seem.
While some people might try to stop the deluge of words that continued to flow from the elf's mouth, Summer simply sat and listened, not seeming to be too bother by the prospect of sitting here for an eternity and a half listened to Blanc. She certainly had put up with worse, that was for sure.
It would seem that elf wanted to be an adventurer...how truly, truly...ADORABLE! Just the very thought of Blanc here, trying her very best before failing and wearing a sad, pouty face, or coming across a truly powerful foe and cowering in fear adorably, or getting drunk and adorably started bar fights she would lose in an instant, get thrown out onto the curb before throwing up in an alley and sleeping in a box for the night soon filled the woman's mind. The only sign that she was even listening was the occasional nod of the head.
Oh, she just wanted to take this elf home and keep her! She was just too cute! Especially with how she enthusiastically talked about every single moment of her life, like being asked to tell Summer about herself just made her the happiest person on the continent!
As Blanc delved into her previous line of work, being a hunter tailor, Summer held up her hand calmly to stop Blanc for a moment. One would think she was about to change the subject, but nope.
"I just wanted to know if you would like some tea Ms Neige, seeing as I have some freshly brewed here and talking must be hard on the throat. Do indulge." The way Summer spoke her name was very much in the same polite, though no where nearly as blunt and bored, tone that Vesta spoke in.
Pouring some tea into two cups, one of the skeletal hands from before offered Blanc one of the cups while the second one lifted Summer's cup to her lips so that she could drink and keep both her hands interlaced together on her lap.
"Oh but do continue, unless you wish to talk about something else?"

So that husky is miss Avery's dog. A fleet of birds soared pass Kurokono's sight as the red haired girl walked away. Something's odd... The wandering swordsman turned to observe at those birds. He had learnt to pick up the subtle signs after facing assassins hired by slavers a few times over the past few weeks.

And he was still alive after all this. He wasn't sure why, but its better than getting dragged down to that King Yama guy. "I'll be back in a bit,"

Kurokono headed for the back alley. He did notice the stray dogs barking more ferociously than usual. And as expected, he has company. He adjusted his single edged sword that lies beside his waist, ready to draw at any instant. Its better to have the assassin settled at a more quiet place. "Show yourself, I can sense your presence." Kurokono let out a piercing look, as a flock of crows went fleeting away from the slums, as if it is running away from something. Way more birds than usual, this guy isn't a small fry...



"Sorry, took you guys long enough--" Kurokono ran back to the group not long after, his right hand was somehow encased in a piece of ice in the middle of the day. It was melting naturally still.

Vivi Celestia

Having finished talking to some of the maids about the preparation of tea and snacks for Vesta's ever growing circle of friends, Vivi had been enjoying some quiet fresh air. It had been some time she had some time to just enjoy the sun, unwind without any other responsibilities or other problems plaguing her.
But just as she had begun to enjoy the serenity, it was broken quite spectacularly by another commotion at the front gates. Vivi chose to ignore it at first, but when she spotted what seemed to be a guard crawling back onto the grounds she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Honestly....they needed better guards. Vivi was really begining to question their screening process.
Figuring that she could probably handle whatever was outside, Vivi stood up and dusted off the back of her skirt, exhaling loudly. As she made her way over, she tied her hair back into a singular ponytail with a crudely made hair-tie, which was just some string she had in her skirt pocket.
"Fura." With just the single utterance, the very wind around the gate seemed to pick up drastically. In the next instant a powerful, cold breeze would cut through her thin clothes and chill her to the very bone. And accompanying that breeze was Vivi, arm bought back before she would aim to slam her palm into Noi's chest.
"El Fura."
Regardless of whether or not the palm strike made contact, wind would shoot forth from her palm with the intent to cut to shreds whatever stood in her way. She had had enough of such tomfoolery, it was time to teach people the Celestia's were not to be trifled with.
She would take care of this before Vesta would even know about this incident.

The tortoise spirit bowed it's head slightly as Vesta accepted it's request. "I'm sure your 'line of work' is no more dangerous than the world itself. In any case, I thank you for accepting this somewhat unreasonable request." It responded in a humble tone. The spirit held still as the young mage asked her question. It chuckled briefly before answering,

"For a spirit like myself, whether it be a demi or a human, their life will appear brief from my perspective. Do not mistake it for something like Elanil's demise. This child is healthy." It says bluntly as it turns to Elanil.

"I will be watching over you, my child. Fret not, this young woman will take care of you. May you learn their ways." It turned back to Vesta, bowing it's head as slowly as a tortoise could as the tree upon it's shell seemed to consume it's form, sinking back into Elanil's palm. The young demi looked at her new caretaker with a bright smile.

"Vesta... Mommy?" she giggled after saying 'Mommy', it could be perceived as a joke, but one couldn't tell if she was truly joking.

As she waited for the guard to come back with Vesta, Noi rocked back and forth waiting for Vesta to arrive, and when it felt like ages, the wind began to make everything cold outside and the cat girl began hearing something heading towards her, it was a girl with her hair put up in a ponytail. The girl was heading towards her with an open palm, with the feeling of the wind around her blowing in her ears, Noi picked her leg up and rolled out of the way of her.

The cat girl then scurried to her feet as what felt like a tiny tornado emerged from the other girl's palm, Noi popped up behind of Vivi and got the bright idea of bumping the girl with her booty, she poked her butt out and bumped her with it." Are you Vesta?" She asked the Celestia. She reached inside the front of her shirt pulling out a rolled up parchment and opened it, the picture on the inside was of a crude painting of Vesta, mostly it was a doodle of a silver-haired woman with a resting bitch face. She showed the doodle to Vivi." Is this you?" She asked another question.

Noi looked at the girl then back to the picture, then back to her again, then back to the picture, then back to her again, the demi was doing more double takes than it would need to recognize someone. She then came to the conclusion that she wasn't Vesta and rolled up her parchment and put it back in her shirt saying." I want to play with Vesta." She told the girl." But if you want to play I'll play with you too."

Vesta Celestia

@demonspade64@ADamnFiddle@Spriggs27@Rekaigan
"Fair points, both of them." The turtle spirit made some fair points. The world was just as dangerous as her line of work, if not more so since her work mostly focused on small sample sizes at a time. It would be foolish to suggest that she would be safer by herself rather than in the young Celestia's care.
And it was a mixture of relief and irritation, directed at herself rather than the spirit, that it was just the prospective of the spirit that prompted such words rather than any pre-existing conditions. It should've been obvious, seeing as spirits were from a human prospective immortal beings that never aged. Perhaps because their lifespans were just that much longer than a mortal like herself.

"Well, that is good to hear. Magic is much easier with a healthy mind and body." Vesta commented as she drained the last of her tea.
As the turtle bade farewell for the time being to Elanil, Vesta poured herself a fresh cup from the kettle that Ronni had left in the room. Bringing the steamy liquid to her lips, she blew softly before ingesting some of the brown liquid. As promptly as she began drinking it however, she just as quickly spat it out and began coughing and fluttering as she choked on the tea.

"M-mommy?" Vesta repeated, wiping away some liquid from her mouth with a napkin. She looked to Maria for some sort of confirmation that she had actually heard those words. Was the girl, Elanil, jesting?
Or was she truly viewing her as her mother simply because she had agreed to look after her? She couldn't help but think how her father would react to that.
Not well, and that's an understatement.
Clearing her throat, Vesta made sure she got the rooms attention as she put the uncharacteristic reaction behind her.
"J-just call me Vesta dear Elanil." Vesta said with a brief smile, before turning to Maria "I assume you don't have an issue with this situation Mari? I know the knights have had their hands full and it would be a waste of potential otherwise."

---

Narrowing her eyes as her attacked hit nothing but air, Vivi felt Noi's presence behind of her and went to turn round to face her. Instead she was almost knocked off balance because of Noi's tap using her own buttocks.
But the younger Celestia caught herself before her face made friends with the ground and whipped round in anticipation of a follow up attack.
Which never came.

Instead Noi stood there, holding what seemed to be a doodle of toddler level talent. It was so crudely drawn, Vivi had to squint at it and she could barely even make out the fact that it was indeed a person drawn onto that parchment. Who on earth was this person?
From Noi's words however, it didn't take much to work out who this woman was meant to be a 'drawing' of.
Vesta.
"My sister doesn't have the time to deal with pests like yourself. Her time isn't as infinite as people seem to believe,
so I'm afraid you're stuck with me." Vivi explained coolly, taking a stance as she spoke.
This cat-demi seemed to be quite agile, she hadn't even noticed her move. But she wasn't going to lose in a battle of speed.
Shaking her head in disbelief as the cat-demi took several takes of herself and the post, she couldn't contain the heavy sigh she let out. This girl really wasn't bright in the slightest. Then again, the fact she was trying to pick a fight with the Celestia's already showed she had a few screws loose.

"As I said, you're not worth the same air that my sister breaths. Let alone an ounce of her time, she is far too busy to 'play' with some complete stranger. I myself will suffice." Vivi didn't even bother to hide the contempt in her tone, looking down on the shorter woman as the wind began to pick up around her once more.
"Fura!" Striking her palm out towards Noi, the wind shot out towards Noi with no small amount of power or intensity.

---

?????

"Sure has picked a rather...obvious place to hide out." The young woman, who dressed in her sharp, clean militaristic outfit was a stark contrast to the dirt smeared, torn clothes those who lived in the slums wore round her. Suffice to say, stood out like a sore thumb and they gave her a wide berth as she continued to mumble a few things to herself under her breath.
It was difficult to pick up, but somebody might discern a few words here and there but not enough to understand what exactly she might be saying.
She had been following some whispers of a slavery ring before finally landing herself in the slums, where upon hearing of something even more interesting. Some of the locals seemed to be obsessed with a rumor of a 'demon girl' living in the slums.
Or rather, a girl with the tail of a demon. She hadn't put much stock into this nonsense at first, but the more she learned the more she lessened her disbelief.

Now she had split from her other companions to follow up on this lead, trusting them as they were more than capable by themselves. She couldn't just let this 'Demon of the Slums' run around unchecked without first checking to see if it was a threat.
She had a suspicion it was simply a demi with a strange tail, but she wouldn't find out till she saw it first hand.
Which lead her to where she was now, knelt down on the ground. With one gloved hand patting the ground, she stared intently as if studying some non-existent tracks.
Or rather, simply difficult to see for the naked eye or for those who lacked the same talents she had.
"This sensation...there's no doubt. That makes four." Dusting herself off as she stood up straight, the woman studied the crumbling building before her. She had managed to track this 'Demon' to this abandoned looking old house near the outskirts of the city.
At first glance, one wouldn't even dream to believe someone would live or hide out here. But then again, that's what made it such a prime location. Between the information she had gathered and using her own talents to track the 'Demon', she had narrowed it's hiding spots to one of a handful of buildings.
This was the fourth one she was searching. And no doubt, with this familiar sensation this had to be the place.

"Let's see if we can't smoke the little rat out." At her words, she clicked her fingers and a section of the room caught ablaze almost immediately afterwards. Once she had smoked the Demon out, who unbeknownest to her was a girl named Emily, she would proceed to manipulate the flames to direct the poor girl towards her.
She didn't wish to harm the girl, mostly scare her out of the building where she would be able to talk to her.

Sitting in one of those old, dilapidated buildings, on a wooden chair right next to a small window was the pink-haired "demon" that was in question. It was indeed not a pretty place to stay, but Emily figured that she would cause the least tension to her surroundings if she lived in an area barely anyone cared for. If people truly went out of their way to talk about her odd appearance, which could be explained with her simply being a demi, these rumors could always just be brushed off as ramblings by poor or maybe insane people who lived in this run-down part of the city. Even though life was not very pleasant in these streets since she mostly lived alone, Emily did get used to the state and appearance of her surroundings over time. After all she kept telling herself that there was no other way, that she did thise because it was the best for everyone. While she did not entirely understand what exactly was inside of her, Emily knew that it would only cause no evil and had no place in this world. The best course of action would be to just keep it somewhere where it would not cause as much harm so that is what Emily did.

Today like usually, Emily simply sat in this small room in the house like she always did. This day felt different though... while Emily herself couldn't fully explain what exactly felt different, it was as if she had a weird feeling in her stomach that something important would happen this very day. And surely enough, out of nowehere, Emily heard an explosion coming from within the house she was in. The shocked and frightened girl immediately jumped up and left her room, only to see that the hallway was cut off due to the flames that erupted out of the wooden structure. With a panicked look in her eyes Emily put her own arms in front of her face to cover herself in protection and began to run for it, in the direct opposite direction of the fire and towards the exit. Luckily for her it seemed as if the flames were not severe enough to hinder her escape in any way, the chaos that it caused amongst the other locals was rather disturbing however. Soon enough Emily had reached the outside, quickly gasping for air and coughing up all the smoke that she inhaled while she was bent forward with her hands on her knees. After a moment of recollecting her thoughts, Emily realized that she did not even have enough time to plug her tail into her pants like she would usually do and now it was basically swaying freely behind her.
However, despite the roaring flames behind her, the first thing that the girl noticed upon leaving the house was an oddly dressed woman that she had never seen before. With teary eyes from the smoke Emily faced the unknown person and shouted at her. "W..Who are you?!" Needless to say Emily was frightened, scared and very much felt like she was in danger. Much to her own demise the pink-haired one was completely useless when it came to magic. Even though her affinity was water-based, Emily never was able to use magic much herself therefore it was of no use against this fire behind her.

@Lunarlors34

4 weeks long she had stayed with the iron bells. If it hadn't been for them she would have probably died already without herself knowing. Shiina could stay in their quarters if she simply drew a few mug shots of people each day. Furthermore she was fairly useless but her connection with Maria allowed her to be so useless while still getting plenty of food and a place to sleep. Shiina her life had perhaps even gotten better then the life she had in the old world. She could do what she liked, the hours she had to be on school vanished, she only had to study a few hours each day which was fairly reasonable and she enjoyed it as well. She got free clothes and food. The only things that she missed were the common things that were in her old world like a smartphone and a proper bed, although she couldn't complain if it meant more fun in life.

Shiina was equipped with a simple chest plate over her blouse, short pants and heavy woolly boots. She had been strolling through the streets. She couldn't go to far on her own without getting lost but still managed to get lost nearly every day but safely returned to the quarters with help of the iron bells when they see her walking somewhere far away in the city. It had become quite normal for them when they saw her. Shiina had been drooling over chicken kebab somewhere at the market place. She wore a small pouch with money with her all times knowing this sort of thing would happen regularly without having any money with her. She had some hard earned money from her drawing. It wasn't much and she would only spend it on food but it was still money. It casually hung on the side of her hip bound onto her short pants.

She was softly nibbling onto her chicken spionne as she was walking through the street without a care in the world. She didn't know where she was going but at least she had food to go along with her. Shiina made her way over to the slums just walking in a straight line till her spionnen was eaten empty. Shiina dropped her hand holding the empty stick by her side as she gazed around unknowingly where she had ended up. There were people looking at her but she ignored them, she poked the dirty stick between her blouse and pants like a sword so she didn't have to carry it while finding a trash can. She still hadn't found a single one till this day but she had encouragement there would be one someday. Carefully she walked around the area but she couldn't find her way back to the market place at all. It was just one big blur to how she had gotten here. Through all the houses she did see a dark cloud of smoke coming from one of them, she headed to the smoke. Her thoughts were that iron bell knights would check this out due to the disaster so they could take her back again.

Upon arriving at the scene she could see a girl and an older woman by the fire. The older woman seemed a little down looking on the girl, the girl was definitely afraid of her. Shiina gazed at the two of them with the ongoing fire behind them, her stomach began to viciously growl even after she had just eaten. She looked down with blank eyes and patted her stomach softly as it growled again.



Shiina looked back up again and gazed around a little to see if the knights were here yet all while her stomach kept growling loudly the entire time she waited. Mostly staring blankly at the two of them while she waited.

?????

She wasn't too sure what to have expected when Emily came running out, but appearance wise this certainly wasn't meeting them. At first she thought she had made a mistake, this girl didn't have a tail for a start. But then again, that didn't mean much. Hiding a tail was simple, at least to a woman of her genius.
But upon a second glance, she could feel the unmistakable aura around the girl. She had found one of the hosts, for sure. But which one was she? She didn't want to act too rashly, otherwise things would just get more annoying and complicated than they already were.
Upon the teary eyed girl seeming to stop before her out of fear more than anything, the woman simply sighed.
"Did no one teach you simple manners, girl." Looking at Emily through half closed eyes, the woman bought her hand up. In that same moment, a series of stone pillars erupted out of the ground in a pattern around of Emily so as to inhibit her movement.
"One should give their own name before asking for another's. Simple courtesy." Her tone as cold as the stones pressing against Emily, the woman took a couple of steps forward and spoke in a rather cryptic, ominous tone.
"Though I must admit...I'm disappointed. You must be fairly new if you don't know me, or maybe you're simply incompetent. Which is it, Witch?"

When the stone pillars erupted out of the floor around her, Emily screamed out very loudly in both fear and shock while more tears rolled down her cheeks. The poor scared girl wasn’t made for this situation and it was quite obvious that she was just very very scared.
“I… I don’t know what you mean! L...Leave me alone… just go! I r...really don’t… know….. Wh….” Her words slowly faded away as her voice grew weaker and Emily had slowly closed her eyes, passing out against the stones. Just a few moments later, her body suddenly began to change. The color of her hair changed from a very bright and pretty pink to a more pale one. Her skin’s color became much darker; it very much looked gray and her eyes began to glow in a bright but menacing pink in contrast to her skin color. Wings began to grow out of her lower back and soon reached an impressive length. Her hands now looked more like claws and so did her feet; having long and sharp claws at the end. The being pushed its hand against the stone pillar in front of it and after a short moment it crumbled and broke into pieces as she stepped out of the cage.
“Could you stop this, pretty please?” She said sarcastically while brushing some dust off of her clothes. The girl sighed out and stared back at the unknown female. “I’ll admit, I really did not expect to meet you here. But I suppose it was inevitable after a while… though I am surprised that you wanted to scare that poor girl so much.” With one hand covering her mouth she chuckled at that thought. “Not like I care. You probably didn’t know that I wasn’t her.”

The woman came to a stop as Emily began to transform before her very eyes, not exactly a shocking turn of events but unexpected certainly. With the transformation complete and her stone pillars reduced to dust, the Witch spoke.
It was made abundantly clear that the host and Witch were not one and the same, the transformation being an obvious sign to back that up.
“I didn’t think someone could become that scared so easily, you’ve chosen an...interesting new host to say the least Kindness.”
With an effortless shrug, the woman took another step forward. Despite the smile she wore, the woman had a menacing feeling and tone about her.
“But to think, an investigation into a slavery operation which led me to overhearing whispers about a peculiar girl with a peculiar tail is the reason I stand before you here and now….Fate truly is an amusing mistress, no?” While what she spoke was the truth, she had realised half way through this search for a ‘Demon Girl’ that it was either a powerful cultist or a Witch by the sheer stench they left in their wake, so it wasn’t as big as a coincidence as she was playing it out to be. Though it was still a massive coincidence.
“I suppose you don’t have a particular reason being here then do you? I assume by what I’ve seen, you’re probably just going with the flow of what your host decides.”

“Well… it was more by chance I suppose. I do agree though that she is interesting. I just let her do as she pleases, it is fun to just observe and watch every now and then. Besides, if she were to get herself into trouble, like now,” The witch gave the other woman a piercing stare with her glowing eyes. “I can always step in. Having my host die would be unfortunate. I can’t really depend on these stupid pigs that call themselves worshippers of me.” Again the witch chuckled. The thought of these braindead useless human beings bowing down in front of her pleased her.
“Though what are you doing in your life? You seem to have made yourself a name, investigating a slavery operation and demonic entities like a big girl.” Kindness was as kind as ever.

“Hmmm, is that so?” The woman mused. So it wasn’t her which was active at the moment. Kindness was a terrible liar, the woman was far, far too honest and uncaring of the consequences to lie.
Upon reaching that conclusion, the menacing feel about her dropped drastically almost instantly. Kindness was a potential threat she could take care of at another time, for now she would do well to keep her on side.
“Oh...nothing in particular. I do as I please for the most part, as you know I’m a rather free spirit. No one can chain me down. Just that I don’t take it too kindly when others put chains on anything, so I feel the need to liberate it.”
Ignoring Kindness’s attempts to provoke the woman, she stepped to the side and, looking upwards, began to admire something in the distance. Without turning to face Kindness, the woman added;
“Which is exactly what one of the Seven Witches are doing right now. Enslaving humans and demi’s alike for some purpose I have yet to work out. Hence why I was so hostile with your host before, as I hadn’t worked out which one you were just yet. I assume the Witch responsible isn’t yourself?”

Obviously, Kindness had some thoughts about this conversation too. After all, talking to that kind of person is always very intriguing and most of the actual thoughts about the conversation stay hidden. After all, she really saw no purpose in provoking a fight right now.
“”How… poetic.” She yawned excessively to show how bored she was of this phrase that nothing can chain her down.
Emily tilted her head slightly upon hearing what she said in confusion before finally laughing. “Pffffhahahaha! No that is not me. That sounds so boring! But that sounds like one of the sisters. But you make such an… effort... “ With her clawed hand she pointed at the fire behind her. “Now that poor girl is homeless.” she said sarcastically. If she really wanted a home she could easily get it.
“Though I wonder who that is. I always expected one of them to act up and draw attention to them again. They just can’t keep their hands still…” The witch followed this with a drawn-out sigh before licking her small fangs.

“I had doubted it was you, it didn’t suit you one bit. You’re far too….’direct’ for such methods.” Dwelling on Kindness’s words, the woman stared off absently for a minute or two before turning back.
“It is indeed a shame they’ve been drawing so much of the Royal Guard’s attention, would’ve thought they would at least have the intelligence required to go about their business without making such a circus.” With a disappointed sigh, the woman now glanced over her shoulder.
“I would watch your back from here on out, Kindness.” With a stern tone, the woman’s eyes narrowed considerably.
“The Royal Guards are on edge because of this Witch stirring up trouble, some old discrimination and grudges have boiled to the surface. A Witch is simply just that to them, a Witch. They’re all the same to those backward-thinking, incompetent fools.” She didn’t need to warn Kindness of course, in fact it could’ve been far, far more amusing if she hadn’t warned her.
But for now, Kindness was a valuable asset. Whether she knew it or not.
Clearing her throat, the woman started walking a few steps back towards Kindness.
“I will find this particular Witch and put an end to her little game, one way or another Kindness. Along with any of her allies or those who attempt to get in my way.”

After the last sentence spoken by the woman in front of her, Kindness looked a little annoyed. Her expression was both annoyed and angry, though quite obviously it wasn’t to a high extend.
She parted her lips with her teeth still closed and made an annoyed noise. “Tsh.” Kindness took a step forward too and stared right back into the eyes of the opposite.
“I don’t know what you try to threaten me for. I do whatever I want and whenever I want. Also…”
With that, the girl looked away again, seemingly no longer interested in appearing as serious.
“You know me, I don’t want anything to do with that. Though I… appreciate the warning.” She said in an overly sarcastic voice, using her hands to emphasize the sarcasm.
Kindness put both of her hands behind her own head, taking on a rather relaxed pose.
“As mentioned before, I don’t intend to do anything right now. Why would I attack the Royal Guards? I am not that stupid. Although it would be quite fun.”

Inhaling sharply, the woman pinched the bridge of her nose before exhaling loudly. She knew Kindness was dense, but this was pushing the envelope no?
“I wasn’t threatening you, the opposite in fact.” With her head in her hands, she sighed again “And I didn’t think you would attack the Royal Guards, you would lose if you did, but they are quite likely to attack you simply for being a Witch and nothing else. Hence my warning.” Hoping that she didn’t have to explain it again, or in further detail, the woman allowed her hands to fall back to her sides.
“But I do require your assistance in identifying which one is causing this problem. There’s a possibility she might approach yourself or one of the others, if she hasn’t already. How you deal with that is up to you, regardless I suggest contacting me immediately.” Sensing one or more people beginning to draw closer, the woman seemed to remember they were standing next to a large, open blaze.
Right. Burning buildings tended to attract a crowd didn’t they? And she had been questioning Kindness intelligence….
Letting out an agitated hissing noise, the woman clicked her tongue loudly before looking off in the direction Shina approached from.
“We will have to cut this short Kindness. Simply put, in return for your assistance in this matter I’ll make sure no harm comes to your host. I’ll leave how to contact me with your host, but I suggest you make yourself scarce. Your current form might...startle people.”

Angrily Kindness gritted her teeth against one another. “Tsh. As If I couldn’t take down a few lowly humans…” She crossed her arms in front of her body and shook her head.
“I don’t promise you my assistance but…” Kindness too felt someone approaching and her wings already began disappearing. “I promise you neutrality.. For now. If it seems like fun to help you then i will. See you soon, lovely talking to you as always.” She finished with this sarcastic comment before her body had fully transformed back into the demon-tailed Emily. Immediately the body went limp and fell to the floor; She was unconscious.

With Kindness having withdrawn back into Emily's body and the young girl collapsing to the floor, the woman bent down and shook her head. Dealing with her was such a pain, but for now she needed her and that's all that mattered.
Upon hearing Shina, the woman looked over her shoulder. She was that presence? This girl....who exactly was she? She wasn't dressed in enough armour to be a knight, but too much to be an ordinary citizen. I mean it was only some chest plate armour, but that was still more than most people cared to wear.
At the mention of being hungry the woman couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. This girl seemed to be a strange one anyway. Picking Emily up and holding her bridal style, turning to face Shina.
"Is that so? Then in return for you name, let me treat you to something while I get this girl to the Iron Knights." Greeting Shina with a smile, the flame behind them seemed to snuff itself out entirely despite being a huge blaze just moments prior.






Having finished his errands, Avery had begun making his way to the others. He needn't know where he was going, but simply followed where he could feel his summon. With the time taken to get Aya some food from the inn and a weapon from a nearby vendor, plus the time taken to get to the little cabin in the woods, it had been at least 2 hours.
There wasn't much to the cabin, one quick glance could see while it was reasonably made, it wasn't exactly a professional job. Also it was rather tiny, but rationizing that Ease had built it himself it was still rather impressive.
Humming softly as he strolled up to the little porch built on the outside, Avery pushed open the (probably) open door and announced his presence with a beaming smile on his face.
"Honey, I'm home~" Not being able to help himself with his little joke, he held up a brown paper bag which had Aya's food and jiggled it softly. Though her weapon didn't seem to be noticeably on his person.

Kurokono sat beside the cabin's window, oiling his sword under the clear sunlight. A sword curved like a spine, spanning the same length of a Knight's longsword. The work of Kurokono's sword is one of a kind, a weapon like this doesn't exist normally, it is a sword from another world. Or as what Kurokono thinks as another timeline. I'm wrong, this isn't the Sengoku Jidai, its actually the Qin Dynasty, I've gotten the timeline wrongly...

He grimaced at the mention of 'honey'. That wasn't really a word one would say to a little sister like Aya. And Kurokono was very sure that she wasn't talking to a stranger like him. Perhaps some people have different orientations like le--...? He wiped the excess oil off his sword roughly, his eyes twitching at his effort to clear his stray thoughts away. Kurokono was glad that the girl with the Masculine name Avery wasn't his type. I'll offer a few prayers to the Buddha after this.... He chucked his sword back to the sheath, tying it up neatly.

As Vivi insulted the cat girl calling her a pest, Noi pushed a thumb to her petite chest."Noi isn't pest!" She told Vivi." Noi is friend, adventurer, finder of shinies, and good fighter with feet. you are Pest." She told the Celestia. Once Vivi took up a fighting stance, Noi spun around on the ball of her foot and took up an odd stance with her rocking back and forth, not staying still despite both her feet were on the ground, both of her hands were at her sides.

Vivi then said more rude words to foreign cat girl, like sharing the same air as Vesta." Noi not want air from Vesta." She told Vivi."Noi wants to play with Vesta." She told her before Vivi called her a stranger."Noi not Stranger! Noi is Celestia!" She yelled at the other Celestia.

But Vivi began thrusting her palm towards Noi and not knowing what she was doing, Noi tumbled and rolled from her position before being flung off her feet on her butt, she spun herself back up to her feet and tried rushing the wind user.

@Lunarlors34
@FamishedPants
@Rekaigan

Maria was not exactly the most suited for such a situation. Her knowledge of magic simply came from her instructors as a kid, and the various degrees of books she had stored within both her personal quarters and her family house. But at the very least, she had a basic understanding of what was occuring, which was helpful.

“A speaking spirit? I have heard of such a thing before … but I’ve never personally seen one.”

Maria was not exactly the most suited for such a situation. Her knowledge of magic simply came from her instructors as a kid, and the various degrees of books she had stored within both her personal quarters and her family house. But at the very least, she had a basic understanding of what was occuring, which was helpful.

But such knowledge was not a comfort for someone such as Maria, who had a tendency to overanalyze every aspect of what she saw from the resulting harsh training she received as a child to learn the Hohenzollern style of swordplay. To observe, and to consider the situation as it came, were the tenets of her school, which tended to bleed itself over to her perception of the world itself. Something that raised more questions than answers surely would result in Maria to confuse herself if a solution didn’t appear apparent.

“It is the purpose of the knights to resolve the issues of the realm. Unfortunately, even I am not someone who can go against the oath I took as a captain, even if it is against you, Vesta.”

Maria seemed rather cold in her statement.. A purely business statement that seems

“But …” She continued “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to leave this girl with you, Onee-san. There likely isn’t a safer place to stay than this manner in the entire region, aside from the palace itself.” Maria said to Vesta, but for the moment letting her guard down from her more standard persona of “Maria of the Iron Bell Knights” and becoming closer to her more typical from her speech alone. After all, even when all was said and done, Maria did consider Vesta’ and the Celestias to be some of the greatest allies of both her and her family for generations.

“It will allow me to better understand this speaking spirit, and it she seems to have taken a liking to you, “Mama Vesta”,” Maria seemed to say in jest, though from the genuine smile on her face, one could tell this subtle change in her rather stern self seemed to come from a place of warmth. Anyone who knew Maria knew that despite her rather stern sentience at time, she would never abandon someone in need.

Clearing her throat, Maria considered her place as a Knight once more, and considered for the moment that such declarations would likely not be seen as professional as someone in her position.

“However, I will consider her a temporary adoption. You will have to consider the paperwork yourself, and if somewhere down the line you are not seen fit to care for a child, I will have no choice but to take her away from you. I’d also wish to warn you that taking in a child might seem rather dubious to the perception of those around you. Rumors can kill, so you better be prepared.”

Perhaps Vesta cared not for her outward appearance, but Maria cared deeply about every facet of her friend’s life. Even if Vesta could shurk off these rumors as if they were merely words, Maria did not believe herself able to idle by whilst such vulgarities were spread. Compared to her less composed speech previously, she seemed more stern with Vesta, as if a mother informing a child that they need to take care the dog they adopted. After all, a knight’s duty is to the people. A concept of chivalry that seemed to pass itself from father to daughter, if not by blood than by nurture.

The hero of the Great War, whose equitable and fair treatment of his opponents, and strong leadership to his men, was someone could be considered a “great hero”. Perhaps certain families were more prestigious, but to the demihumans, hardly any other name rings of such praise aside from the Hohenzollerns

“But she is sure a cute thing, isn’t she?”

Maria smiled as she said this. A genuine smile that she hardly believed she could make anymore. Even beneath her armor and regulations and desires, the same little girl that would follow Vesta around like a shadow with a smile upon her face still existed.

But that was when Maria heard a strange noise from outside. Perhaps it was merely a whisper carried upon the wind, but she was sure that something was occuring from the sound alone. Though she was not the best trained in magic, at the very least the basics of wind magic seemed to reaffirm some sort of ressinonce within her.

“Oi, do you hear that?” Maria asked the group, wondering if they too heard the same faint, yet startling noise she had heard from the outside.

“Everything alright out there?”

Vesta Celestia

@ADamnFiddle@Spriggs27@Rekaigan
While Maria spoke her thoughts about the matters at hand, the Celestia heir continued to indulge herself in her tea without seeming to have a worry or care in the world. Everything that Maria had said was true though.
Technically, she had no right to adopt the girl from a Knights point of view. However the girl had wandered onto the Celestia property, meaning it was now a Celestia matter. How much authority the Knights had from there mattered little, seeing as the nobility had more say on their land than anywhere else. So long as no laws were broken, the Knights couldn't really do anything. Especially as the Celestia's answered to the Royal Guards rather than the Iron Bell.
And adopting this child under these circumstances, Vesta couldn't see a law broken here regardless.
But the reason behind her cool attitude was that she knew that Maria would find a way to excuse this anyway. It's not like Vesta was harming anyone by harboring the child, and as she said this place was one of the most secure in the land.
As one would expect from the paranoid, power-crazed Celestia family. The defenses were way over the top, but also very much justified.
"I'll be sure not to give you a reason then." Finishing her tea as Maria gave her warning, Vesta tucked some hair that had come loose back behind her ear.
"I have a few ideas on how to avoid these 'rumours' you speak of, as amusing as letting people spread such false information I would rather not have the family name slandered. We have a certain someone already doing a fine job in that department." Vesta added, finishing with a rather irritated tone. Indeed, no one would make much of a fuss if they were to hire a new handmaiden no? Give the young girl the proper outfit to go with it, and none would be wiser for it.
This actually reminded her of a talk she had with her father, many years ago. When she had bought Avery back from the mountains. Her father had been deadset against the idea of taking him in then, and he still seemed very against it even now. But even so, here they were now.
"Indeed she is." Nodding in agreement, Vesta allowed herself a rare moment to lean back and relax. This truly was refreshing, just a nice chat with her childhood friend, enjoying the company of people who weren't absolute batshit insane in a serene environment.

Such a contrast to the atmospheres of the last month.
But it was but a fleeting feeling that lasted no more than a moment as Maria bought the incident currently happening outside to her attention. Giving her friend an inquistive look, she took a moment to take in what she could gleam from so far away.
"This feels like...Vivi's magic." Confusion began to set in as she stood up from her seat. Why would Vivi be using magic right now? She practiced early morning and early evening, and Vivi was a stickler for her schedule.
At that moment, the door slowly creaked open as the red haired maid Ronni stuck her head in, a panicked look about her. Then again, she always looked panicky and nervous.
"Um, Lady Vesta. We have a problem by the front gate." At Ronni's words, the very atmosphere of the room changed. Vesta wore a heavy, annoyed frown as a serious tone began to set in.
"....I see. It would seem that this would be a good time for Elanil to get a first look at what I can teach her. Tell everyone to stay away Ronni, I'll deal with this myself." The maid didn't need to be told twice as she quickly scurried away. She hadn't explained the entire situation, but Vesta had been able to piece the puzzle together reasonably well.
It would seem that Vivi would be the one currently engaging this 'problem' they had by the front gate. What had happened to the guards was unknown to Vesta, but best not to take any chances.
She would deal with this herself, swiftly. And at the same time, show Elanil what a properly trained mage could do.

---

....this girl was truly grating on her last nerves. Grinding her teeth irritably, glared at Noir as she rushed her.
"I've had enough with your delusions, but I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you. El Fura!" Deciding that if Noi was going to be stupid enough to try and take her head on, Vivi dashed forward with assitance from the wind.
With the admittedly small gap between them closed within the IQ that Vivi believed Noi possessed, the mage aimed a powerful gap up towards her chin before aiming a series of punches and kicks that combo'ed into one another, each attack releasing a burst of power wind from either her fists or shoes. But Vivi made sure to keep the gap between them as it was, she couldn't afford the girl to get too far or else she would be able to escape the combo.
But regardless, she didn't plan on giving the girl a chance to get a hit in, this was an all out attack. Of course this was also very draining on her gate, seeing as hers wasn't that great to begin with. It would eventually offer an open to counter if Noi could last long enough.

Noi stomped on the ground, with the metal soles in her shoes making a loud clanking noise on the stones under them, Vivi made faces at the cat girl looking more and more visibly angry as each second past, Noi took a step back from the light blue haired woman before she started to verbally berate the cat girl almost making the cat girl a little angry as well."Noi here to play with Vesta! Not Vivi! Vesta!" She flailed her arms before noticing the incoming flurry of attacks from Vivi, instinct kicked in and Noi shut her mouth moving out of the way of each punch and kick, almost as if she was dancing before being hit in the face by Vivi once, leaving a bright red mark on the feline girl's face.

She didn't attack back but chose to dodge another attack and make sure she followed the woman's combo moving fluently like wind, before dodging a punch from Vivi and spinning on the ball of her foot, she got to Vivi's shoulder and her fist met Vivi's ear before tucked and rolled heading for the door. She wasn't really here to play with Vivi, but more here to play with someone else that would actually be better at playing, but the second her hands met the door knob, the door was locked and Noi only had seconds left before she would have to act. The cat girl dove backwards and back flipped towards Vivi trying to attack her from behind with her feet, Noi knew that it would probably be tough to do against someone as void of fun as Vivi but she would have to try something to keep playing.

Hello?