[color=E0D6C0] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wFqApY1.png[/img][/center][color=E0D6C0][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fXzi00H.gif[/img][h1][b][color=30A4D9]Bastion[/color][/b][/h1][/center][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wFqApY1.png[/img][/center]
[center]
[color=30A4D9][b]Race:[/b][/color] Warforged  
[color=30A4D9][b]Class:[/b][/color] Warrior  
[color=30A4D9][b]Location:[/b][/color] Airship; Bar
[color=30A4D9][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] Phia [@princess], Wendel [@FunnyGuy], Menzai [@samreaper]
[color=30A4D9][b]Equipment:[/b][/color]  
[hider=equipment][color=F9D972]☼[/color] Tower Shield  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Greatsword made of Glacium (A material as hard as steel, yet formed from eternally frozen ice.)
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Titan Chain – A reinforced tow chain housed in his left palm, functioning as a powerful grappling hook.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Aged Leather Satchel   
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Worn but cherished scarf
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Maintenance Kit .
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Heavy-duty rations (for companions, not himself).  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] A delicate glass figurine of a bird—an old keepsake.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] A locked, timeworn journal—contents unknown.  [/hider]
[color=30A4D9][b]Attire:[/b][/color]  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Etched and weathered plating with bronze accents.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Fitted harness for carrying supplies.  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] Worn scarf 
[color=30A4D9][b]Gold Balance:[/b][/color] 20 gold
[color=30A4D9][b]Injuries:[/b][/color]  
[color=F9D972]☼[/color] None, but signs of past battle damage remain.  
 [/center]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wFqApY1.png[/img][/center][/color]

Bastion walked beside Wendel, silent but attentive, his heavy footsteps echoing softly against the deck as the two of them made their way toward the bar. As it came into view, and so did the people around it. He saw her again.

The pink-haired girl.

She had smiled at him earlier—just for a moment, maybe by accident, but it had felt… real. Not polite. Not forced. Just a smile. Her hair was wild, like wind-tossed flower petals, and there was something about her—something untamed and bright and not afraid.

She didn’t move like the others. She didn’t hold herself the way nobles or sailors did. She was… free. And the kindness in her eyes—just a flicker of it—had stayed with him even after she turned away. He also noticed her companion in white; graceful, but sharp. Wild like her in some ways, but quiet. Like a creature that could disappear if he wanted to. 

The way he lingered near the girl…Close. Familiar. Protective. He watched him for a moment longer, head tilting ever so slightly. He couldn’t quite tell if the man was dangerous, or just... different.

Either way, he was interesting.

Bastion paused at the edge of the space, his glowing eyes flicking across the bar, the stools, the faces, and everything in between. His systems noted the usual pattern—how some of the patrons stilled when they saw him. How one man adjusted his seat. How another lowered his voice. The change in the room was subtle, but present. [i]It always was.[/i]

He felt it in the air, like static before a storm.

But then Wendel just… sat down next to a cloak-covered figure. Boldly. Proudly. Like he belonged. Like Bastion belonged.

So Bastion followed.

He took the seat next to him carefully, mindful of the weight of his frame, and the faint creak of metal and wood as he settled. His eyes drifted again—briefly—to the pink-haired girl. She was speaking to the Warforged tending to the bar. But he could still see her smile, etched behind his thoughts like the sunlight that lingered in one’s eyes after staring too long.

He did not know her name. But he wanted to.

Wendel began speaking to the bartender as well. Where Bastion was bulk and plating and blunt functionality, she was smooth lines and cleaner articulation. There was a fluidity to her movements that caught his eye—a practiced efficiency, yes, but also… personality. Her gestures were abrupt, perhaps, but not robotic. There was intent. He admired that. She reminded him of a clockwork bird. Beautiful in her own way.

Wendel introduced them.

Bastion inclined his head slowly in greeting.

[color=30A4D9]“I am Bastion,”[/color] he said to Gears, voice smooth and low. [color=30A4D9]“It’s nice to meet you.”[/color]

He hesitated a second, then added something he meant to be kind.

[color=30A4D9]“You move very well.”[/color]

He turned to Wendel then, as though looking for a cue of what he was supposed to do next. But that look only lasted a moment as his head turned back to the pink-haired girl once more. Raising a cautious hand, he gave her the gentlest of little waves. 
[/color]