Fleo Plector – the Unnamed Desert
Again seized by that resolute excitement, Fleo spurred her own force and galloped after Nolan, but not before mentioning to Lucas, “I think the point is to sue horses to try and conserve our magic. I mean, I prefer using my Sirocco, but it's a smart idea I guess.” With that, she was off.
Despite the harsh desert conditions, team Powder Keg made good time across the parched sands. With their horses, in fact, they covered more ground more quickly than had the rogue magician, and after luckily discovering a perceptibly human set of tracks imprinted in the shifting ground they had a definitive trail to follow. A sweltering, sweaty hour later, the team collectively spotted a figure squatting ominously in the distance. Casting aside any slight apprehensions arising about their quarry's nature, the wizards pressed forward, and found the very man they were after sitting beneath the intense rays. From about two hundred feet away Fleo could spy the man's chest heaving in fatigue and mouth constantly undulating in a tumult of mumbles. She wiped a bead of perspiration from her brow and announced,
”I bet that's our guy. He looks plenty crazy. Has he even noticed us?”Curious and impetuous as ever, Fleo raised her voice.
“Hey mister!” carried across the sand, causing the man to look up. Fleo cringed, realizing that she'd perhaps committed a grave mistake, but that fear vanished when the man dejectedly turned his gaze back downward.
“He's...weirdly passive, at least. Maybe we oughta try talking to him...?”Shrugging, Nero followed Prince and Trinity, lagging behind with a vague disinterest as he roved his gaze over the town. Nothing in his immediate vicinity piqued his intrigue, particularly after Sasha and Lazarus rounded a building and out of sight, evidently bound for a rest. From what Nero could gather about family, siblings could take a lot of stamina to deal with, but it seemed that Sasha's exhaustion hailed from a little farther back in time. The genie wondered for a moment what she and the other sudden arrivals had been doing prior to their teleportation, but that was a matter -if it continued to puzzle him- for another time. For now, all that he needed to do was tag along with the others, and even that demanded little of his attention. These people and their mission meant little to him; if something more promising happened along, he felt no qualms about leaving them behind. This town lay beyond the influence of Master Jamie, so to Nero it was fair game—not that he planned on abusing it.
Only young Ayame, with that endearing shyness belaying a proper child's ego, would weigh on his mind. Young children always inspired in Nero a desire to please, so that they might not grow up knowing the hardships he'd faced. Whether spoken or not, a bright future was a wish that all men shared. From what he'd seen, Ayame resembled his spirit ever so slightly, which meant that Jamie would like nothing better than to quash that rebellious, self-sufficient streak. Though he knew himself a poor guardian for a child, Nero imagined that he might be, funny as it sounded, a better influence.
His train of thought evaporated under the motor mouth of FOREVER's receptionist.
What a loudmouth, he groused internally. At the back of the small group, he could hear faint noises of commotion from outside, several buildings away in fact, but they did not warrant his attention. As the conversation between Trinity and the pink-haired woman continued, Nero sighed in boredom and pulled a bronze coin -his only money, right now- out of his pocket, which he commenced to shift from material to material in quick succession with rapid-fire Laws of Embodiment.
Shouting outside caused him to look up. As the possessor of the voice -Sasha, he remembered- drew closer, he heard the names of his two acquaintances. Furthermore, a distinct edge of panic could be detected in her shouts. Nero put his coin away and chuckled,
“Aw, she forgot me. Doesn't she want my help? Whatever, I'll just stay here and get a photo. Only women, is it? What kinda fair is that?” He toyed with the idea of using the Law of Manifestation to remove one of the magazine worker's willpower, but decided it would be too risky.
