[IC] The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

[Bubsy 2]

Hazel eyed the creature suspiciously. She knew there was something strange about Harley, but she certainly hadn't expected he'd be under the influence of a demon, and certainly not one as powerful as Lilith. Hazel grimaced. This wasn't her first experience with demons: She'd explored many facets of magic during her time locked away, and demonology was at one time a topic of cursory interest to her. But that soon ended, any smart mage knew that the dangers of communing with demons far outweighed the benefits. They were dangerous and manipulative creatures that Hazel wanted no part of. For all she knew Harley could very well be under the complete control of the demoness.

Hazel crossed her arms, laying them across her chest, and huffed. She despaired in thinking that Harley could be so foolish. She turned away from the boy, and the demon. She would tolerate the creature's presence, but not condone it. She did not fear talking back to the demon. "Harley, you should know that a creature like this is no good. Demon's only ally themselves with Humans for one reason: Self interest. They're interested in manipulating you, not being your friend."

[Crimson Lion]

Amadeus looked around at the sea of people giving Harley a look. 'Yes Harley, it IS a good idea to waltz into a room with the countries strongest warriors in it while having a demon next to you. he thought sarcastically. He couldn't complain now though, this was someone he trusted and he'd back him up in whatever ridiculous decision he made, even if that meant the other hero's stink eye.

"Mine" he heard Lilith say, he was wondering if she was stating Harley as her partner or Hazel as her prey. He looked to Hazel As she spoke, "Harley, you should know that a creature like this is no good. Demon's only ally themselves with Humans for one reason: Self interest. They're interested in manipulating you, not being your friend." Amadeus sighed at this, 'Harley, you better have a damn good way of convincing Hazel that Liliths cool' he thought watching events unfold

[Eleventhfret]

Harley eyed the girl for a while, then shrugged. "Sorry, not much I can do, I kinda need her. She'll keep a low pitiful profile" Harley gave Lilith a puppy-eyed look, and Lilith chewed her lip, looking over Hazel before nodding and disappearing into a red haze.

Harley then said, "I can't really do much about it, sorry. If she goes, I won't be quite as useful, I'd still kick ass though." Harley chuckled to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, his tone apologetic. "Ever need anything else, please ask."

[Animus]

Gregorias sighed as he took a sip of his tea.

He had more or less settled yesterday’s commotion but not before Agneria and Isen’roy had blasted a third of the encampment away. A vein popped when he thought about it. The young ones had absolutely no control over themselves when compared to the warriors of his days.

He looked down at the 42 medallions that laid on the wooden table before him. There were a total of 9 designs in total which symbolized the total number of teams that would be formed. These medallions represented the authority provided to them by the coalition force and allowed them to freely pass in and out of the three kingdoms as well as the authority to request for whatever supplies or soldiers they would need.

Dawn had risen and it was time to assign the 42 into their teams. Time was a precious resource; every second they wasted there was the potential of their target escaping.

---

Teams were individually called into Gregorias’ tent one at a time. The 5th team to be called forth consisted of Solanne Luxone, Hazel Daphiat, Amadeus Cross, Solomon Ambrosius and Harley Hapkins.

“These medallions indicate you are representatives of the coalition force. I hereby dub you… The Babettes.”

Gregorias personally handed the medallion to each of the warriors that stood before him.

“They’ve been enchanted by the talented craftsmen of my tribe. You only need mention the name of any ally and it will lead you to them as long as they possess a medallion of their own. You could use them to locate other teams as well.”

Turning away from them, Gregorias beckoned to the hooded figure that had been awaiting at a corner all this while. He was a guide that was to lead them to beast that were to slay.

“My name is Allush and I will do my best to aid you, brave heroes. I will brief you on the way. Time is of the essence.”

***

As they horses galloped as top speeds, Allush began explaining to them about their destination as well as their target. They were heading towards the southern plains located close to the Water Kingdom. To be exact, their destination was the riverport, Laewaes. Or what remained of it. The monster they hunting was named Searzon. Searzon was a quadrupedal creature the size of a small house that vaguely resembled a two headed wolf except it was incredibly more grotesque.

"Although its relatively small compared to other beasts we discovered, it is incredibly fast and is capable of using hellfire magic. I would not underestimate if it if I were you."

@TheWindel@SwarthyBard126@Eleventhfret@Diggerton@Crimson Lion

---

The next team to be called forth would later be named the Jaegers. Isen’roy, Jade, Reiner and Ashaad were summoned.

Given the same instructions as the previous teams were, they were immediately sent off after they were given their own medallions. Their guide was to be Abbas.

***

Unlike Babettes, they were heading directly in the opposite direction. Their destination was The Great Forest. An expansive jungle that obtained its name from the towering trees that dwelled within it. Abbas began describing the foe they were up against.

"I'm afraid we know next to nothing about Nabsezal. It is impossible to observe it at a distance due to the forest thicket and any scout we sent up close never returned."

Nabsezal was a powerful tree monster. Though it has yet to venture out the forest, The Earth Kingdom has deemed a threat to be eliminated considering the natures of the other monsters.

@QT@wolverbells@TheDarkTemplar

[TheDarkTemplar]

The city of Qatar-Shan, a jewel of the sandsea. With its towering spires and intricate city streets filled with merchants and people from across the continent Qatar-Shan was known as the trade center of the desertands. It was here that Ashaad returned after dealing with the Natar and his men. But the towering spires and merchant stalls were not his reasons for returning here. The Sand Stalker had business in the less outsider friendly part of the city. The Surkat District of the city was where the lower class residents lived, to most outsiders this was the area of Qatar-Shan you'd avoid for fear of being attacked. Ashaad however was in no danger of this and simply strolled through the poverty stricken streets with its broken up sandstone road.

Arriving at a local tavern, one he visited frequently, Ashaad sat at the counter where the barkeep stood in respect and fear of the man who had just entered his establishment. "The same as usual?", the man asked Ashaad but received no worded response only a nod which was good enough. One would think in this situation that Ashaad would lower his mask to take his drink but that was not the case. When the barkeep returned Ashaad took the mug and carried it away to the rooms upstairs. He had set up and agreement with the owner of the tavern, Ashaad only visited his tavern and he'd be given a room to take whenever he pleased. The deal was meant to gain the tavern's renown as the resting place of "The Sand Stalker" as well as deter any belligerent individuals from doing harm to the business.

Once he was within the private room, Ashaad removed his shemagh and slowly drank from the mug. The scar on his face still stung even after all these years. Each time he drank from his mug he was reminded of that day. Every agonizing moment, the horrid sounds and gruesome sights he witnessed again and again in his mind. After what seemed like an eternity Ashaad finally finished his drink. He headed back downstairs for a meal but found a group of city guards waiting for him at the bar counter. Ashaad approached with his hand on the hilt of his shamshir in case there would be a fight soon. One of the guards noticed this and held out a hand as he spoke, "That will not be necessary Sand Stalker. I am Guard Captain Samir Bakaan and I am here to deliver a message. The three kingdoms have declared a ceasefire in hopes to combat an enemy which threatens all the realms. A coalition force has been established and you have been called to service the Earth Kingdom in this quest. You will be paid handsomely once your task has been fulfilled. If you accept you shall travel to the assemblage whose location is provided on this map, hand him the ma-". The guard captain stopped himself and internally berated himself for reading his directions from the script he was provided.

The guard captain stood there waiting for Ashaad's reply. The entire tavern was silent in anticipation of of hearing The Sand Stalker. Ashaad approached the guards who all but the guard captain unsheathed their swords in preperation for a possible attack. Ashaad stopped his approach and spoke, "I will do this. But not for coin" the entire tavern was in an uproar as the patrons cheered and began to sing songs in praise of the Sand Stalker. One of the tavern's customers shouted, "All hail the Sand Stalker! The Champion of Qatar-Shan!" which was immediately followed by a cheer from the others. While the guards looked around with smiles of relief Ashaad simply walked up and took the map from their captain. He had no time for merry making. He had taken up a quest and this would now be his life's purpose until it was completed.

It took days for Ashaad to leave the Sandsea but after a particularly long journey he arrived at the neutral territory which served as the base of operations for the coalition force. There he tied the reins of his horse to a post and entered where the orientation had just begun. Upon its conclusion Ashaad left with no interest in meeting the others. He had heard many famous names, but none mattered as names were give to individuals who the people knew little about save their exploits. Ashaad was more interested in who they were which was something he'd learn once their work had begun. The next morning when his party was summoned he recieved a medallion and was assigned a target. This creature which roamed The Great Forest would prove to be a formidable opponent, one he would have to study before attacking. Despite this Ashaad had an idea forming in his head already as to how to deal with the beast.

As he stood by his new comrades Ashaad gave them all thorough look overs. One wielded a large blunted blade which Ashaad found curious, "Perhaps he means to use it as a warhammer?" he thought before speaking to them for the first time. "To go into battle without knowledge of your enemy gives them an advantage", nothing more was said from the Sand Stalker. Nothing more had to be said, if his allies were truely the great warriors they claimed to be then they should know what he means by these words.

[Crimson Lion]

It was the next morning, and Amadeus was fully rested after all of the events that transpired the day before. He stood in the living room of his home in the Earth Kingdom and looked at the pictures on the walls. Two pictures where hung next to each other, one of a 35 year old man and another of a 67 year old man. The name plated on the first mans portrait said Thadeus Cross, XII Sky Kingdom General. The portrait on the right had a plate saying, 'Amadeus Cross the Second, XI Sky Kingdom General'. He sighed thinking of his grandfather with the same name as him, 'They were both great people, to bad they where fools.' He thought in anger.

He looked between the two portraits where a necklace was hung. It was in the shape of a cross and was worn by both men in the pictures. "Look out for me Pa, G-Pa, I'm about to go on my first mission today with my new team." He smiled, then left the house hold, necklace in hand.

[SwarthyBard126]

"Do you think I should have punched her lights out?"

Literally, that was the only thing that had came out of Solanne's mouth for the last few hours. Riding alongside Hazel, she looked over at the younger girl with a curious expression. Being called a "piece of shit" didn't bode well for the Crimson Hound, and she was literally two seconds away from giving the arrogant little loli known as Agneria a faceful of burning fist.

Good thing she didn't know what a "loli" was anyway.

"Maybe I should have punched her? Definitely should have punched her. I wouldn't be yelled at too much if I did punch her, right Spell Spitter?"

The newly formed team of five had been assigned their medals and their new title, speeding off towards the Water Kingdom to hunt down a beast labeled as Searzon. Hearing that it was basically a monster wolf had caught the Crimson Hound's interest and she jumped at the chance to pursue. Now she hung back, riding alongside Hazel as the christened Babettes followed Allush into the unknown.

Hazel shook her head. "No, no, you definitely shouldn't have punched her..." She paused, a knowing smile growing across her face, "What you should have done was burned her to a crisp. You use fire magic, don't you? Shouldn't be too hard."

Solanne matched Hazel's smile with a smirk of her own.

"Yeah, I do. That's why I was considering lighting the fist on fire. Give her a few embers to remember me by, ya know?"

Hazel shook her head again. "Fire fists are kinda cool, but I'm certain that she'd remember being burned alive in a gigantic fire more." She complemented her description with hand motions and 'wooshing' sounds, imitating a fire. She was certainly in many ways more child then murderer.

"Ya know, you kinda remind me of someone I know back home," Solanne said with a chuckle. "All this talk of burning people alive. Yeah, maybe I should let you meet them one day."

The likelihood of that ending well was...well, it wasn't high. Still, Solanne shrugged off the consequences for a later time. Surely it wasn't anything to be worried about in hindsight.

Hazel payed little attention to what Solanne said, now lost in a world of fire that existed in her mind.

Solanne stared at Hazel with a weary expression, noting the hand motions and 'wooshing' sound effects. Oh yeah, she was exactly like her. Maybe it was best not to let them meet after all. What was it with today's youth that made them so...psychotic?

Amadeus rode around the middle of the group, queitly agreeing to the girls talk about burning Agneria to a crisp. He then stopped paying attention to everyone else and focused on the notes he had on their destination. 'Laewaes, a port city belonging to the Water Kingdom, it's also a trading stop for people transporting stuff from the coast to the more inland towns. If this town stops working for a long time, the people in those towns won't be able to get the supplies they need.' He sighed, first mission as a team and it was already an important one.

Harley casually remarked, "So, anyone else excited about this puppy we're gonna murder?, I sure as hell am."

Amadeus chuckled, "More like nervous, Searzons are both extremely fast and deadly."

Hazel huffed. "No... I mean, it's only the size of a little cottage, apparently. I signed up to fight big monsters, not some little dog."

Amadeus scratched his cheek, 'Damn, I wish I was as confident in myself as they where' he thought.

"Hazel, you complain too much, calm down, it's probably gonna kick our asses." Harley ran a hand through his hair, smirking in a cocky manner. "Anyway, if it bothers anyone, I'm still quite capable without my swords. So, anyone against me using them, speak now, or forever hold your silence."

Amadeus grabbed a bag at his side and threw it at Harley. "Here, it's the bug I was talking about"

Hazel huffed again. Harley clearly underestimated her. "I don't care about your stupid swords, do whatever you want... and that dumb dog won't 'kick our asses', I bet I could take care of it myself." She said bitterly.

"Wanna bet money?" Harley gave Hazel a wide-eyed look. "Because I'll bet some damn money." Harley then took a look in the bag, sneering. "These things look pretty gross. I'll gladly put some out of their hairy, sticky misery."

Amadeus sighed, "It evolved to look like that to avoid predators" he explained reading his notes

"Now children, settle down," Solanne put in with an innoncent tone.

Hazel ignored Solanne, continuing to argue with Harley, "You're on." She said with a cocky smirk.

"You're pretty fiery, it's a bit intimidating. And you there, Mutt of great redness, don't treat me like a toddler. Please. Thanks, appreciate it." Harley then looked to Amadeus, "How many notes do you have?" Squinting as he tried to look at them.

Amadeus chuckled at this, "Information is one of the key factors in winning any fight, so to answer your question," he then opened a pouch on his side to reveal 3 note books. "This is just a small portion of my library."

"Whatever you say Junior!" Solanne answered back towards Harley happily.

Harley sighed, chewing his bottom lip." Are we gonna have problems, I really don't wanna have problems. I like you guys, some more than others, but you're all okay. Please, calm it." Harley looked to Solanne with big puppy-dog eyes."Please."

Solanne shrugged. "We're perfectly fine...Junior."

"But we're not. You're calling me Junior." He chewed his lip, not wanting to argue, though it seemed inevitable, she simply didn't understand how unacceptable that was.

"Aw lighten up Junior!" Solanne said with a grin. "Like you said, we're all friends here. If you want, I can give you a different nickname?"

"That would be marvelous, please do."Harley grinned, running a hand through his hair, then sighing."You can call me Junior...If I can call you 'Red Mutt', deal?"

Solanne took pause to the request, thinking it over, before grinning.

"Sure, whatever makes you happy Junior. Cause either way, this 'Red Mutt' can still kick your ass five ways over," she said in a light-hearted manner.

Harley, with the same tone remarked, "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.Though, I'm sure you don't really wanna find out the hard way that you're wrong, very wrong."

The Crimson Hound did not answer this time, only snickering to herself. Ah well, kids would be kids. She had enough experience to know when one of them was too stubborn to back down. So she did Harley a favor and just nodded.

As Solomon warched the, no his team bickering, memories from his childhood began playing through his head, of times when his brother was not a cripple and his sister still laughed freely. Shaking the dark thoughts from his head, Solomon galloped up beside Amadeus . He had lagged behind the others, watching them grow closer as a team without him because he dwelled in past, but now was the time to move forward and fufil duty.

Amadeus looked to Solomon, "You OK? You seemed distracted for a second."

"Hm?" Solomon answered, "It is nothing that will affect my capability to fight and protect."

Amadeus nodded at this and looked back forward, "Have you ever fought a Searzon before?" He asked the older man.

"No," Solomon stated bluntly, "but if you are worried because of a lack of information, I can assure you that there is nothing to fear. You have a team behind you, and that means you never fight alone." Solomon then patted the younger man on the shoulder and smirked warmly.

Amadeus smiled at this but then frowned, "It's not that I don't think we can kill it," he said with a voice of seriousness, "It's that Laewae has a population of around 4000 people, it may be a small town but they are still in danger." he sighed, "The towns probably never seen something like this before."

"You would make a good leader Amadeus, no do not look increduously at me. A leader may be mighty in battle, and possess a mind as sharp as my blade, but if he has no compassion for his subjects then he is but a tyrant." Solomon said. Continuing, he said, "But you are correct, the small villages and towns will not be able to weather the storm."

Amadeus mentaly cringed at the word, leader. He thought of his father and his father before, both generals of the sky kingdom. "I just hope we can save them." He said

"People die everyday, just a reminder." Harley remarked coldly. "If you cause any innocent deaths, I suggest you keep that in mind." Harley bit his bottom lip hard. Then shrugged off some silent memory.

Solanne raised an eye at Harley's aloof attitude towards civilian casualties, but said nothing more on the matter. Instead, she rode and listened, curious if Solomon would say something.

"Harley, its true that people die everyday. But that also means that we will also die someday, I just wanna save as much lives as I can before that happens."

"That's pretty heroic, it kinda makes me feel bad about myself, its so heroic." Harley thought aloud."However,"Harley remarked, running a hand through his hair, squinting pensively. "If you're too hung up on it, you'll destroy yourself internally, and feel like shit constantly."Harley shrugged, then went quiet, staring at the ground as they traveled.

Amadeus stayed quiet, thinking about what he said.

Solomon nodded at the Harley's statement, but added, "While there is wisdom in those words, if you can save an innocent and chose not to because you are afraid of failure, that makes you a coward. You must temper yourself with the knowledge that even if you fail, at them very least you attempted to do something as everyone flees or abandons the situation. And about pain and self-loathing you feel whenever you fail to save some one is still present if you did nothing at all." Solomon finished quietly, almost to himself.

Amadeus soaked in what he said in amazment, "You should always try, and never feel guilty for the lives u didn't save but for the lives you could have saved."

Hazel shook her head. "You're all idiots." She said in a cynical tone.

"Now, now Spell Spitter," Solanne said. "Mind your manners. They can't help being a little idealistic. Must be a guy thing anyway."

"Hey, what's that mean? Everybody has emotions and opinions, please Hazel, enlighten us." Harley remarked, doubt in his voice.

"Yes, heiress of the Daphiat line, what great wisdom does a caged bird have to enlighten us naive fools who have never seen battle before?" Solomon questioned, and continuing, "After all, what use does a bird have for humans, when the bird has never seen outside its gilded cage?

Hazel's face reddened, anger rising inside her. "You know nothing about me, Solomon, don't presume that you do." She felt magical flame licking her fingertips. Latent magic often seeped out when she was angry, but it wouldn't hurt anyone unless they angered her more. "As far as I'm concererned silly ideals don't matter, what matters is living. If those villagers can't save themselves that's their own fault."

Amadeus sensed the sheer magic coming from Hazel, he instinctively started reaching for his sword but stopped himself

Solanne stared right at Amadeus. She knew he meant well, but getting ready to fight wouldn't solve the problem. So for now, she motioned for him to wait in silence and let Hazel vent verbally and not through her magic.

"I kinda wanted to say what Hazel just said, I just didn't wanna seem like a prick." Harley chuckled awkwardly, "Honestly, we're just kinda better than they are, civilians get in the way."

"But aren't the civilians the reason we fight?" Amadeus said solomly

"Yeah." Harley agreed. "But if they get in the way, it's their fault, ya know?, Money is cool, too, I guess."

"Speak for yourself, civilans are hardly the reason I fight. I'm only here because it was either this or being locked up in the Sky Kingdom." Hazel said, in a completely matter-of-fact tone.

'Damn Sky Kingdom' Amadeus thought as he listened to the two other teens, "I see, well whatever the reason we have the same goal, to save those people."

The Crimson Hound clenched her fists, gripping the reins of her horse tighter. Was that all it took to turn someone to the verge of complete apathy? A few battles and some misteps in life? But who was she talk? She had her own share of bad stories and since she had lived the longest, aside from Solomon, she bore those memories harsher than anyone else.

Still, she had managed to move on and not let negativity get to her. So of course, hearing Harley and Hazel speak so nonchalantly about the whole issue made her grit her teeth slightly.

"It's a lovely day today, isn't it?" Harley grinned, "And we're all getting along so well, like a pack of thieves, peas in a pod." Harley sighed and continued sarcastically. "Really enjoying your company, guys."

Amadeus sighed a bit, thinking this whole converastion was his fault. He looked up at the clear sky, "It really is a nice day."

Hazel shook her head. At least by now she stopped producing fire like it was sweat. The 'Black Devil' certainly may be handsome, but he was definitely beginning to grate on her nerves. It didn't help that this day was abysmal, as far as she was concerned. Clear skies reminded her of her homeland, which she didn't want to think about. She kept her bad mood to herself, however, deciding to just stay quiet, lest the group suddenly break into argument about weather.

"I'd like to apologize for Amadeus, he is an ass" Harley joked, trying to lighten the mood. Sticking his tongue out at the boy. "Also, I am not an ass, whatever you're told."

Amadeus chuckled at this, "Ah yes, I am so sorry. Thankfully my oh so subtle friend here keeps me on track." He said sarcastically with a smirk.

"Still think he's got the goods?" Solanne asked Hazel in a whisper, pointing to Harley.

If Hazel's face was before red from anger, it was now red from embarrassment. "You better shut up right now, before I toss a fireball at you." She whispered back angrily.

Solanne's response to that was a silent smirk.

Keeping an eye on the group, Solomon stoically watched the group interact with each other with quiet detachment. Hazel's attempts to hide her interest in Harley would have been amusing in a way, if her elitist tendencies and selfishness hadn't colored his perception. Harley lived to his name, a devil with a heart black as night, callous, confident and carefree. Amadeus was a kind soul that Solomon worried over, like a little brother who was just about to strike out on into the world, fresh faced and idealistic. Solanne was an mystery, a sad clown who smiled and jested to hide her pain, though Solomon could see the cracks in her visage when she was quiet and thought she was alone. His musing was cut short by a loud howl that came over a hill. Spurring his horse onward, Solomon was the first to see the burned husks of the town, with the remains of caravans attempting to escape surrounding the ruins like scattered toys. And in the center, he saw it, the Beast they had been sent to hunt.

[Animus]

Searzon, The Twin Headed Demon

A thunderous sound could be heard, echoing throughout the battlefield. It was a deafening roar all could here. Where it came from was hard to distinguish, as it was mostly muffled by the screams of men and women as battling across the ruined landscape- though rather than ignore this disruption, it was merely noted by those who heard it and shrugged off as nothing. A Water Kingdom soldier was knocked mid-air from the recoil of a hellfire blast that came from Searzon, landing on his back nearly unconscious and hazily standing in efforts to get back into the fight that was raging before him.

As he got up, he noticed the rest of the soldiers deployed along with him staring in his direction. Breathing could be heard behind him, it was loud and rough, the smell was bad too, like that of an old dried corpse left for the vultures. The poor man who was momentarily confused stared at his allies as they gawked at something behind him. Although they said nothing, their expressions were more than enough. The battered man reflexively turned to see what had been breathing behind him.

“Fuck...”

What happened was so rapid he had not time to register it, the towering monster grabbed the man by his forebody, lifting him several feet in the air. Its head..no, heads were scaley, spined with a red-stone texture like that told of in fairy-tales to keep children from staying up too late. The razored fingers impaled him with ease, as if the man was fragile in his armor. Who knows if he would have stood a chance, he was caught off guard after all. No. This monstrosity was nothing to be trifled with, and with pride it reminded the surrounding men of it’s presence one last time.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

Searzon whipped his razor sharp tail at the souldiers, the metallic looking tail whisked at breakneck speeds, taking off the legs of five soldiers in an instance. Panic ensued. Searzon then dropped the mangled soldier he had impaled earlier, he was young, just old enough to be there really. The only reason this was recognized even though much of the body was ruined beyond repair, was that the face of the soldier remained untouched. And on the soldier’s face was an expression that spoke to the crowd, in a language that every nation could understand. And what that expression said was...

“Run.”

[wolverbells]

Road To Nabsezal

"I apologise for our lack of ability," said Abbas. The tanned man had an apologetic look. Coupled with the dark rims around his eyes and his haggard face, one could only describe it as a pitiful state.

"Doesn't matter," Isen'roy was the next to speak. "At the end of the day, we're just dealing with an overgrown tree." He scratched his head, being empathetic wasn't his style but Allush had clearly put effort into his task. Though his words were mostly meant to console Allush, they were still a half-truth. Their opponent wasn't to be understimated; that was crucial information in and on its own.

"An overgrown tree that can fight back." Jade fought the urge not to roll her eyes as she made her remark.

To his own surprise Ashaad grinned slightly from beneath his shemagh. "A normal tree can kill a man simply by falling over", Ashaad turned to face Isen'roy with emotionless eyes.

"A person pitiful enough to die from a mere falling tree doesn't have the right to call himself man." Isen'roy roared with laughter.

This time, Jade could not contain the urge to roll her eyes. She wanted to laugh as well, but instead, turned her attention to Reiner so that she could keep a straight face.

After a second of silence, she spoke up, "Accidents happen all the time. You mean to tell me that if some tree came crashing on you right now, you'd be pitiful and we would have reason to deem you lower than men?" Jade turned to look at Isen'roy with amusement now, wondering how exactly they ended up with him as a teammate. Surely there would not be a dull moment around this man.

"Except if by such a miracle a tree fell on top of me, I wouldn't be dead."

The over confidence of others would usually pass by Ward, but this guy's cockiness was definetly not easy to accept. Ward wasn't one to judge, but these warriors were gathered by higher powers to defeat beings bigger than life - literally. His desire was to speak, tell this guy to chill and just calm down before everyone gets on edge, but what was the point? After all, wasn't this supposed to be fun?

Hence with that mindset, the sniper went ahead and just stuck to his own business. He looked down at the talisman, pupils nearly touching each other at how much he stared. "Hmm" he questioned, unsure if this was an asset to their mission, or a liability. "We're getting paid for this right?" he asked, though it didn't seem anyone heard his question.

His eyes returned to the talisman, thinking about the ability to find other warriors with such magical gems. If this was a race like the all-so-powerful-dude-that-spoke-at-the-beginning said, then the first to arrive with news of their prey's death would get more coin. Therefore, couldn't some competators kill each other and take their prey's death notice and call it their own? After all, they all knew where everyone else was.

"Yes, teams will be paid individually based on their accomplishments. However, if Sir Reiner is concerned with the potential of traitors... then precautions have already been taken." Abbas was referring to the way the teams had been split. No team was composed of a singular kingdom; the intentions were simple. It was less likely of soldiers of opposing nations to collaborate and if a lone kingdom attempted it, it would give the remaining two a reason to ally up. In short, the risks far outweighed the benefits.

"UGH!" Ward exclaimed in desperation. All these thoughts were getting to him as the other's conversation continued to heat up. With what most would call migranes, Ward unstrapped his weapon from his back, let it fall off him, then removed his feet from the straps and fell off his horse. He was hungry. "I'm gonna get some food" he said, signaling the others with a hand gesture. The horse just continued to follow the others.

"Ishtar!" yelled Abbas and all the horses screeched to a halt. "Sir Reiner, this is not the time for games!"

Jade would have retorted with something snarky to Isen'roy if it wasn't for the fact that the sudden sound of something falling onto the ground had drawn her attention, causing her head to turn quickly over to see if Reiner was okay.

"Wha..... What are you... Ward stop playing! I have food in one of these pouches.... Get back on the damned horse." The woman first pointed to her friends horse, then quickly grabbed the small pouch she had packed with rations of food in, shoving it in Reiner's direction, but not throwing it.

Isen'roy burst out laughing. He had always considered himself to be a person to follow his own pace but this Reiner fellow was taking it to a whole new level.

With a menacing puff, the man jogged at a slow pace - with his rifle - in attempt to catch up to the pouch - not so much the others. He used his pony's movement to jet him forward even faster, taking the pouch from Jade's hand. "I knew you had food, I was just....." he shut himself up, opening the pouch as he walked alongside his little four legged animal.

There was a couple of fruits and some vegetables, but nothing fancy that would satisfy his cravings. "Jade, you're soooooo boring!" the man said, his head jerking backward as his mouth opened in agony. He started digging under the 'healthiness' and nope, still nothing.

Jade rolled her eyes and slid out her scepter from it's place on her back, smirking at Reiner. "How about.... I jam this pretty, blue sphere in your mouth... And I fill you up with water? Would that make you satisfied, sweetheart?"

"If it tastes better than this crap" Ward said under his own breath. His wrist jittered and the food pouch 'accidently' fell from his hand. With a baby hop, the grown man jumped on the back of Tyrome Rutherford Carter, his itty bitty pony.

Ashaad was deep in thought when the party was forced to stop. The resulting bickering between Ward and Jade caused him to release a sigh of frustration but he did not turn to face the two of them. "If I die on this quest it will not be the creature's doing", he thought to himself as he finally turned around give his new found "friends" a silent stare which could only be described as, "Shut. The fuck. Up."

Looking up and sensing irritation amidst, Ward decided it was time to spin the conversation wheel - hoping he'd hit the jackpot or whatever. "So..." he started, his voice most likely annoying the great sandman warrior of the sand....of the sand. Anyhow, he continued. "....How long until we get to wherever it is we're going?"

"If we continue at this pace, we'll be there by tomorrow night," responded Abbas. "However, fighting under darkness would work against us since we do not know the geography of the forest." In short, the soonest they would be able to fight Nabsezal would be the two days from now. Under normal circumstances, the journey would've taken four days but their steeds were equipped with enchanted armored hooves. Even Reiner's pony was much faster than a regular full grown horse.

"Shall we start devising a plan? Or is the plan to just go in, guns blazing while shirtless?"

Ashaad overheard talk of a battleplan and now seemed as good as any to inform the others of his plan. "The creature is made of wood. All wood burns. If any of you can wield fire then we simply need to get close enough to set the beast aflame."

"Wood? It's a tree! I could easily remove-"

"Oh shut it Jane, you'd just help our enemy grow. With your water mumbo jumbo stuff."

"That's NOT my name!"

"I believe thats the exact reason I'm here," said Isen'roy. Though he didn't exactly possess magic, fire and heat were elements he could wield with his sword.

"As I was saying. Before I was rudely interrupted." Jade shot a menacing glare at Reiner, who stuck out his tongue at her. 'I'm going to murder him' she thought before turning her attention back to the others, crossing her arms, "Nevermind... Carry on."

If he wasn't wearing his shemagh the others would see an annoyed Ashaad staring at them for a good while before breaking the gaze. "If the creature cannot burn then you must drain the water. Once it is weakened we will attack its limbs specifically the joints to immobilized it. If that all goes according to plan one of us should able to deal the killing blow" Ashaad paused for a moment to acknowledge the fact that with these people he had spoken more than he would normally do...It was uncomfortable for him to be honest. Working as a team meant he was accountable for lives other than his own. "Once we arrive, leave the horses and take to the trees. If we attack from the ground we give it an advantage."

"I like it." Jade said, feeling a bit smug that someone else, besides her, had the same idea of taking the moisture out of the plant. She turned to look at her dear friend and smiled at him as if telling him 'I told you so'.

Isen'roy nodded his head approvingly. It was a simple plan but it was precisely because of that that he approved of it. Elaborate plans were pointless when they knew nothing about Nabsezal.

Ward also agreed upon the set rules and regulations. He gave his pals a warm and sweet smile before raising his right index finger and "Check Pleeeeaaaassseee."

[Crimson Lion]

The Babettes had entered the town to the sight of the four legged, two headed dog battling against the Water Kingdoms soldiers, or what was left of them anyways.

Amadeus watched in horror as he saw soldiers being massacred left and right by the beast, he sees a boy his age get impaled from behind by the Searzons claw, roaring to the heavens. "Oh my god." He said out loud as he looked around at the piles of dead soldiers around him

Harley glanced over at Amadeus, irritation clear on his face. "Hey, keep your shit together, if you wanna survive, you'd better stay focused."

Amadeus glared at Harley, "FORGET ABOUT SURVIVAL!" He yelled in frustration, "We need to get the remaining soldiers out of this fight! We can survive that thing, THEY can't."

Harley snorted, Why did he have to be such a bitch? He thought to himself, "I know, right?" remarked Lilith, who'd decided it best to keep quiet until now. "Lilith, can you cast a light spell and asks the soldiers to follow it?" Harley, asked out loud, Harley felt the glare before Lilith appeared beside him, red haze filling the immediate area. "Peasant work, but whatever." She then snapped her fingers, causing a bright blue light to head away from the beast, to a safer area. They seemed to follow it without any instructions.

Amadeus, after hearing Harley's plan, jumped off his horse and dashed so he'd be in between the beast and the escaping soldiers. He lifted his left hand towards the beast, "Murum Protectionis! he said as a magic barrier the size of the beast blocked of the path towards the safe haven the soldiers ran toward.

Searzon smashed headfirst right into the barrier projected by Amadeus. Although next to no damage was done to him, the impact left him disoriented.

Hazel sighed. They really were idiots. She shook her head, "Forget about the soldiers, we have bigger problems then that." She dismounted, "Just keep this mutt off me, and I'll take care of it!" She called out.

"Just don't use any fire magic! It's ineffective." Amadeus said as he unsheathed Pride and took a defenceive stand.

Hazel shook her head again. No fire? How boring Instead, she began to channel magical energy through her. Her spells were strong, but they took a small amount of time to cast.

Solanne had to agree with Hazel as she watched the battle begin. No fire would be boring, and was a disadvantage for her personally. She'd have to rely on wits and sword skill for this one.

Harley hopped off his horse then ran at a blinding speed, focusing energy into his legs, then, as he came near the beast, jumping incredibly high into air, focusing his energy from his feet to his fists, blue energy spiraling from his fist,, "Fuck the soldiers, Fuck the civilians, fuck no fire, let's kick it's ass!" yelled Harley, his adrenaline and lust for battle rising rapidly.

Amadeus watched in amazement at Harleys pure speed and Hazels focus and incredible amount of magic. 'Are you sure these guys are my age?!' He then looked around at the burning buildings, "We need to figure out how to put out these flames without destroying the buildings" he said to no one in particular.

"I got ya," Solanne said, raising a hand up. As she did so, the flames from the burning buildings recoiled back, pulled by an unknown force and gathering around the Crimson Hound's palm. Small work for her, but at least the surrounding town was safe. More than she could say for these crazy kids.

Hazel was encouraged by Harley's cry. "Damn right!" She yelled. When she heard Amadeus' cry, she was instantly discouraged. "One thing at a time, we're kind of in the middle of fighting this thing!" She yelled. The magical energy she was forming inside her coming to a head. All at once it seemed that the formerly clear sky was enveloped by a dark cloud that hung over the creature. A bolt of lightning came down from above, heading straight for the beast.

The magic generation of lightning created by Hazel caused static to build up at the targeted area. Detecting the chance in the air milliseconds before the impact of the lightning bolt, the no longer disoriented Searzon bolted forward at mach speed towards Hazel.

Harley, let out a wild war cry, energy building by the moment as he headed toward Searzon, a flame in his eyes. "Eat this, you fuck!", he yelled as he was launched toward the monstrosity.

Searzon noticed Harley attempting to intercept him. Logically speaking, due to the initial inertia, it was impossible for Searzon to dodge while amplifying the damage of Harley's. However, Searzon wasn't bound by common logic. Ramming his thick massive tail into the ground, he used it as a pivot to swirve right around Harley whilst barely losing any speed as it approached Hazel. The distance would be closed in at most a second.

Harley went flying into a building, causing a massive explosion, for a minute, nothing happened, then suddenly, Harley burst out of the structure at a breakneck speed, blue energy spiraling from his fist as he decided to try the same technique again.

Amadeus looked around at the destruction being created by Hazels lightning and Harleys brawl with the beast, 'If this keeps up the whole town'll be destroyed in less then ten minutes.'

"Woah there!"

Solanne released the pent up and building flames in her hand straight at the Searzon. She had kept a close distance to Hazel so far and was aiming to distract the beast long enough for a rescue. Galloping as fast as she could, she leapt from her steed and tackled the Diaphat out of harm's way.

Rolling on the ground, she kept the younger girl's body close to hers as they just barely brushed death's touch. Once their momentum had slowed to a crawl, Solanne slowly moved away from Hazel.

"Now, are you three done being idiots and would like to come up with a real plan?" she asked, before standing up and glancing over to Solomon. "That thing likes to charge alot. No magical prowess so far, so you'd think our attacks would do a little bit more damage for a brute like this."

The Crimson Hound cracked her knuckles.

"Unless it has a secret we haven't seen yet."

'Solanne's right, if we keep fighting without a plan we'll never kill this two headed mutt. We NEED a plan and fast.' Amadeus thought as he stabbed his blade into a flame near by which then disappeared upon contact, confirming his hypothesis "This fire is magic based, so unless for some reason someone else caused the fires, that thing knows magic. Keep your guard up for magic either way."

Hazel quickly recovered from Solanne's rescue. She rose, brushing herself off. I totally could of saved myself if she didn't knock me over She kept her comment to herself. She already began channeling magical energy again, this time deciding to switch strategies. "That thing is fast, I'll try to keep it locked down!" She shouted, preparing her next spell.

Searzon howled as he was interrupted yet again. Giving a death stare or... technically death stares at Solanne.

Solomon's face was set in a hard frown, and he acknowledged his companions with a nod. "We need to end this now." He said as he bent his legs, and leaped into the air. Spinning his glaive above his head, Solomon brought the heavy blade down upon the beast's back.

As Solomon leapt into the air, one of Searzons head turned 180 degrees to obtain vision. Even though it looked grotesque as if his neck had been broken, it was a normal thing for the beast. In reaction to his attack, Searzon did not attempt to dodge nor run, instead his hard as steel tail parried the attack, the total kinetic energy being exchanged caused Searzon's body to crush the ground he was on due to the weight and Solomon being repelled into the distance.

Harley took this moment to slam his fist into the ground, launching himself over the beast and a few feet from Hazel and Solanne. "I'm back."he remarked in an almost sarcastic manner, winking at Solanne

Likewise, Solanne caught the wink and smirked back. Maybe next time.

Amadeus watched as Solomon was flown back with through the air, "We need to slow down that things movements.'' He said as he looked up at the single thunder cloud left in the sky that Hazel summoned, "That's it!" he yelled as he looked over in the Child of Omens direction "Hazel, I need your help with something!"

"Slow it down eh?"

Twirling the Duster, Solanne whistled for her horse to gallop away. Smoothly getting herself back on her steed, the Crimson Hound charged toward the Searzon while it was momentarily stunned by Solomon's attack. However, she pulled on the reigns at the last moment, swerving around and slicing away at the beast's legs.

She kept circling around, slicing with expert strokes of her sword and making sure she was kept in motion. It would at least give Amadeus time to execute his plan with Hazel while she hopefully slowed it down.

Hazel chuckled to herself. "Sorry Amadeus! I've already got something worked out!" She called out, her spell finally ready. The ground beneath Searzon stirred, something seeming to stir beneath it. After a moment the 'thing' trying to escape did. An number of vines, bright green and nearly as thick as the legs of the Searzon itself exploded from the ground, writhing, attempting to get a grasp on the legs of the great mutt.

"W-Whoah, whoah!" Solanne yelled as the ground beneath began to give way. Galloping away from the monster, she turned back to see Hazel's latest handiwork.

"You could warn me next time Spell Spitter," she called out.

Amadeus almost fell over as the vines rose from the ground, Aaaand there goes the road' he thought as he started skipping backward to a safe distance. 'How can Solanne call me Special Kid when I seem like the most normal one here'

Harley took this opportunity to charge energy in his fist, blasting some from his foot to launch himself at the beast, preparing a mighty kick as he launched himself at the beast,"Let's fuck it up!" he yelled, as he went in for the kick at the distracted beast.

Solomon impacted a wall that had survived the Searzon's maws, and crashed through it. Pushing the rubble of his body, Solomon coughed slightly as he flicked dust off his armor. Nodding approvingly at Hazel's plan, the man began sprinting back to the group, sliding to a stop next to the Solanne. " We should attack its underbelly now," Solomn said to the redhead, "while it is helpless."

The Crimson Hound chuckled at the other warrior's suggestion. It made sense in all likelihood and it didn't hurt to try it out at this point.

"Sounds like a plan-"

Harley, hearing the suggestion, flashed in an instant, now under the beast, carrying his previous momentum. He drew his swords which briefly lit up with hellfire and began rotating in the air, going in for a tornado move, his swords glowing with a blue energy that he focussed into them.

Amadeus sighed at Harley, didn't I tell him fire would be less effective? Then again, he can probably over power it with sheer power since he got the weak spot.

"...or not. Looks like Junior's got this all covered. Go get 'em Junior! Make me proud and I might take you out for dinner!"

Solanne then gave Solomon a shrug.

"What? Kids need motivation these days."

Smiling gently, Solomon nodded in response. "Remember Harley, if you take up her offer I want both of you back by 9. And if either of you are drunk, I'm going to record you!" He shouted up at the

"Aw come on Tall Beard," Solanne said with her hands on her hips. "I'll make sure he's conscious for the night. Well, mostly."

Sighing, Solomon merely shook his head in exasperation, before turning his head toward the other two members of the team. "And you two, i want you to be ready for bed by nine as well. We don't know if we will be sent on another mission later."

Amadeus pouted, "B-but big bro, I wanted to study the Searzon corpse." he said jokingly, although he indeed did actually want to study the beast for future reference.

Hazel's face was a deep shade of red by now. She shouted out across the battlefield, "Solanne you better shut up right now!" She said in a very irritated tone.

"Love you too Spell Spitter," Solanne called right back with a small wink.

Amadeus sighed and looked over to the beast still hanging from the vines, wondering if it was still alive or not. The beast moved suddenly and reopened its eyes, looking around before he began to start tearing the vines. 'I knew fire wouldn't work on it. He thought before facing the others. "He's still alive guys!" Amadeus yelled

Harley barely cut the beasts stomach as it awakened, when he noticed it move, it was too late, getting kicked by the vines, he was sent flying, landing a few feet in font of Hazel.He looked up at her."Hey there." he remarked, wincing as he jumped to his feet.

"Harley! Stay still, I'll treat your wounds!" Amadeus as he began to chant, "Sana Se Suo Nomine Comes Nocenti" As he finished, all of Harleys minor injuries disappeared while recovering a bit of the major ones. "That should do it for now."

Solanne watched Harley get flung back and landing rather hard on the ground. Ok, so Junior could only do so much. But the combined efforts of the kids had weakened the Searzon, leaving it on it last legs. Gripping Duster tightly, the Crimson Hound looked at Solomon with a fiery glint in her eyes.

"You ready Tall Beard?"

"Ready when you are Hound." Solomon replied

Hazel was winded by now from controlling the vines, but she still had a little magic left in her. She noticed Solanne getting ready to finish the monster with Solomon. She called out, "I can't let you take all the credit Solanne! Lemme help you out with this one!" She focused on Solomon and Solanne, releasing a burst of magic towards them, both rejuvinating them and increasing their natural powers.

"Oi! I hear you like to play with fire, right? You just shrug it off like it's nothing, is that it?"

As she spoke, a flurry of flames exploded around the redhead. No, her fire wasn't even red anymore. Well, it was, but it looked like the fire itself had become living and gathered behind the warrior in an inferno that would have made Hazel proud. Twirling her blade, she pointed Duster straight at the snarling Searzon.

"Well who the hell do you think we are?!? The only way to break a wall is to go right through it!"

The Crimson Hound stood tall, the flames not even affecting her. The area around her body rocketed in temperature, heat waves being seen around her figure. Duster glowed a bright orange and Solanne turned to Solomon suddenly.

"Er, that wasn't too corny sounding, was it? It took me a whole twenty seconds to come up with something like that."

How much of Solanne's fire was contributed to Hazel's intervention or the power of the Crimson Hound couldn't be said for sure.

Rolling his eyes, Solomon readied Emerald Wyvern while replying, "Yes, that was extremely corny."

Solomon was more subtle in his expression, allowing Emerald Wyvern to fill him with strength. Slamming the blade into the ground, Solomon sent a small shockwave through the earth, fracturing the earth. Spinning the glaive with one hand, the earth was sent flying as from the force and speed of the glaive. He continued to twirl the glaive as he lowered himself to leap at the trapped beast.

Harley just casually stood by Hazel, acting like he didn't his ass kicked. "Pretty intense, huh?" He remarked to the girl

Hazel simply rolled her eyes at Harley."Didn't you notice? That's all me, I used my magic to buff them up." She whispered to him with an exaggerated tone of accomplishment.

"Yeah, you're pretty good." Harley shrugged, it was best not to express any doubt, he decided."The fans will come rolling in anytime"

Hazel huffed. "I already have fans, you know. They practically worship me in the Sky Kingdom... well, worship and fear, pretty much the same things." She boasted.

"I totally was your first fan, fact. You can ask, everyone knows." Harley retorted, smirking.

Amadeus watched the two other teens talking with a face palm, "Really guys? House sized monster being killed by two older warriors, one of which is engulfed in flames, isn't entertaining enough for you guys to just watch?"

"One of which who also gave a badass speech I might add," Solanne noted.

Hazel feigned a yawn. "Please, I'm much cooler than Solanne." She attempted to whisper to Amadeus, but she was much louder than a whisper.

He sighed, "What I would give for your confidence." He mumbled

"You gonna keep flirting over there Spell Spitter?" Solanne called out to Hazel. "Or are you gonna watch us totally kick this thing's ass?"

With that, the Crimson Hound charged with full speeds, mouth curled into a wide, clencing grin. The two-headed mutt saw the challenge in her eyes, giving off one last howl before charging at flaming girl. Two dogs collided with each other, Solanne rearing back and stabbing Duster through the jaw of one of the creature's heads.

Snarling in pain, the Searzon attempted to lash out with a claw strike, only to hiss when its arm began to melt on itself due to the sheer heat surrounding Solanne. Grin still present, Solanne launched her free hand, now clenched into a fist, straight at the beast's gut.

The abadomen exploded as massive flames penetrated the creature, lapping away at the screaming thing's body. The fire consumed all flesh as Solanne glanced up.

"Waiting for you Tall Beard."

As Solanne was charging the beast, Solomon leapt into the air and moved the spinning glaive above his head, and as he fell back down towards the earth, he brought the glaive over his head onto the Searzon's back.

With a horrific cracking sound, Emerald Wyvern's blade began digging into the creatures spine, pushing further and further through as Solomon applied more and more force. Landing on the beast's back, both hands on the shaft of the glaive, he reversed his grip on the shaft, and forced the blade full circle, severing the Searon's spinal column.

With a final death knoll from the lone head, the Searzin collapsed in a heap of carapace, fur and muscle. "This is your punishment mongrel, for the citizens of his town you are vanquished." Solomon scowled at the corpse under his feet, before leaping off to avoid the consuming flames spreading over the beast's frame.

With Solomon dealing the final blow, Solanne leapt away from the monster as it gave one final death screech before being consumed by the Crimson Hound's remaining flames. Sighing, the fiery warrior cracked her knuckles at the burning corpse as her form shifted back to a state of normalacy.

"Nice work partner," she said to Solomon with thumbs up.

"I would've done it way better. If they hadn't distracted me." Harley remarked, irritated that he didn't get the kill.

Amadeus watched in amazement as the two older warriors killed the beast, he then looked to Harley "Crush the roach." Amadeus said as he saw that Harley had unsheathed the sabre

Harley shook his head, instead walking over to an injured soldier, screaming for death, then plunged his sabre into the mans throat. "Better not to waste a kill." he said

Amadeus went wide eyed at the act. He stood there frozen at what Harley had just did, was it Just or not? The soldier was begging for death, but still.

Hazel walked over to Amadeus. The smaller girl got up on her tip-toes and placed an arm around the boy, a wry smile on her face. "People die out here. It's better they die quickly. You should do the same thing Harley is doing if you're so empathetic towards them." She said, in an almost chiding tone.

Amadeus looked forward with determination, "NO, I can save them! I at least have to try." He said as he walked away toward the area where the Searzon had injured the Water Kingdom soldiers "I have to try."

Harley teleported over to Hazel and snickered. "What a bitch, right?" he said, watching the other boy in what Harley considered childish efforts.

Hazel shook her head. She turned towards Harley, "Hm. Well, I guess he's just a better person than the both of us." She said, in a tone that was suprisingly free of sarcasm.

Solanne watched from a distance away. Her gaze lingered on Hazel and Harley before placing her hands on her hips and sighing again. Honestly, they were starting to remind the Crimson Hound of her and that was not appreciated. Still, at least the battle had been won.

Walking over to the three younger members, Solomon knelt next to the dying man. As the soldier began choking on his blood, Solomon began chanting under his breath, the strange archaic words tumbling from his mouth. He spoke of how the blood flew through tthe body like rivers, how the body was like earth, and how like nature the body could mend.

Solomon was a bit unsure if his magic would work, but it had saved his brother from an impaled kidney and a broken spine he was sure it would save the man. Slowly, a green energy flowed from Solomon's hand, and he felt the familiar strain on his body. Starting at the soldier's throat, the ancient magic began working its way into the cut. Moving his hand further down the soldier's body, he began reforming organs and skin and made his way to the feet of the soldier when his energy was spent. Looking over the man again, his body was healthy, and he was breathing fine though now unconsciousness. Solomon smiled before the black spots surrounding his vision swarmed him, and he fell next to the soldier into unconciousness.

Harley glanced at the others, running a hand through his hair and sighing at Hazel. "You're pretty difficult, woman. Whatever, I'm fine with being a fiend.

"...Hair Runner!"

Solanne snickered at Harley's actions before saying, "Hair Runner. That's my second nickname for you Junior. Think of it as a pet name."

Hazel shook her head at Solomon's efforts. In the back of Hazel's head she knew she could probably also heal the soldiers, but then the lesson would be lost on Amadeus. Trying to save all the soldiers was a waste of energy, she knew, but she could do little to stop them. "Don't get me wrong Harley, it's still pointless." She said, winking. "Look at Solomon, he's out from just helping one of them." She shook her head again.

Amadeus was away from the others. He finally found a soldier still alive, although on the brink of death, breathing beginning to fade. Amadeus bent down and began to chant, "Obducam Enim Advenarum Animas Quia Voluit Iussusque Tueri Omnem Domum Suam." The soldiers wounds began to heal and his breathing started to steady. "Thank Ethos" Amadeus whispered to himself as he began to feel woozy. "I can still save more." he said as he gathered himself, and then picked up the fallen soldier over his shoulders. "I need to get him to a Church or a Hosptial." he said carrying the man. 'Maybe those two are right, maybe this IS pointless' he thought as began walking the heavy man

"Thank you" he heard the man whisper before he passed out again.

Allush who had remained on the outskirts of the port town was now galloping in on his horse as he heard the death throes of Searzon. He called out for the scattered Babettes to gather.

Harley teleported over to the area where they were to gather and called his horse.

Amadeus spoke into the medallion, "I'll be there in a bit, gotta drop something off real quick." He then whistled for his horse, when it arrived, he laid the soldier onto him. "Bring him to a hospital, then come back to me." he ordered the horse.

Hazel ran over towards Allush, grabbing her medallion, "What he means to say is he's too busy trying to rescue some soldier who's probably already down for the count." She said in an agitated voice. She soon arrived to the meeting spot, retrieving her horse in the process.

"Ah, such is the expected behavior from someone of Amadeus's character," said Allush.

Solanne didn't bother trying to mount her horse. No doubt, she would have burnt a hole through it trying to sit on it...instead, she raised the unconscious Solomon up on her steed as gingerly as possible before leading it back towrds the others.

"I take half the credit for killing it." Harley remarked.

"Half credit Junior," Solanne reminded him. "Which means no date tonight."

"Give it time, just give it time." Harley smirked

Hazel huffed. "I take all the credit for killing it, you wouldn't have been nearly as cool without my magic Solanne." She said flatly.

"Credit will be split equally among the team." Although Allush understood that the Babettes probably knew, it was in his meticulous nature to reaffirm it.

Amadeus finally arrived at the meeting place and heard the conversation they where having. 'I couldn't even help' he thought as he thought about the battle and how many times he actually attacked the beast, that being 0.

"Pssh," Solanne whispered to the knocked out Solomon, ignoring Hazel. "You mind waking up yet? It's your turn to deal with the kiddies."

"Actually, she wouldn't be as hot." Harley corrected Hazel."Don't worry though, you're the second hottest. Myself being the first." He grinned.

Hazel rebuked, "I don't think you've actually seen me try to burn anything yet, Harley. It gets pretty damn hot." She said, any innuendo flying over her head.

Allush patiently listened to their banter. Once he decided it was over, he spoke. "Our duties here are completed. After collecting Searzon's body, we may return to the coalition camp." Allush made a high pitched whistle which summoned the grey falcon why was flying above in the vicinity. As the eagle landed onto his arm, he quickly inserted a note into he pouch attached into its leg before sending it off. Condor would fly ahead of them and notify Gregorias to dispatch relief soldiers to aid the town of Lawsue.

"I'm waiting, then. We'll see when you decide it's time to stop 'holding back'. Oh great Incinerator." Harley taunted.

Amadeus rolled his eyes then looked to Allush, "Are we needed for another mission anytime soon?"

"Once everyone in Babettes has recovered to full health, it is likely Gregorias will send us out again. For now, we should return to camp to rest."

"I see" He said kinda disappointed. After the shit day he was having, he had wanted to see his little sister, at home for a bit. Maybe make some new armor if he could.

"We kicked it's ass real good." Harley nodded and started running a hand through his hair, shooting a glance at Solanne. 'Hair Runner', stupid. He then finished his mission of running his hand through his hair and yawned."I'm down with a nap, or training, if anyone wants to do that together?"

Hazel nodded at Harley, "When we get back I'll show you a real fire." She said playfully, winking. Maybe she really did pick up on the innuendo.

"Check your flirting Spell Spitter," Solanne commented. In all honesty, it wouldn't be bad if they took some time off. Maybe if the Word Weaver allowed it, she could make a quick stop at home. Or they could stop by on their way back to camp. It all depended on Allush's decision ultimately.

Hearing the muffled whispers around him, Solomon quickly sat up to find him surrounded by his team and Allush. Standing up shakily, Solomon leaned a bit heavily on his glaive, and saw the corpse of the beast lying a bit way behind them. Turning back to the group, the man hoped that they could return quickly, so he could rest himself.

Amadeus looked at Solomon in shock, not noticing the man had been unconsious, "Woah, what happened to you?" He asked surprised

Solomon tiredly pointed at the previously mangled, and now whole man that Harley had stabbed. "I was saving him." the man said, before sighing and cracked his neck. "Full body restoration takes a lot out of me, and I can only do it once every two weeks or so." Solomon continued after stretching.

'Wait, a full body recovery took THIS much out of him?' he thought as he looked the warrior up and down. 'I can do it two or three times a day before passing out, maybe its because we used a different chant.' he thought as he wrote down the new information in a notepad labeled, 'Babettes'.

"Exactly, it's pointless, how many can you save? One in two weeks? Have fun with that while we kill the beasts." Harley remarked, irritated that Solomon reversed his actions.

"Perhaps. But can your magic heal a disembowled man? Regrow his intestines and seal his stomach? Reattach cauterized limbs? Or how about partially heal a shattered spinal cord? My magic may be limited, but it works deep." Solomon

"So does mine." Harley said, winking at Solanne.

Facepalming at the younger man's joke, Solomon remembers how his brother used to joke about his "Soft leather" and how it could stretch from an "inch to a foot with gentle rubbing." Shaking his head clear of his brother's lewd jokes, Solomon listened to what Solanne and to say.

"Maybe when you grow an inch Junior," Solanne said, eyeing Harley's....height.

"It ain't the size of the boat, it's the motion. Of the ocean." Harley retorted.

Amadeus smirked, "Doesn't matter when your 'ship' is only a life boat"

"Ha! Clearly I've got nothing to prove, you're just jealous, right Lilith?" Harley chewed his bottom lip as he heard nothing but silence. "Whatever." Harley just shrugged

Amadeus smirked, 'THAT brought his pride down a notch.' he thought.

Harley teleported behind Amadeus, then whispered into his ear."It won't matter much if your lifeboat goes MIA, will it?", then teleported back to his original spot, smirking.

Seeing Harley teleport, Solomon quickly shiled his hand where Harley's head had been, catching the boy teleporting back with a dope slap upside the head. "No threatening to remove your teammates penises Devil, we need him in fighting shape. I do not believe singing soprano would constitute as being healthy."

"Solomon, slap me again, and no healing magic can reverse what I'll do to you, got me?" Harley remarked, glaring at Solomon with nothing but malice and murderous intent in his eyes."I said, Is that clear, -soldier!?-" he spat out the last word like it was poison.

Amused by the boy's outburst, Solomon stood up straight from his tired slumped position. Now standing half a foot taller than the younger man, Solomon merely chuckled. "Devil, if you think that treating me as a foot soldier would cow me, then you are very misinformed."

"Oh you wanna go!? You wanna fuckin' go!? Harley challenged, pumped up on testosterone and adrenaline.

Amadeus reached for his sword and started mumbling a chant under his breath, his left hand gathering magic. He had a plan for stopping Harley AND Solomon if either of them decided to raise a fist.

Hazel sighed. Boys she thought to herself detestably. "Will both of you cut it out! If you start fighting I'll fry both of you!" She shouted. When I have to be the voice of reason there's gotta be a pretty big problem... She thought to herself, sighing aloud again.

Harley, being the slave to women he is, shot a glare at Solomon and hopped on his horse, ignoring the bearded man.

"Thanks Hazel." Amadeus said with a small bow as his horse finally returned.

Solomon shrugged his shoulders in response, and climbed back on his horse, which had just started to trust the man again for attempting to ride into combat with the Searzon. Mounting the saddle, Solomon waited for the group to depart.

After watching the group agrue Allush finally thought is was time to inform them about departing, "Gregorias probably wants us to all get back to the camp by tomorrow, we should rest up now then leave tonight." He then turned his horse away, "There's an Inn that will let you spend the night free in this direction." He stated as he started riding away

[Crimson Lion]

After helping out at the local hospital, Amadeus found some free time, so he walked over to the corpse of the beast they had just killed, he brushed his hand against the skin of the beast. He looked at the metal chest plate he was wearing, It's stronger then my armor, and more flexible at that. he thought as he looked at the black skin of the Searzon. "It's resistant to fire, and with more than half my team being fire users I'd like to be able to survive an accidental friendly fire." He said with a smirk. He then took out a knife and began to expertly cut the hide of the beast. After a while of cutting, he had obtained a high quality, expertly cut hide perfect to make a new set of armor with. He folded the Hide and put it in a duffel bag, as to make it easier to carry.

Amadeus began to walk away to the inn, thinking of how his childhood friend and armorsmith, Charlotte Smith, would react to seeing the high quality material he'd ask her to use. He then thought about his new teammates and his interactions with them. Harley's to short tempered to work together with in unison and Hazel's prideful nature can make things difficult. Amadeus sighed and rubbed his temple, 'How can I complain about them when I barely did anything during the fight' he thought as he stopped walking abruptly, he questioned Harley and Hazels ideals against his own and wondered if his where right. "Pa, G-pa, do you think I'm doing the right thing here?" he said as he took out his family's cross, rubbing the intersection with his.

"I may not be your grandpa, but I have some wisdom I can pass on." Amadeus looked around looking for the source of the voice but saw nothing. "Up here young man." He looked up to see an old man standing on the balcony of a building, "Come inside for a second, I may have some advice for you." The old man said as he walked back inside the building.

Amadeus looked at the sign of the building "Arthur's Weaponry." he said aloud as he walked into the building. Inside the building, the old man sat behind the counter of the store with a smoke pipe in hand. "Who are you?" Amadeus asked as he walked slowly into the room, hand on his sword.

The old man chuckled, "Just an old blacksmith whose son you happened to save." he then stood up and put down his pipe. "The boy that you healed just happened to be my youngest boy."

Amadeus eyes widened at this, "How did you know it was me." he asked confused.

"Call it old peoples intuition." he said as he pulled out a key and began unlocking a cabinet, "I wanna give you a little gift. As thanks for saving my boy" The old man then pulled out a sheathed Katana. "She's called Truth, my finest masterpiece"

Amadeus looked at the beautifully crafted blade, then at the man "I can't take this." he said looking down. "It's your greatest work isn't it?"

The old man then laughed loudly, "Do you know why it's called that? It's called truth, because it cuts through all lies and deceit in the world. I’m sure that it will help you find the answers you are looking for." The old man said, as though he was reminiscing about the past. "And besides, I bet that demon sword is beginning to take its toll" The young hero physically reeled at this, "Oh don't act so surprised, when you're in the business as long as I have you learn the difference between this and that. Now take the sword, and use it to find out where you should stand in this world, eh boy?"

With that, Amadeus slowly took the sword from the man and strapped it to his side, the snow white katana clashing with the black demon sword. He then bowed at the man "Thank you sir! I promise I will not forget this!" he practically yelled.

The man chuckled, “Just promise to use it for what you think is right. Now get outta my sword, I need to close up shop.”

“I promise” Amadeus said with another bow, he then stepped out of the store and began to walk away, "oh yeah, I never got his name." he then looked back to find the shop gone and replaced with a bakery. "Wait ... what? he thought confused.

[Bubsy 2]

Harley walked with Hazel to the inn, and asked for a room so they could share it, he decided he could just sleep on the floor.

Hazel instantly reddened when she saw Harley paying for a room to share. She had a moment of panic, Oh Atros what does this meant does he excepect something why didn't he just get a room with Amadeus, her mind quickly jumping between different trains of thought. She looked for her 'big sister' but Solanne was no where to be found, the group quickly splitting apart when they arived at the inn. She turned her attention back to Harley, "So, you, uh, want to share?" She said breathlessly.

"Yeah, if you don't mind?" He said. He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, continuing, "I kinda wanted to get to know you a bit better. And I wanted you to show me some fire tricks." No innuendo or added emphasis on any words noticeable, but who could tell? "If you're scared or whatever, we can have separate rooms, however, I tend to refrain from trying anything on women that could without a second thought turn me into a crisp." He concluded, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

Hazel shook her head, determined, "No, no, it's fine." Despite her words Hazel was desperatly searching for Solanne, scanning the room to no avail, Please I need some... sisterly advice. But she was nowhere to be seen.

"Cool, well, it's right there." He pointed to a door and walked to it, opening it for the other teenager with a disarming smile.Atros, I hope she doesn't think I'm a pervert, or just trying to get in her pants, I mean, not that I would argue.

Hazel hesetaited momentarily, "We just got back from battle, shouldn't you at least buy me dinner first?" She said said flatly.

"Oh, of course, my bad. Please forgive me Miss Hazel." He closed the door and walked to a table looking over a menu."I'll take a steak and a water." he said to a nearby waitress after handing the menu to Hazel.

Hazel scanned the menu, taking a moment to decide. "I'll have the baklava and a lemonade." She told a waitress, handing the menu to her. "Soooo... how exactly does one become friend with a demon?" She said, grasping for some topic of conversation.

"I was a little slave boy, one time, as I was rhyming, I accidentally summoned a demon, apparently, and bought my sabres, the price being severe depression and constant lust." He, said, regretting that last part. And now she's going to think I'm only doing this to hit it. he thought. You have to admit, that's half of it, don't lie boy, I'm in your head. It was true."And we're not friends, she's a prick." He added.

"Well, uh, sorry, I guess." She wasn't quite sure how to reply to the depression and lust and the part about his demon being a 'prick', although that didn't suprise her.

"Yeah, it's whatever. Hey, after this is all done and we kill these monsters, I'm fine with ditching everyone and being your loyal servant." he said, seemingly serious, running a hand through his hair, he continued."Or assassin, or something like that." He smiled as he saw a waitress walking over to the table, a smile that faded as he saw it was Hazel's order. Oh well, Baklava was easier to make. So he couldn't really get mad.

Hazel shook her head, "I don't think you'd like being one of my servants very much... it's a bit boring back home in the Sky Kingdom... and they don't have the nicest boss..." She took a tentative bite of the baklava. It wasn't exactly the quality she was used too, but it was good enough.

"Nobody is really nice to me, and I've been whipped a fair amount of time." he shrugged, he didn't wanna seem desperate to be her slave, because he wasn't. He ran a hand through his hair again. "But hey, whatever you say. So, I guess I had fun killing that thing, though, you did all the hard work. I'm glad I could help make you look good."He said, unable to think of a reason not to shower her with compliments.

Hazel smiled. Harley's compliments were clearly working. "Well, you weren't too bad either. I'm not a hunderd percent sure I could of taken it by myself... but I guess we have no way of knowing."

"I'm sure you could've, you're clearly the strongest of us all, I'm telling you, I was your first fan."He wasn't lying in his own mind, he was a fan of hers, long before he'd heard of any other fans. "I was pretty ecstatic when I saw you in person." he added.

Hazel gave Harley an incredulous look. "Really? You're not just pulling my leg, are you?" She said hopefully. She was actually excited at the prospect of having 'fans', especially fans that were other powerful people like Harley.

"Yeah, of course! Since day one! Beautiful mage that happens to wield greater power than ever seen? I'm all about it." he replied enthusiastically. "I don't pull legs, I sever them." He concluded as his food arrived.

Hazel reddened. Not many people called her beautiful- they had a different choice of adjectives for her back at her homeland. Most were quicker to go for 'monster', or 'terrifying', or a number of other not quiet so complimentary words. "Well... th-thanks..." She put down her fork, her hands beginning to play nervously with her hair.

"Yeah, I speak from the heart." He watched as she fidgeted with her hair, she had really good hair, he never noticed how good it was before, he turned quickly to his food as he realized he was staring and began to eat. "So, what time do you go to bed?"He asked before taking a bite.

Hazel realized Harley was staring at her. She also turned her eyes down towards her food, "Well, I've always just gone when I feel like it... I never really had anyone to tell me any different." She picked her fork back up and resumed eating.

"Great, so we have plenty of time to talk, then." he said. "I've been really wanting to get to know you better."He added. "Dive into the mystery that is 'Hazel'." he said the name with more affection than he planned to. "Maybe watch you do a couple tricks with your magic." he finished, resuming his meal.

Hazel's meal was nearing completion, but instead of finishing it she placed her fork down again, finding her hands at her hair again. It was a thing she unfortunatley did quite often when she was nervous. "Well, what exactly do you want to know?"

"Hobbies? Favorite color? The works. The only way I can really get to know you is through time spent, though. But the basics can't hurt, can they?" He squinted at her as he ran a hand through his hair."Let's start with color, then animal, then hobby, I guess."he concluded, nearly done eating.

Hazel was taken a bit off guard by Harley's questions. She didn't exactly excpect him to be the sort to be intrested in that kind of information, but she decided to oblidge him. "Hmmmmmm..." She seemed to be deep in thought, all the while still nervously fiddling with her hair. "Well... I guess my favorite color is red," Like fire. She did not verbalize the last part of her sentence, "Uhhhh my favorite animal... well, I guess it would have to be a bird... a dove," How easy it would be to just fly away. Once again she did not verbalize what was a part of her sentence. The irony of choosing a bird that was commonly kept in a cage was also lost on her. "And hobbies... well, I guess you can't really qualify burning as a hobby... I..." Her face was turning a deep shade of red now, "Well, not a lot of people know this, but I like to knit... you better not tell anyone that."

"Kniting is neat, I'd totally wear it if you made me something, and yeah, red is my favorite color." he said."Something that may or may not be influenced by the color of your hair." He added, too full to finish his plate."So, what's your favorite way to kill?" He asked, something that he'd really been wanting to know.

Hazel was caught off guard once again by the remark he made about her hair, and then the question of killing as well. Well, he changed this conversation pretty fast... Not to say that she wasn't relieved to have a topic that was a bit easier for her. "Isn't that one a bit obvious, Harley? Burning, incenerating, scorching, all that stuff." She was trying her best this time to not turn a further shade of red because of the compliment he paid towards her hair.

"Yeah, fires are pretty cool. Oh! In fact, you should knit me a fire-themed scarf. A long one that should drag in the wind when I ran, I'd wear it constantly." he said, stretching quietly and then cracking his neck. "Would you do that? Ya know, secretly?" he asked.

Hazel looked at him disbelievingly. Her face, which had by now returned to its normal non-tomato like color, was not reddning again. She reluctantly nodded, "Fine, but if you do wear it, don't tell anyone where you got it."

"Oh, definitely not, I'm the master of secret-keeping, there are several things you'll never know about me." he ran a hand through his hair, looking at the unfinished food and the bits of fat that he pulled from the meat. "Hey, wanna head to our room?" he asked, toying with the room key in his hand. "Or we could do some training, not that you need it." Harley added.

Hazel's face reddened again. It seemed that she was stuck in an endless loop between shy, red faced embarassment and boisterous overconfidence. "I-I'm, uh, kinda tired after the fight today... manipulating living things like I did with those vines is somewhat taxing. Let's call it a night." She said quickly.

"That was definitely the coolest part." Harley said. "Those vines were as thick as it's legs. I'm sure everyone on the team is gonna start showing due respect." he continued, standing up, pushing his chair in and walking over to Hazel to help her up like a proper gentleman. "Shall we?" he said as he extended a hand.

Hazel reluctantly accepted, grasping his hand, standing, holding on for just a second too long and then quickly releasing it. "Well, I don't know about that. Solomon is... well, I don't think it's possible for someone like me to earn his respect. Amadeus, well, maybe I'll get his respect for being strong but I don't think he'll ever particularly like me. Solanne's cool, but she's not exactly a very respectful person. No matter what I do she'll just treat me like her kid sister."

"Good points, well, I certainly respect you." he assured her. Harley walked Hazel to the door, opened it and waited for to enter, kneeling and saying,"After you, M'lady." grinning up at her with his most charming smile.

Hazel shook her head, smiling. There was certainly a fine line betweening flirting and acting like an idiot, which Hazel thought Harley was tiptoeing on. "You're quite the charmer." She said sarcastically, entering the room. It was fairly standard fair for an inn in the country. A somewhat lumpy looking bed and not much else, but one really couldn't expect much more from free lodgings.

Harley shrugged and teleported into the room, closing the door as the wisps of smoke from his short teleportation dissipated. "This is worse, than when I was a slave." he half-joked, then teleporting to the bed and sitting toward the foot."You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."he remarked casually. "So, what do you even do for fun in a place like this, other than wreck it?" he wondered aloud.

Hazel shrugged. "I dunno, I'm sure you'll think of something." She said, flooping down on the bed.

"Oh, rest assured, my imagination and creativity aren't the limiting factors."he said in a suggestive tone. He looked around the boring room."We could call Amadeus over? He's kind of ..morally inclined. But he's not so bad. Want to?" Harley inquired, taking his shirt off lazily. "You don't mind if I shed this, do you? I don't usually sit in my room with a shirt on." he added, stretching and yawning. "Or I could be ridiculous and dance or something? Maybe just praise you until you fall asleep? I could praise you for a few hours." he concluded.

Hazel's face was red again. The Black Devil certainly has some negative points, like a sex obssessed demon, but damn he looks good, she thought to herself. "Hmmmm... well, that's entirely up to you. Do whatever you want." She said, her face now turned away from him, towards her pillow. She was definitely going to try and avoid the embarassment that talking to him face to face while he was shirtless would bring, since she was almost sure she would have difficulty forming a sentence.

"Oh, why ya gotta be so cold?" he asked, seemingly offended. "Not even gonna look at me. What'd I do?" he chewed his bottom lip and ran a hand through his hair.

She quickly turned away from the pillow, sitting up on her knees on the top of the bed, "No! I," She took in his features and quickly became flustered, "I... uhhh... I... I..." She was unable to find the end of her sentence, and simply stood there mouth agape.

"Calm down, dear Atros! Are you on your period? Look, I can just leave if you want, it's really whatever, I just thought maybe we could spend some time together, but if you want me to go..." he suggested, unsure of how to react to her flustered behaviour."Just calm down, I'm not gonna try to dominate you, unless you ask, in that case, I would do so gladly." he remarked with a sly grin.

"What?! I- I- You- I'm not- I don't- I just..." Hazel gave up on finishing her sentence, her face reddining much more then it had before. Where's Solanne when you need her... she thought glumly to herself. If there was anyone that could extricate her from this awkward situation, it was her sister. Hazel was angry, upset, and absolutely infatuated with the boy that was so much like her all at once.

"Look, I'll make it simple, do you want me to get a separate room and leave, yes or no?" he asked simply, sighing and running a hand through his hair, then raising an eyebrow at her.

"No! No, no, stay, please... I-" She cut off her sentence again. Atros, why do I have to be so bad at this? "I just, I've never really... you know, I've lived most of my life locked up away from other people... this is kinda hard for me..." She sighed with frustration. She was not the Hazel Daphiat she knew, but someone else. She was used to being a fearsome tormenter, but now she was just some hormonal teenage girl that was constantly shy, nervous, and lost for words.

"Okay then, I'm staying. Simple, right?" he stated rather than asked. "Yeah, I get that, I'll try not to be overbearing." He chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Oh! Should I put my shirt back on? I can see how you might feel awkward."He raised an ebon eyebrow at Hazel as he asked. "Uh, do you want me to sit on the floor?" he asked further, wanting to make her comfortable.

Hazel nodded, "Yeah, yeah, sure." She said happily. She was starting to feel a bit more comfortable. Just saying how she felt made it kinda easier, her internal panic slowly dropping.

"So, Hazel, seriously, after all this monster slaying business, what are your plans?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead. "Cuz, I kinda got nothing, nobody, so if you could incorporate me into whatever they are, that'd be great, you're the only I can relate to here." he remarked, then shrugged, "I don't wanna seem weird or clingy or anything." he sighed frustrated frustratedly, running a hand through his hair.

Hazel was a bit suprised. She didn't really peg Harley to be the type to look for companions- more the sort who would fade into mystery after their venture ended. "Well, if you really want to, sure, you can come along... but I don't really have much of a plant, to be honest... I don't think I'll go back to the Sky Kingdom, there's not really a whole lot for me there, but beyond that? I have no idea."

Harley nodded, cracking his neck as he thought for a moment. "I have a bad feeling about Emerald Wyvern." Harley said, his tone grave. "I feel like him and his morals are going to get in the way, especially after that stunt he pulled, that was an offensive act of defiance. He was making a statement." Harley chewed his lip more aggressively, tapping his foot."I'm not saying we should go against a powerful, useful teammate, however, we should certainly be careful."he concluded, shrugging as if he'd expected to say more, but realized that's all there was.

Hazel shrugged. "I'm just going to leave him alone. If he tries anything stupid, I'm not too concerned. We can make it by without him. I don't care if he want to kill himself healing some villager, I think you might just be reading too much into it. Just let bygones be bygones." She said flatly.

"If you say so." he replied, he felt strongly about it but didn't feel like arguing with her, though had it been anyone else he might've pursued an argument."We probably ought to get to bed soon, don't you think?"he raised a brow at the girl.

"Yeah, I suppouse so." She said, falling back against the bed. "I am pretty tired after today." She said, yawning.

Harley teleported under the bed as she yawned, smoke rising on either side then dissipating. "Careful, there's a monster under your bed." he remarked as he got comfortable on the ground.

She sighed, getting under the covers. "Very funny." She said sarcastically. The bed was pretty uncomfortable, not exactly what she was used to, but it was at least better than the ground. She tried her best to get comfortable, closing her eyes.

[TheWendil]

Solanne sighed as she lay down in her designated bed at the inn. Things were finally winding down after their little expedition earlier in the day. Everyone else had wandered off into their own little corners and she was left to her own devices once again. Dinner and bed, that was her life these days.

“Not that I can complain too much,” she said aloud to herself. “This gig isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be honestly. Still wish I was back home though.”

That brought a grin to the Crimson Hound’s face. Crossing her legs and folding her arms behind her head, she stared at the ceiling in silence now. Yes, the children at the orphanage were always happy to see her. Especially…well, best not to think about that right now, lest she keep herself awake all night along.

Chuckling, the redhead slowly closed her eyes and let sleep take her at last. Before she passed out, she had a brief thought about Hazel and Harley. No doubt the Black Devil would try something on her little Spell Spitter.

“Eh, I’ll let her handle it herself,” she mumbled sleepily. “She’s a big girl now…”