Hotaru looked around while Larel was at the tea stand, Sybil whispering something about how she couldn't manage to not look over her shoulder. She sighed before looking back at him, nodding, "Alright, let's have that fancy capital tea," she smirked before going towards the inn, "Hopefully Alari gave good descriptions of us, or wait, did he give you a key or anything in that odd pass by to go stalk Mera?" she looked at him, "I wish they'd just like seal that deal and quit pussy footing around it. She's like an annoying little girl with her first crush.... oh heavens, what if it is?"
Leave it to a prude to never have experienced love until she almost hits a millennium in age.
Hotaru actually snickered at that comment, shaking her head, "Sorry I know you are not Alari's fan.... ever in like a million years, but Mera can certainly handle herself. She have her favorite plant eat him if he messes up or pisses her off, so let's just focus on getting this put together so you can eat huh?"
And when are you going to eat exactly, or do I get to have more fun again? Not that the rest of your friends would consider what we did earlier fun, but I get really tired of them acting like I'm forcefully taking over when it's usually your own stupidity that leads to it.
Hotaru's jaw went taut for a hot second, Shut the hell up.
Aw, and we were having so much fun.

Mera looked up at him, smiling softly at his day being spent with telling stories, smirking at the idea of seeing him and Larel sitting down exchanging stories, but she blushed hearing him saying he'd go on a date with her. She pointed the needle at him though, "Oh so I'm only second because Larel's a frump," she taunted, "I see how it is," she looked back down, starting to work on the tattoo again, "Though he'd probably find a way to come raging after you for that too, unless we can get Hotaru to actually distract him long enough to mind his own business. Not that I don't appreciate Larel's.... help, my personal affairs are things I can handle on my own," she pointed out, smirking, "I've done so well until now, right? Hence why I lived completely alone for a few hundred years," she scoffed at herself, but realizing she was talking so much, she stopped, letting him comment if he felt fit, and trying to finish the paint brush, though she did ask, "Why symbol do you think would be represent you?"

Larel gave a firm nod more than happy to go retrieve the tea, his memories of the capital were a mix of good and ill but he couldn't deny the delicacies offered were extremely tasty. At the mention of Alari's handling of the room Larel pat himself as the mention of a key, he wasn't handed one but he didn't put it past Alari to slip one on his person just to make things more difficult.
"Nothing...I guess he just told the people what we look like."
At the mention of stalking Mera his eye twitched, he was tired of the man continuously spending time with her but he couldn't stop the guy, as often as he's tried. That didn't mean he intended on giving up but he knew there were some battles he wasn't winning at the moment. He flinched a little at the word crush not wanting to imagine that possibility. A small sigh escaped from him before he rubbed the back of his head looking over at Hotaru, she had a valid point when it came to Mera.
"I know Mera-sama can handle herself...it's just weird. I don't...hate Alari as much as I used too. I still want to kill him with every fiber of my being...but it's not as intense. I worry spending too much time around him makes it easy to see past the evil in that man's heart...I just fear Mera-sama will succumb to this as well."
Taking a deep breath he shook his head trying to push the fear away.
"You're right though...after all that's happened I don't see him acting up. Let's just focus on right now."

Seeing a bit of red flow into Mera's face a small smile rested on Alari's, he didn't comment on it however not wanting to ruin the moment. Though at her mention of being second Alari held his hands up slightly chuckling a little to show it wasn't true.
"Of course you're not Larel would have to be in a good mood for us to be left alone on a date, thus part of the reason for the stories," he said with smile.
He gave a small nod at the mention of Larel raging, he rubbed the back of his neck able to imagine it, running through the streets waving his sword while yelling insult in his direction, it seemed so normal now. Alari's eyebrows arched at the idea of Hotaru distracting him however, it was thanks to him being with Hotaru that he had the opportunity to spend alone time with Mera at the festival.
"...I'd feel guilty asking Hotaru that, though I can't deny it's not a bad idea..."
Alari trailed off bringing a hand to his chin, he lowered it however as she brought up Larel again. He knew Larel could sometimes get involved in personal affairs without wholly thinking things true, that's where most of his trouble came from.
"Well you are his precious master and friend, he's going to remind of that constantly, you know his record with me."
When Mera brought up a symbol Alari lowered his gaze to the ground, he wasn't sure what would really represent him. Just picking a random object didn't seem like the right thing to do, as he thought about it he realized how difficult it was to define a person by a single symbol, or perhaps he was just thinking about it too hard.
"I'm not sure...what do you see when you look at me," Alari said raising his gaze Mera. "Maybe that will help. Personally Mera you're my sun and moon, the dew falling off a flower from the morning mist, the shimmer of lights on a pure blue lake. Whenever I look at you I'm reminded of the small beauties in the world, just do the same for me."

Hotaru laughed lightly at his worries over Alari, "One of these days I have got to find out why you hate him so much, like what spurred the baby killer insults," she smirked. She looked around once they found the inn, looking to see how populated the area was and how easy/difficult it would be to deal with her own issues later on, "Larel, have you ever wondered if everything will ever just.... stop being so complicated? Where we could really just have a day where there's absolutely nothing strange happening in the background, no bad guys to beat or trying to beat us..... just normal. Is that even possible, I mean, truly?" She murmured then realized what she was saying and shook her head, not waving her hands in fear of dropping something, "Sorry, sorry, getting all weird and philosophical there," she said, going inside in hopes in leaving the stupid babble that just came out of her mouth out there.

Mera smirked lightly at his saying he'd feel guilty asking Hotaru that, though she was pretty sure Hotaru wouldn't object to anything. She looked up at him, however, at his comments about what she was to him, a light blush coloring her cheeks before an idea came to mind. She smirked lightly, putting her finger to her chin, "I've got an idea.... you might not get it, but it makes perfect sense to me," she murmured and went back to finishing her one for Kaori. It was a paint brush and it was in the midst of making a smile and she had it close to some of briars on her arm that had come from her childhood. She hadn't known Kaori well enough to be incredibly sentimental, but it felt like it fit him. And even as fleeting as a time as she knew him, Mera didn't want to forget. She knew Mary wouldn't, and it wouldn't do to have such a character forgotten as one that brought such light to their darker moments. She wouldn't be able to do Alari's now, simply because it would require a memory and a tiny bit of privacy.
She leaned back against the tree, holding her arm out so the ink would dry properly, staring up at the sky as she could see it through the leaves of the trees above. She couldn't help but remember the odd scenes she had been made privy to thanks to Zenmaru. She had so many questions, or the vague notions of them, but she didn't know how to phrase them in to words. She finally was able to settle on something, figuring asking it might be a little less awkward than silence- since when did she feel the need to fill it? She looked over at Alari, stopping herself from asking it outright, wondering if she really wanted to stir that pot or let it be. It was the past, right? She of all people knew about not wanting others to really dig into the past (Not that she'd been exactly superb at keeping people out of it).

Larel scratched his cheek not sure where to start on his hatred towards Alari, even he wasn't wholly sure where it all began and ended, just being in his presence caused his stomach to churn. The fact he knew so much about him and he knew little to nothing about the man didn't help to ease his harsh feelings towards Alari. If he knew how to answer the question properly he would happily tell Hotaru, but all he had was a feeling.
"He's evil...reason over," Larel said putting his hands on his hips.
Larel looked over at Hotaru as she spoke again asking him a question that hadn't really crossed his mind, his eyebrows lowered slightly as his mind tangled with the thought, he was a hunted man so the idea of being completely at peace was such a distant thought he hadn't taken the time to consider a moment of true peace. He raised his gaze back to Hotaru as she dismissed the question and Larel walked into the room closing the door behind them. A part of him felt she deserved an answer to the question.
"...when I was in the capital before I became wanted I would visit the garden at the castle I guarded," Larel said. "It was a simple place and I only watched it since due to the opening it needed for sunlight it was a possible infiltration point. No one ever came in that way so I ended up just sitting and staring into the garden in silence, I used to hate guarding it as I wanted to be out in the town, doing more work...I look back at that time now and I realize how lucky I was back then."
Larel closed his eyes for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest.
"...normal days existed once...it's not an impossibility for it to happen again," Larel said with a small nod before opening his eyes. "After everything that's happened I think it's okay to hope for that Hotaru...I doubt it'll happen anytime soon though so let's just do our best right now."

A small chuckle escaped from Alari as Mera spoke of an idea, he gave a small nod to her before moving his hands into his sleeves. A part of him wished moments like this would last a little longer, watching Mera add the new tattoo to her arm, a small but sad smile on his face as she finished it. He pulled out the doll Kaori left him from his sleeve staring at the well crafted object for a moment, shutting his eyes he moved it back into his sleeve, now wasn't the time to reflect and he'd hold onto his own reminder of Kaori.
"I like that one, it suits him just fine," Alari said with a small nod.
Alari's gaze returned to Mera as her attention moved to the sky, he stared at her in silence watching as the light between the trees gave the forest a faint shimmer his attention fixated on Mera within the mix of light and dark. He was pulled from his awe when Mera looked at him, he blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head almost like he was pulling himself from a spell. H0s brows arched at Mera before reaching and adjusting his glasses with a finger.
"What's wrong Mera? You seem bothered by something," Alari said. "There's not something on me is there?"
Alari raised his arms looking down at his kimono, he wasn't sure what that look on Mera's face was but something was clearly on her mind.

Hotaru almost winced when he started to answer the question, turning to look at him and listening. She gave a small smile at his piece of advice, "You're right," she said nodding, "Can't ever get back to normal if we don't deal with the problem," she walked over and got their rooms before heading to them, stepping into the room and looking around.
"Alright, time to start cooking," she said. She'd already cooked the chicken through as they walked and talked, so as that was left was the vegetables. She pulled out a simple knife and cut up the chicken and vegetables before cooking the vegetables lightly so that they weren't raw, "You get that tea going for us," she said as she worked, having the food on a piece of fabric so she wasn't cutting on the ground.
She had to admit though. This felt a little like normal by now. She smirked a little at the idea that normal had simply changed definitions, though she wasn't entirely sure their newest definition of normal was a healthy definition. She sighed a bit, rubbing the back of her head once the food was prepared. She hadn't kept up with those gourds Mary had gotten and she was kind of regretting it. Now she would have to face her neeeds a little more head on. But she was sure she would be fine for awhile, she had fed plenty last time right? And that wasn't that long ago. She decided Sybil was overreacting and she would be fine and looked back over at Alari.
"So here's hoping for a peaceful night for once, no random bad guys, no one randomly disappearing, none of that," She took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

When Alari questioned if something was wrong. She shook her head, "No, never mind me," She murmured before putting her ink and needle away before starting to get up. She didn't know how to phrase her questions anyway, so what was the point of trying to drag it up, "We should probably go back before Alari is sure you've kidnapped me and done something horrible," she smirked at him at that before taking a deep breath,turning and starting out of the woods. She was going to let him decide if he wanted to talk about whatever the weirdness was that she overheard twice. She sighed a bit, putting her hand to her head as she shook it.

Larel nodded in agreement with Hotaru as they headed back inside, they would just do what they could now and enjoy what downtime they had. Strange enough as he brewed the tea he realized that their current situation was pretty simple, Zenmaru wasn't yelling in his head, Hotaru was cooking nearby and his attention was focused on the tea. He blinked a few times and glanced to his right expecting Zenmaru to say something, to ruin the moment but she was quiet. He wasn't sure how he felt about it but decided not to push his luck and just focused on making the tea, when the pleasant scent hit him he felt his whole body relax, it was amazing what a good cup of tea could do. Larel only took his eyes away from the tea as Hotaru spoke, he arched his brows at her before giving a small nod, he would have added no Alari in there but he liked that list.
"Agreed it'd be nice to not sleep with one eye open, it's been a draining couple of days," Larel said sighing a little. "I hope Mera-sama's okay...I swear if Alari kidnapped her while my back is turned..." Larel said trailing off at the end.

Alari scratched his cheek wanting to tell Mera it was impossible not to mind but just stayed silent, at the mention of Larel's assumptions he gave a small nod sighing, the longer they stayed away the worst off it would get. He wasn't sure how Larel always somehow made it worse in his own mind but it would be for the best if they avoided it. Turning he followed behind Mera moving his hands in his sleeves as they made their way back to the town, closing his eyes for a moment Alari let some of this thoughts drift for a moment. There was a bit of hesitation in him but he figured if anyone deserved to know it was Mera.
"I feel like I should share something with everyone...since you've seen it anyway...especially if Larel already knows. I'd hate for him to come to the wrong conclusion," Alari said. "We can talk back in the room."

(I have no idea whatsoever why I kept calling Larel Alari last time..... I looked at it and I was like wtf did I do XD)

"Like I said, regardless of your strange distrust of Alari, the least you can do is remember this is Mera we're talking about," Hotaru pointed out, "It would help you not worry so much," she said, smirking a little. She set the food near where he was making the tea, "There you go, I don't have any spices so it's kind of simple, but it's wholesome enough," she said.

Mera looked at him hearing him say that. It was like he'd read her mind, though she was trying not to try and assume it was exactly what she wanted to know. She nodded, "Alright," she murmured as she walked with him back to the hotel. She took a deep breath, looking around as they walked. She was feeling a little more centered at the moment, a little calmer than she had been of late, but this tattoo made it impossible to not worry about Mary. She knew her sister had seemed very upset after that whole affair, though she was a little surprised by the intensity of it.

Alari came to a stop as they neared the inn, he stared at it silently before looking at his hand slowly closing it into a fist. A part of him really didn't want to reveal what he was about too, but after all the business with Kaori he wasn't sure what Larel knew. He sighed a little bit hoping things wouldn't go downhill because he decided to make this decision, but if Larel really knew what was going on and he didn't act fast enough Zenmaru could mess things up further. Lowering his hand he looked back at Mera for a moment, though he offered a smile it was pretty clear he was nervous about what was going to transpire, he turned back around and taking a deep breath walked into the inn pushing his glasses back onto his nose.
"...I really hope this doesn't go poorly," he said sighing a little.

"Hmm...I'll try. I know Mera-sama can handle herself...I just can't help but be on guard around him."
When the food was placed in front of them Larel stared at it for a moment, he closed his mouth feeling his mouth start to water from the scent alone, his stomach growling again to remind him of his hunger. He looked up at Hotaru and slowly shook his head before going to grab a bite.
"No it's more than enough, thanks Hotaru," Larel said with a small nod. "There's nothing that will stop me from enjoying this."
"We're back."
Larel raised his head as Alari walked into the room, the peaceful expression on his face quickly faded into disdain, his eyebrows lowered and his eyes moved to his weapon which caused Alari to raise his hands.
"Hold that thought Larel...though a part of me really doesn't want too...I think it's about time I shared at least one thing with you...and I like Hotaru and Mera to see it as well," Alari said. "It's...not going to be a good thing but it might answer one of your questions."
"....the fact you said might irritates me."
"I keep what I have to for reasons Larel...but with all that happens I feel like I should at least reveal one thing. If you would permit me a moment of your time everyone."

When Alari passed by Mera, she reached out and gave his hand a squeeze, noticing that he was nervous. She wanted answers, she wanted to know the truth as much as anyone, but she didn't want it at his expense. She wanted it more or less on his terms, when he felt it was right to share. She just hoped at this moment it wasn't a matter of feeling he had to, but rather because he wanted to share with them this information.
"Me too," she murmured before following after him to the room.

Hotaru looked up when Alari entered the room, sort of tuning out Larel's initial response as it was par for the course around Alari, but raised her brows as he spoke about what he was looking so tense for. She reached over and put her hand on Larel's shoulder, "Rather than focus on the negative possibility that you might not get answers, focus on the positive possibility that you could get them," she said. She looked towards Alari, "You've got my attention. I doubt you've lost hers for awhile," she smirked Mera, who didn't seem to react to what she said which had her frowning. She looked back at Alari, "So, what mighty information do you have to share, Alari Wisdom?" she asked, a little nervous now that she was reading the energy in the room.

In the far off distance, Erin and Rain found themselves stuck outside of a decrepit looking building, banging on the door, "Mary!" Raina called out, banging again, "Mary, can you hear me!"
"We should try and find windows or something," Erin said and hurried down the side of the building, "Surely she's fine, Mary's stronger than even Mera right?" he looked at his sister for reassurance.Raina faltered for a moment and Erin sighed in exasperation, "You're even worse than her when it comes to being any sort of comfort to people," he huffed.
"I'm a realist, Erin, I don't let myself get my hopes up anymor-"
"Well in this instance get them up," Erin snapped at her, "Our little sister, the last shred of innocence in the Zaheer family line, is stuck in this rubble heap of a building. She *is* going to be fine, and we *are* going to get her out! Believe in your family for once!" he growled as he turned and continued to look, leaving his sister there with a dumbfounded look on her face.
Inside the building, Mary sat up slowly, holding her head from where she fell. It was almost like a force had pulled her in and slammed the doors shut in the process.She could vaguely hear her siblings calling her name, but by the time she found her voice, they were gone. It felt...hard to breathe and she couldn't see due to the darkness inside. She got up onto her feet, creating a fireball in her hand and froze when she did. There were coffins scattered around the room, their lids broken open. She steeled herself enough to move over and look into one of them and a chill ran down her spine. If there were this many coffins...and if they were all empty like this one....where had the bodies inside gotten to? She moved to the nearest wall, pressing her back to it, not wanting to get caught off guard, "Why me?" she whispered to herself, hissing a bit, "We were just popping in, taking a peek," she whispered as she scooted along the wall, "Damn my curiosity."

Alari was silent for a moment staring at the others in front of him, he watched Larel who continued to glare at him but gripped his pants trying to hide his curiosity. After everything that happened they deserved answers, especially after what Kaori did and in the end Larel probably knew one of the secrets Alari kept from him. He shut his eyes realizing he was just making up excuses, he wanted to share this with Larel for a while now, and with Hotaru and Mera being an important part of his life, he felt a need to let them know too. With how things had changed perhaps this time would be a little different, but he remembered what happened when he got his hopes up, it generally ended the same way.
"...All right..." Alari said. "Please pay close attention, you can come out."
Something ran around in Alari's clothing and in the next moment the little fox named Jin popped out, he rubbed his head head against Alari's cheek causing him to pet him before he whispered something to the little creature.
Jin nodded and leapt off Alari's shoulder before his eyes glowed, in the next moment red energy flowed off him before hovering above his body, Alari reached forward and turning the energy around let it form into a sort of circular shape.
"I figured it'd be easier to show then tell," Alari said closing his eyes.
A moment later images started to form in the circle, it was fuzzy at first as the memories came together but after a moment the scene became visible and it wasn't exactly a pretty one.

In the distance a large village was on aflame, screams echoed from the burning town and people ran screaming for an end as the flames consumed their bodies, corpses burned beyond recognition laid nearby enmass, and there were only two people not affected by the fire.
A child who looked an awful lot like Larel and a tall man with long silver hair fluttering behind him, he was covered in blood and he held a bloody sword in his hand as he stared at the flames. There was a cold expression on his face, and upon closer inspection he looked extremely similar to Alari
"...this is what happens when you get close Larel," the man said glancing at him. “They’re suffering is due to your own foolishness.”
The boy who was apparently Larel grit his teeth and glared at the man, he quickly ran towards him tears streaming down his face fists brought back but the man kicked him away with little difficult, the boy gritting his teeth as he hit the ground. He was covered in bruises showing this wasn’t the first time he had tried to fight back. The man shook his head and tossed something in front of Larel, hidden from view earlier. When Larel raised his head his heart sunk in his chest seeing the head of young girl resting in front of him.
"S-sis.......n...no...nononononono."
Larel shivered his hands reaching out towards her, only to pull them back seeing the horrified expression on his face.
"...Alari....why...she didn’t…she did nothing…" Larel said raising his head to him. "You...you bastard! I-I'll kill you!"
Alari sighed and slammed his foot onto the back of Larel's head forcing him back onto the ground when he tried to stand.
"You're not strong enough to kill me boy...and unfortunately I need you alive...so...if you want to kill me that badly...then get stronger. If you want to be allowed to pursue silly things like this...then kill me. Because I'm just going to keep taking away the things you love until you learn what your place is in this world."
Alari took his foot off Larel's head and walked past him ignoring the boy's whimpers as his hands closed into fists, blood running down his wrists as his nails dug into the skin.
"Hurry up I don't have all day," Alari said.
Larel shivered but climbed to his feet slowly, he looked back at the village of fire for a moment and then to the head at his feet.
"...I’m sorry..."
He mumbled the words before turning and following after Alari.
"I promise...I'll kill him...for all of this..."

Alari opened his eyes the image fading as Jin's eyes returned to normal, reaching over he ran his hands over the small bracelet on his wrist, he was silent for a moment his eyes focused on the floor. After a moment he opened his mouth and spoke.
"Your sister is dead Larel..." Alari said before looking at him. "I killed her."
It happened in the span of a moment Larel slammed Alari against the wall his blade against his throat, his eyes glowed a bright red and his breathing was heavy as darkness poured out of his being staring at this man. Unlike most times however Alari made no attempt to move or dodge, he just averted his gaze from Larel.
“You need to let her go,” Alari said staring at him. “Stop pursuing it.”
"Y-Y-" Larel tried to speak but he could feel Zenmaru slipping out of him.
He brought a hand to his head and released Alari before turning and running out of the door, moving away from the inn as fast as he could.
Alari sighed and touched his neck pulling it away seeing a bit of red, the blade had been pressed against his skin, at least hard enough to break it. Shaking his head Alari sat tailor style before looking over at Hotaru.
"...I'm sorry to ask Hotaru but could you retrieve him. He's going to need a friend in this moment..."
Alari still seemed to be keeping something to himself, it was hard for even him to hide it in his current state, but whatever it was he didn't seem keen on sharing it at the moment, he wasn't proud of what he just showed after all.
“That…went about as expected unfortunately.”

Hotaru looked surprised as the scene came to an end. That person, that Alari, was unlike anything she'd ever expected out of the man. He didn't seem like someone who could be so cold as to murder a whole village. She shook her head when she realized Larel had moved and grabbed Alari. She had stood up to try and intervene, but Larel was running already. She looked at Alari, and nodded, "R-right," She murmured. She moved to the window, pulling her cloak on tight as she jumped out the window, going after Larel, following his scent. She didn't know what to do for him in this moment. She wanted to help him, but how could she justify or assuage anything they just saw. She sighed, looking around, trying to spot him.

Mera placed her elbow in her hand, leaning her hand into her chin, "Hmmm," was all she said at first, not seeming swayed in any particular direction by what she'd just seen. Sure it was a bit surprising, but it wasn't like she herself was responsible for a few bad scenes. She tilted her head idly, her face blank for a moment before she looked at him, "I'm guessing there's many more hidden layers in there," she said, not sound accusatory or disappointed, but more like she was just stating a fact. She moved to sit on her knees, crossing her arms, "I'm not really one to talk considering while yes you've seen bits and pieces of my past, I've never been entirely forthcoming either, but holding back things like that? You're just going to keep getting explosive responses..... are you wanting him to kill you?" she looked at him, raising a brow, "Some kind of atonement scheme?"

Mary moved deeper into the building, which she surmised to be some kind of church, trying to avoid the opened coffins, cringing every time she saw one was empty. She stopped as she reached an alter and frowned sseeing it was coated in blood, "What happened here?" She knelt down and touched an old stain, but she ripped her hand back as she saw a flash of something, "Oh no, we're not doing that," she whispered, looking around as she tucked her hands under her arms lest she touch something else, "Written answers will do thank you," she whispered as she took the rest of the stairs up the alter and looked at the book that was deteriorated due to exposure to the elements and squinted as she leaned in, trying to read what was on the page, "What language is this?" she mumbled, getting so focused on the book that she didn't notice the shadows around her moving, closing in on her.
She jumped when a tall candelabra fell over and went wide-eyed realizing just how dark the church had gotten. She backed up, trying to get away from the sentient darkness, but as she reached out to brace herself against the wall behind her, her mind was flooded with images. She was rendered paralyzed by the flood of information, the visions of a slaughter, of desecration of the coffins, searching for something, a glimpse of what was hidden in the church. When she finally snapped to, she threw her hands up, the shadows crashing in on her, threatening to drag her into the same oblivion fated to the people that were last here...

Luro stood on a rooftop a little bit away from the inn, he brought a hand to his head as that scene replayed itself in his skull, a part of him couldn't believe it. Just looking at it none of it made sense, he dug in his head for answers but only emptiness came back. He was reminded again the seal was in place to keep him from seeing scenes like that, of seeing the Alari that he knew. Luro took a deep breath and fell onto his back, letting his eyes move to the sky. Too much has happened in the past few days, he felt oddly tired. He was furious at Alari but for some weird reason it wasn't complete anger, something else was mixed in there, he couldn't figure out what exactly that feeling was and that bothered him more than anything.
"...so I've been chasing a ghost all this time," Luro mumbled. "It's just like him to keep something like that from me."

Alari raised his gaze to look at Mera, his brows seemed to arch a bit at her response but his normal expression returned moments later. A small smile rested on his face at her words and raising his leg he rested arm on his knee. With a small sigh he slowly shook his head at her comment of atonement.
"There's no redemption for the things I've done to him," Alari said shaking his head. "...still you're as perceptive as always Mera...I'm sorry but this one time I have to be a bit of a jerk...I really am sorry."
Alari lowered his head at this, he was still tense, his whole body was stiff and his hand trembled slightly as he tried to get somewhat of a hold on himself.
"...You didn't mind that though...The person in that memory was me after all. I took it straight from Larel."
He raised his head at this and looked back at Mera.
"I showed one of my...less proud sides to you...I got to see you in some of your moments...so I suppose it's only fair."

A blue barrier surrounded Mary as the darkness approached, a figure in a brown cloak stood far away from Mary's location a few feet outside the building. Their hand was held in Mary's direction and they had two fingers pressed against their cloak, peering through the building to her location. The upper part of their face was hidden by the cloak but their teeth was grit as they tried to keep it manifested around Mary. It didn't take long for the magic to fade however and the energy to stop flowing around Mary, the person fell to their knees and brought a hand to their chest breathing heavily as the magic faded.
"...I doubt that did anything...but I can't just keep watching like this," the person climbed to their feet looking in the direction of Erin and Rain.
"...I'll just have to trust them to handle it. I have to keep moving or I'll be found this way."
The cloaked figure turned and leapt away from the scene, they had a debt they had to repay which caused them to check on Mary, but there were things in motion they had to stop which would endanger everyone if they didn't do something.

Hotaru landed on the rooftop behind him, landing mostly silent, but allowed herself to make a bit of noise so she didn't catch him off guard, "I'm not about to ask if you're okay cause that'd be a stupid question," she murmured as she moved a bit closer to him, moving slow, "But I'm here to talk to... to vent, or even to spar if you want to work out some energy," she said, "Or I can just shut up and stay back here, but I won't leave you alone," she said, crossing her arms behind her back as she stood behind him.

Mera was watching him, a rather patient look on her face, "Seemed almost tame to some of the things I've seen," she joked a little, her lip twitching into a smirk for a second before looking down at her hands, "The past is the past....We all have demons we have to let go of. If we don't, they'll drag us down and snuff us out," she murmured, clutching her hands together, "We all try to burden those demons ourselves because we believe we have to....But maybe we don't. I imagine you won't share anytime soon, but if you ever feel yourself able to, I'd like to be able to help however I can," she looked at him, "it'd only be fair since you saved Mary and me from ourselves," she smirked lightly.

Erin had just finished carved a symbol on the front doors of the church, blowing them wide open as the figure leapt away, the shadows dispersing, leaving Mary curled up in the floor in the back of the church.
"Mary!" Rain ran over to her, checking her vitals, "She seems to be okay," she said and patted her cheeks, "Mary? Mary, speak to me!" she said, trying to get her sister to wake, but to no avail.
"We'll have to keep moving, Rain," Erin said, "Pick her h up and let's get moving," he said as he looked around, "I've got a bad feeling..."
Rain nodded, picking Mary up and putting her on her back before the two took back off into the trees, though if Mary were conscious, she would have insisted they stayed for what lay hidden in the church's foundations

Larel didn't move when Hotaru approached, keeping his back to her the only sign he was listening was a small nod he gave at her offer. Though hearing she wasn't going to leave he raised his hand, taking a look as darkness surrounded it. He closed it into a fist as he wasn't against punching something right now. Turning to Hotaru he stared at her with an expressionless gaze, with a small turn he walked towards her flexing his hand as the darkness flared from it, though when he got close the darkness faded and raising his arms he hugged Hotaru. He didn't move closing his eyes as he held her, probably a bit too tightly before after a small moment he released her and took a small step back.
"Thank you...seriously Hotaru I appreciate it," Larel said rubbing the side of his head. "I'm...okay. Well I'm not but I'm not mad...well I am mad but..."
Larel reached up and ruffled his hair trying to find the words.
"...I don't hate Alari...and that's what bothering me. I mean I'm pissed...he took my only family but...when I saw that I was more...disappointed than angry...I mean all this time, I was right and I see the proof in front of me and I'm...disappointed...that was just...just irritating."
Larel brought a hand to his face shaking his head at the very thought of it.
"The guy's known me since I was a kid apparently too so that's a shock too. I...hate that I'm not so angry I wanna stab him I just want to...punch him really hard in the face, just enough to show how angry I am but I don't want to kill him, and knowing I want to do that is infuriating. I hate that I don't want to kill him right now."
Larel sighed and moved his hands to his hips looked back in the direction of the inn.
"I remember next to nothing of my childhood, and I can't trust Zenmaru to tell me it she just laughs when I ask or says I wasn't there yet or something. No one's honest with me...it's irritating since it involves me. Now I finally get some peek into my past, some answers to questions that plague me when I wake up and it's that Alari killed my sister and apparently he knew me when I was a kid. Did he kill my parents too? Did he kidnap me for some reason? All I have is more questions...it's irritating...hah...I'm sorry Hotaru I'm rambling. I'm okay we can head back...I'm surprisingly tired."

Alari stared at his wrist as Mera spoke, his fingers tracing over the bracelet as her words echoed in his mind. He feared the worst from Mera especially after all this, so he wasn't sure he could put his relief into words. He still couldn't shake the feeling of dread at having to show Larel something like that. With a heavy sigh he let out a weak chuckle before adjusting his glasses and offering a small smile to Mera. He really wanted to tell her everything sometimes, but now wasn't the time for that and he appreciated that she was willing to wait for him to talk about it.
"Hah...I'm going to fall in love with you all over again," Alari said standing up with a smile. "Thank you Mera. Oh...well since I'm being honest I'll have to leave you guys for a little bit. There's been some dangerous movements lately...most of the ones after Larel have thankfully been led away thanks to Kaori...but I got reports more are coming this way. I'm going to deal with them, I'd feel comfortable knowing you and Hotaru were near him in case something else tries to get close. I won't leave until later tomorrow though I'll be around for most of today."
Alari sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry to bring you guys more trouble, but let me handle what's approaching it's nothing too major thankfully...but I'd still prefer it not come in contact with Larel."

Hotaru didn't flinch away as he approached her, having faith that he wasn't going to attack her, no matter the look in his eye. That being said, she was still surprised when he hugged her, her eyes getting a little wide and a blush dusting her cheeks. She started to hug him back, but by then he was moving away, so she let her arms fall back to her side as she listened to him.
"I wish I could say I sympathize so that I could understand all the stuff you're going through, but unfortunately, I can only empathize and try and be there for you through it all. Our stories are... very different from each other at their origins, but I hope that they don't have to be at their ends," she gave a little smile then laughed softly, "Being around them," she motioned towards the inn, "Has left sounding a little cheesy," she shook her head, but then smiled again, "But seriously. No matter what the past is, I really want you to have a happy future, and I'll do what I can to help with that," she said before turning and starting to walk back, biting her lip as she turned away realizing she probably sounded like a lunatic. She just hated to see him so...lost? confused? She didn't know, but she just hoped it wasn't one of those things that she was completely useless in trying to fix.

Mera frowned when he said he was going to have to leave and sighed as he finished talking, "I really hate that you do those kinds of things alone," she muttered, "Especially after what happened before," she shook her head before looking towards the window, "Though, I suppose, as per the norm, any of my concerns will just have to sit in my chest until the end of it because absolutely none of you listen to me," she sighed like a mother trying to deal with unwieldy children, "Can you at least try to come back in one piece?" she looked at him, her hands still clutched together. Between the lot of them, she was really starting to feel like some old woman trying to manage youngin's that just kept managing to get themselves into heart attack inducing problems. She wasn't innocent by any means of staying out of trouble, there was a lot that followed her, but she worried about her siblings, about Hotaru, about Larel, and about Alari. When Kaori had been there, she'd worried about him too and a part of her still felt the loss of him. Her wrist still tingled from the tattoo that would always remind her of him.