One Month PriorThe next morning came, and The Babettes, minus Amadeus, gradually found themselves awakening. It didn't take long for Allush to find the stragglers and awaken them. As the group assembled he briefly addressed them. “It is far past time we returned to the camp; it is likely Gregorias has another mission for you, heroes.” He chided gently. “If you wish to eat breakfast be quick about it, after all, monsters do not slay themselves. We leave on the hour. I have already told Amadeus all of this earlier.” With that, he left The Babettes to their own devices, preparing their mounts.
Solanne woke up hearing that, of all things. Another call to get up. Well she supposed that if the others weren't sleeping in, she might as well follow their example. When she arrived at the inn's small mess hall, she was still yawning and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"You'd think we'd get some better hotel service after slaying that thing yesterday, ya know," she muttered before another yawn overtook her words.
Hazel was certainly not easy to awaken. She very nearly burned Allush in a fit of aggressive sleepiness. She left the room, not waiting for Harley to awaken from his strange spot under the bed. She was, however, certainly surprised that he hadn't tried anything last night. She yawned, eyeing Solanne as she entered the room. "You should just be happy we didn't have to pay them." She said, smiling at her 'sister', having sorely missed her yesterday.
"Oh, hey there Spell Spitter," Solanne commented idly. "Ya know, I didn't see you much yesterday after the Searzon fight. Not only that, but holy crap, are you actually smiling at me?"
Confusion became replaced with a smug smile as the Crimson Hound closed the distance between them. Wrapping an arm around the other girl, she brought her face close so they couldn't be overheard.
"So? What'd you do last night?"
Hazel shook her head. "He actually didn't try anything, we just... talked. I'm actually kinda surprised he didn't do anything." She said, her cheek a light pink. "But, y'know, it was nice." She concluded.
Solanne blinked. Well she hadn't expected
that. Still, it confirmed that the affection between Hazel and Harly was real, at least for now. So now the Crimson Hound nudged the other girl with her elbow.
"Oh? No specifics like a romantic dinner?
"Well, I mean, yeah, we did have dinner... it wasn't exactly romantic but... just, it wasn't anything like that..." She paused momentarily, "Anyways, we should get breakfast, Allush sounded like he wanted us to hurry."
Harley suddenly teleported right next to the girls in a burst of smoke that quickly dissipated. "Hey." he remarked calmly.
"Ever hear of personal space?" Solanne asked, grinning as she wound up a fist for Harley's chin.
"Someone feeling a bit moody? Is it that time of the month?" Harley taunted as he stepped back a bit.
An aura of fire radiated off of the Crimson Hound with the intent to make the Black Devil back off a bit. Once he did, the flames dispersed and Solanne placed her hands on her hips.
"Naw, I just don't take too kindly to nosy rats with wings, ya know?"
Hazel shook her head at the two. "You two better stop, or I'll hurt both of you." She said flatly, taking a seat at one of the inn's many tables. She searched for one of the serving girls, demanding breakfast from them.
"I don't even -got- wings." Harley mumbled before teleporting over to Hazel's table and leaning on it.
Solanne only snickered as she took a seat at Hazel's table too, glad that she had ruffled the boy's feathers a little. Oh wait. As he had said himself, he didn't have any. She leaned back on her chair, hands clasped behind her head before saying, "Love you too Spell Spitter."
Amadeus walked into the room, bags under his eyes and looking as though he could kneel over any minute. He had spent the whole night searching and asking around about "Arthurs Blacksmith" to no avail, it was like the store had completely disappeared. He sat down at the table, "Can I get a coffee?" He asked the waitress who complied. "Mornin' everyone, what did I miss?" he asked.
Hazel sighed, "Nothing important, don't worry." She said, her breakfast arriving. Bacon, eggs, toast, fairly standard fare, but very appetizing nonetheless. She began to voraciously dig in.
He looked to Solanne for conformation, or a witty reply. Whichever came first.
Solanne shrugged.
"Got your average three day balance right there. Better dig in Sword Slicker."
Amadeus nodded and began to eat some of the assorted food on the table.
Solomon walked into the room and took his place at the table, and picked up his utensils. "I have seen to that the horses are ready to leave, as well I have arranged for provisions to be ready as well." He said before he began eating his breakfast.
Harley smirked at Solanne."Hey, Solanne.." He said sweetly."I hate your soul, you know that, right?"
"Love you too Junior," Solanne answered right back with a wink. She was going to say more when a waitress came by to deposit her food along with a letter of sorts. Raising an eye, the Crimson Hound looked up questioningly. Before she could ask though, the waitress was already walking away.
Hazel's eating slowed, and she glowered at Solanne, beginning to sulk quietly over her and Harely's 'flirting'.
Solanne wasn't paying attention to her "little sister's" glaring, picking open the letter to see who would want to send her anything, let alone mail. Reaching inside though, the Crimson Hound froze up as something small and cold brushed against her fingers. Immediately she retracted her hand away from the envelope, already having a good idea of who sent the letter. And what the item in said letter was.
For once, the Crimson Hound was not smiling.
Curious, Solomon reached over and picked up the letter, tipping the parcel over. He let the item fall onto the table in front of him.
"H-Hey, who told you to read other people's mail?" Solanne said, though no amount of words could stop the item from rolling out of the envelope, leaving behind a trail of red.
Raising an eyebrow, Solomon answered, "Yes, because tapping an object onto a surface counts as reading. Truly you are a paragon of education, Hound."
Solomon's sarcasm was lost on the Crimson Hound as something small and spherical squelched onto the table. The severed eye stared at them all unblinking, the blood diluted and watery. The iris was a nice shade of green though no one would be admiring it for quite some time.
Chuckling nervously, Solanne quickly snatched the organ up before anyone else could see. Now she really needed to see the letter and made no hesitation to take the paper out and read carefully. What her eyes scanned made her sigh in anxiety.
"Well....that figures."
Solomon's face became like stone at the sight, the growing blood spot on the table cloth growing slowly. Catching Solanne's eyes, Solomon stared impassively at the fidgeting woman. "Care to explain your self
Hound?" Solomon whispered threateningly.
Solanne shrugged again.
"Well...uh, don't freak out, but apparently we've been watched for the last two days by someone with...er, odd tastes in hobbies?"
"HaHa! What? That's neat." Harley remarked.
Amadeus, betraying his character, stayed indifferent at the sight of the eyeball rolling on the table.
'That's not a human eye ball.' he thought still half asleep. He wanted to confirm his hypothesis but Solanne had already hid said sphere. "What kind of odd tastes?" asked Amadeus.
"You really don't wanna know," Solanne said, placing the letter away in her pocket. "But I get the feeling you'll find out soon...in like, a few seconds."
Hazel raised her attention from her meal.
Huh, an eyeball, neat. She said, forgetting her anger over the flirting. She shook her head at Solomon, "I don't really like your tone,
Wyvern." Now she was speaking threateningly. She certainly wasn't going to abide him threatening her sister.
Harley, noticing Hazel's irritation with Solomon took it as a chance to be a dick without getting called out on it. "Yeah, me neither." Harley gave Solomon a wide-eyed look, keeping his hands by his hilts.
Amadeus looked at Harley, noticing the piggy back he did but said nothing.
'I still wanna know who this person is, I really wanna know where they got the monster(?) eye from and how they were able to remove it so perfectly without injuring the eye.'"Ah, it's really easy when you know how to remove the skin first. Things like that always get in the way when you're trying to make art."
Solanne groaned as the voice made itself known. She didn't need to turn to see the young girl standing before her. Dark hair, red eye, and an eye-patch covered the other. Coupled with the dress, one had to wonder why the girl was associating herself with a couple of warriors like them.
"Er, Marianne? What are you doing outside of the orphanage?"
"Aha, I wanted to visit you big sister! Oh! Apologies," she said, noticing the others with a small bow. "Hello big sister's friends. It's very nice to meet you all."
At least her manners were superb.
Amadeus looked at the now addressed 'Marianne', "Good Morning miss" he said with a small bow, still half asleep.
'Eye Patch?' he thought but didn't say, wanting to be polite.
"Hello Mister Short," said Marianne, reaching into her dress pocket and handing Amadeus a severed finger.
Solomon ignored the two younger members of the team, he turned towards the voice, gripping his weapon in case he had need of it. "Acquaintance of yours Hound?"
"Hello Mister Beard," said Marianne, reaching into her dress pocket and handing Solomon a few teeth.
Harley eyed the newcomer. "I can be your daddy if you'd like." he said, smirking at her.
"Hello Mister Try Hard," said Marianne, reaching into her dress pocket and handing Harley a bloated nose. "You already got my gift, right big sister? Your eyes are still so A.M.A.Z.I.N.G."
"Um, yeah. I got your gift Marianne."
Hazel scanned over the new girl.
She... she's... Hazel bolted up from her seat. She ignored the fact that she called Solanne big sister and Harley's not so subtle flirting. She dashed across the table at the girl, moving her face close up to examine her.
She's... "You're... you're perfect..." she said quietly.
I can tell... she's like... me. Harley died a little internally as he was rejected twice in one fell swoop.
"Oh thank you" Amadeus inspected the finger, checking for blood spatter pattern around the finger.
'Dead for at least an hour before cutting off. Very efficiently I might add' he examined
"Oh my. It's very nice to meet you too Miss Faker," Marianne said happily. "And...your eyes are kinda cute....can I take them when you eventually die in battle Miss Faker?"
Leaning his glaive once more on the table, Solomon facepalmed in exasperation, mumbling out loud, "Dear Atros, there's two of them now." Before moving his hand to massage his temples, "What have I done to deserve this, Oh Almighty?."
Looking down at the teeth, he found that they were nearly perfectly intact, and ranged from incisors, to canines, to the molars. Placing the "gifts" in a napkin, Solomon placed it in front of him/
Hazel blushed.
My eyes are cute! she thought excitedly to herself. "I- I-I yes, of course, I don't think I'll need them after that..." She moved her face closer to the girls ear, whispering to her, "Do you think... if you die, do you think I could burn your corpse?"
Harley glanced around and then suddenly teleported to some unknown location
"Oh no. No, that won't do Miss Faker. You see, I haven't arranged for my body to be dealt with when I die. Maybe I should donate it for science? Or for art? But no, I can definitely say for sure that you will die before me."
Solanne chuckled as Harley pretty much abandoned this conversation. Good, since Marianen hadn't even mentioned the cannibalism yet.
"So you came all the way out here just to visit me?"
"That's right big sister!"
Hazel shook her head. "No, no, I can say quite for sure I have no intention of dying so soon..." A thought suddenly crossed her mind, "So... wait, if you're Solanne's sister..." Hazel turned her face towards the older girl, "Does that make us sisters by proxy?"
Marianne giggled airily.
"Of course not. I came here to kill you Miss Faker.
Would you prefer me to hang you by your intestines or replace all the blood in your body with acid?"As she said this, the dark mage's hands began to glow a deep purple. Solanne sighed, really not wanting to get involved in her surrogate sister's demented games. If these could be considered as games.
While events transpired, Amadeus was staring at the cup of coffee in front of him, almost calling for his so he could rejoin the others in the world of awakeness. He downed the whole thing and slammed the cup down, feeling the effects immediately before he began to assess the situation. He looking down at the severed finger in his hand. Then at the other body parts scattered around the table. THEN at the fight was about to break out. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" he yelled as he jumped out of his chair.
Hazel looked at the girl curiously. "I don't quite follow. Why exactly are you trying to kill me?"
Letting Emerald Wyvern's magic flow through him, he forced the power through him, expelling into the surrounding. The table began splintering, and the building began to rumble down to the foundations. As the room began shattering under the force, Solomon bellowed
"BOTH OF YOU SIT THE FUCK DOWN! FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL BE MET WITH ME BOOTING YOU THROUGH THE FUCKING ROOF." Letting the power ebb away, the building no longer felt as if it was in the middle of a 3.0 magnitude earthquake, and the room had quieted down, Solomon glared at the group.
Needless to say, most of the mess hall glanced up from their meals, some even ready to kick Solomon himself out for disrupting the peace.
Solanne winced at the loud yelling emitted by the Emerald Glaive, though she doubted such a tactic would work on a broken mind like Marianne's. And she was right as the young girl only sighed in response.
"Yes, you're quite right Mister Lungs. Another time then, yes? Ooh, but you have a lovely scream Mister Lungs. Can I have your vocal cords when you die? I
P.R.O.M.I.S.E to put them to good use."
Hazel sighed. She was starting to get angry with Solomon. "Please, Emerald Wyverm. I'm in the middle of a conversation, do try to use your inside voice." She said sarcasticly. She shook her head, turning her attention back to the newcomer, "So, please, tell me why you want to kill me?"
"Isn't it simple?" Marianne asked politely. "You stole big sister from me. I've been watching you for the last few days. Did you know you only breathe out thirty times a minute when you're sleeping?"
Amadeus looked at the damages to the building, then back at Solomon. "Solomon, maybe you should sit this one out. I don't think violence really works against people as crazy as Marianne (And Hazel, and Harley)." He says in a pleading way
Shaking his head in disgust, both at himself and his group, Solomon walked over to the counter, with the room parting away from him. Reaching the cowering innkeeper, Solomon pulled out his coin bag, which itself weighed 30 lbs, and placed it on the counter. Bowing low, Solomon began apologizing, "Most sincerest apologies, master of this establishment, I lost control of my temper momentarily. This bag contains enough gold should be enough ot cover the repairs..." Turning around, Solomon once more sighed and face palmed.
Hazel leaned into the girl. She was
really getting angry. Angrier then she had been in the past week. This girl may be completely perfect, but she would not abide by her threatning her relationship with Solanne. Hazel whispered in the girl's ear, low enough so no one else could here, "If you try to mess with me and Solanne I will kill you... I'll start with your eyes, since you seem to like them so much. Or perhaps I should say your eye... yeah, did you know that inside your eyeball this fluid? It has a lovely odor when you boil it. After your eyeball bursts, I'll light that pretty black hair of yours on fire. As tempting as it would be to light you up like an Atros day tree, instead I'll let you live out your miserable life, blind, covered in burns, and bald." Hazel was definitely fuming by now. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to go for a classic put-down, insulting people's disabilities, with the added benifit of mimicing the name's the girl herself labled the group with. "Miss Eye Patch."
Solanne immediately tensed, already moving to Hazel to whack her. She probably should have mentioned the eye-patch and that was a grave oversight on her part. Before Solomon could do anything though, the Crimson Hound cast a look that could sear a wall, telling him to back off and not interfere. None of them knew how to handle Marianne, and they would only make things worse. So for now, she silently told the Emerald Wyvren to wait.
Marianne’s entire composure froze up and she turned slowly towards the other girl.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice tense.
The smile remained plastered on her face, though now it seemed one of intense cruelty and mistrust.
“You mean this?”
She pointed towards her eye-patch. Right now, she didn’t care about the fact that she was in the presence of others. To hell with the others! To hell with them all! To hell with everyone! All that mattered was that this girl,
this one girl had noticed it.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself. “It’s nothing....ahha, nothing. Nothing.
N.O.T.H.I.N.G. Pay it no mind, yes? Ahaha, I said pay it no mind! Stop it…you’re still looking at it….why are you looking at it…I said stop looking at it!” she exclaimed, her voice slowly rising in pitch.
“Pay it no mind I said. Pay it no mind.
S.T.O.P. L.O.O.K.I.N.G. A.T. I.T. Ahaha, stop it, stop it, stop it or I’ll do something! I’ll do something nasty! Just pay it no mind! Pay it no mind I said!”
She clenched one hand while the other rested gingerly on her eye-patch.
“Ahahha! What are you looking at? I said pay it no mind, right?
Riiiiiiiiiiight? Stop it! Ahaha, stop it, or [i][b]I’ll find the highest point of this building and hang you with your own entrails for the people down below to rejoice in consuming your flesh."[/i][/b]
All traces of thought or reason were lost on her, though she made no attempt to lash out with magic.
"Heh....ahahhahhaha! P.A.Y. I.T. N.O. M.I.N.D."The Crimson Hound quickly plunged a burning fist through the breakfast table even as the inn shook, giving the eye-patched girl another burning look. The dark mage seemed to pause, blinking as she watched Solanne, before sighing.
"Ah. Yes. Well, heh, apologies then."
If they weren't getting kicked out before, they were definitely getting thrown out now. Solanne leaned back in her chair, casting Hazel another look, before sighing.
"Sorry about breakfast," she said as the table pieces lay scattered on the ground.
Amadeus watched the girls outburst, feeling a sense of sadness at the sight. Something must have happened to the girl, something really bad if it caused a reaction like that.
Sighing into his palm again, Solomon walked outside, and brought back in another 30lbs bag of gold, before bowing once more at the owner. "I wish to apologize for my comrade's behaviour. take this additional bag of gold as a sign of my sincerity." he said, placing the gold on the counter next to the original, before continuing, "This is not a bribe, as you are not required to forgive us and the coins will still be yours. Once more I beg of your forgiveness to me and my comrades. You have treated us well, while we have only repaid with damages and grievances." Solomon finished, still bowing.
Amadeus' sweat dropped at the second bag of money on the counter. Did this happen often? because it seems like Solomons weirdly prepared for it.
Hazel glared at the girl. There was no doubt... this girl was perfect, and she absolutley hated her guts. Hazel giggled, turning to Solanne, "Why haven't you introduced us before? She's so... adorable." Hazel said happily. She had gone for zero to a hundred and back to zero very quickly.
One could argue that Solanne had befriended Hazel in the first place because of her similarity to Marianne. That in itself was a scary though for the redhead to ponder. Marianne smiled softly with a tilt of her head.
"You're funny Miss Faker. When you die, I'll be sure to use your eyes for something really special. Besides, I'm interested in someone else's pair," she said, casting a glance at Amadeus. "Can I take your thumbs when you die Mister Short?"
Amadeus took a step back for a second but thought about what she was actually asking, "Ummm, Maybe? Depends, are you still going to try to kill my teammate there?" He said pointing at Hazel. In all honesty, He was totally fine with her taking his thumbs, he was planning to leave his body to science anyways but the chance to keep one of his teammates from burning the whole town on fire was more then a good reason to start a bargain.
"Only if she starts spouting nonsense again. Honestly Mister Short, I'm a lady above anything else," Marianne replied. "I might take some more parts though. How do you feel about having your brain replaced with a snake? Or having your clothes melted into your skin?"
"Well than, as a lady I hope you don't mind if I ask a couple of questions. So, am I dead or alive? What will you do with my brain? Are my clothes going to become a layer of skin, or infused with my skin?" He asked sincerely with a smile. Despite the shear insanity of the subject, the scientific, analytic side of his mind was starting to get fired up at the mention of experimentation.
"It'll be funnier if you're alive," Marianne said with a tilt of her head. "Your clothes will become infused as a new layer, I think."
The dark mage crossed over to get closer to Amadues, hand reaching out to carefully poke his bangs and where his eyes should be. She repeated the action, poking in interest and showed no signs of stopping.
"Poke. Poke. You have some soft eyes Mister Bangs. Poke. Poke. Can I H.A.V.E. them?"
Amadeus's strangely silver eyes became visible for a split second, almost glowing when light hit them, but he combed back down his bangs with his fingers to hide said eyes. "U-umm, I'm a little sensitive about my eyes." he said. "My eyes are a little
special."
"Oh that's why I must have them when you die!" Marianne said with a soft smile. "I'll be sure to use them for all sorts of things! New spells, breakfast recipes, scaring Mister Try Hard when he's sleeping."
As she said this, the girl continued to poke Amadeus's eyes. Whether the boy would blink to avoid being jabbed in the eye or do something about it was up to him.
Amadeus gently grabbed Mariannes hand and brought it away from his eyes, "The thought of using my eyes for magic is actually a pretty interesting idea." He hesitated to continue to talk, wondering if it was ok to talk about the background of his weird eyes. "My eyes are actually blessed in a way." he said as he smiled down at the girl.
"Does that mean I can have them N.O.W?"
Without waiting for an answer, Marianne's hand began to glow with a dark purple energy. Smile never wavering, she lashed out with the other to attempt to constrict around Amadeus' throat with the intention of holding him down. The other hand slowly lowered to pluck her prize.
Hey, he wanted to flirt with the psycho, right? He was only getting what he bargained for. Too bad Solanne was being bothered by another helpless lunatic to worry about him.
Amadeus quickly grabbed the arm holding his neck, "
Dimissus!" he said as the hand was forcible opened by the chant. He skipped backward a couple feet, "Sorry Miss Marianne, but as a lady I expect you to fufill your side of the deal as well. When I die, you can have my eyes."
"Aw..." Marianne said with a frown. A frown that was soon replaced with a cheery smile before saying, "Alright Mister Ama. I'll be sure to kill you quickly then when the time comes...hmm...Ama, Ama, yummy, tasty, Ama...."
Amadeus chuckled at this, her happy attitude was very refreshing, It was so natural and honest. "Well then, if you call me Ama, may I call you Miss Mari?" he paused for a second, "And please don't kill me to soon, I actually have some things I need to do."
"No promises," the girl said with a light giggle. "It's so nice to meet new F.R.I.E.N.D.S."
Amadeus smiled before having an idea, grabbing a pouch to his side, he opened it to reveal a rather large tooth, "A present at our new friendship, a Searzon tooth."
The Corpse Collector set her gaze on the tooth, reaching out to take the gift. As she did so, a brought it close to her and smiled, a small streak of red crossing her cheeks.
"Heheh....now I have to kill you S.L.O.W.L.Y....."
Amadeus raised an eyebrow, "Okay? Well since you gave me such a wonderful gift before, I thought it only natural I do the same" referring to the finger currently lying on the table.
"You're such a nice boy," Marianne said kindly. "I'll have to be sure to sell your organs to help fundraise this monster slaying cause of ours."
Moving faster than expected, Marianne reached out and latched onto Amadeus' arm. She rested her cheek there, smirk turning soft as her one eye narrowed. Her grip was like iron and she held onto the boy possessively. Solanne couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. There would be no help from her when it came to Marianne's latest obsession.
Hazel watched the pair wide eyed. This girl really was absolutely amazing in Hazel's mind. She decided to not interrupt the pair's back and forth, not wishing to disrupt her. Instead Hazel tiptoed towards Solanne, whispering in her ear low enough for the others not to hear. "Solan- I mean, uh,
sister, can you... do me favor?" Hazel's face was now dominated with a seemingly wicked smile.
"If you want me to set you on a date, then no can do Spell Spitter," Solanne said with an amused smirk. It wasn't the first time someone had fallen for the dark mage. Really, if one disregarded the eye-patch, she was kinda cute. Actually, really cute. Course, relationships weren't exactly Marianne's storngpoint since all of them ended up with a limb being used as a kitchen utensil in some way. That, and the girl saw dates as candidate hunting for experiments.
"Besides, Marianne can't comprehend affection," she continued. "Fawn all you want, unless you have really good eyes, you're not hitting anything past a friend at most."
"She said my eyes were cute." Hazel stated glumly. "C'mon, can you at least help us be friends? Please? Pretty please?"
The Crimson Hound shrugged. She had gone through this routine before and one more time wouldn't hurt. So she turned to her other "sister" now with that wide grin she was known for.
"Alright, sure. I'll try to see what I can do. No promises now. I've known her since...well, a long time. Let's just say, no matter what you think, that girl's mentality is way more unstable than yours. Trust me on this. Hell, I don't think she even has a mentality anymore. She'll break your heart without even realizing it. Er, I mean that literally and figuratively."
Hazel shrugged. "Don't worry Solanne, I'll think I can manage." She said placidly.
Amadeus, not feeling the danger of being branded Marianne's newest 'obsession', looked over to the other two girls. "See, now that we are all friends and no one wants to kill anyone (Except Marianne to Amadeus, Solomon to Harley, Harley to Solomon, and Hazel to a lot of people) I think we should start heading back to camp." he said.
'Solomon's probably tired of waiting for us.' he thought as he again looked at the two huge bags of money, "Wasn't Solomon a soldier? how did he get that kind of money?" he asked but didn't really expect an answer.
Solomon had left the building shortly after apologizing, and was waiting in the front with the horses. After waiting for the group to leave the building, the man began to do push-ups on the porch. He slowly moved from the basic position to more and more difficult positions. Currently, Solomon was in a one-handed planche position, pushing up slowly. Exhaling slowly, Solomon began to feel himself calm down as his muscles pulled and shredded themselves. Wiping the sweat form his face with his free hand, Solomon saw Solanne exit the inn and posistion herself in front of him
Leaving the two "love birds" to themselves, Solanne let Hazel fawn after her teenage crush and walked over to check on the only other adult in this merry group of theirs. She had to admit, it was pretty impressive of him to exercise like that. Not by much, but it was something to behold.
"Sup Tall Beard," she said, resting on one of the porch posts. "You done showing off?" posts. "You done showing off?"
Putting his other arm down, Solomon placed his legs back down and pushed himself up into a standing position. "I was waiting for the rest of the group Solanne, and i was exercising to keep myself busy." Solomon answered. Looking through the window at the younger members, Solomon asked the woman in front of him, "So how do you know Marianne? She doesn't seem to be someone who you would associate with."
"Jeez, nothing gets past you," Solanne sighed. "See, I work at an orphanage. Well, no, it's more like I live there to be honest. Anyway, I found Marianne on the borders between the Sky Kingdom and the Earth Kingdom. She was...er, not right in the head when I found her. Still isn't. She was going around killing everything and anyone that so much as looked at her wrong. Naturally, I used my awesome kid coaxing skills to ensure she didn't eviscerate me on the spot and the rest is sorta obvious. I ended up bringing her to the orphanage with me. No parents, no siblings, no friends. Except the dead bodies she was dragging with her."
Nodding his head in understanding, Solomon replied, "I understand, my family and our servants often adopted the orphans of refugees that reached our castle." Solmon began reminiscing about the two children who he had saved before he was called out to fight the monsters. He wondered how they were faring, before refocusing on Solanne.
"Just one more thing we have in common," Solanne said with a grin. "We both got kid coaxing skills and we both can't stand Junior. Still, Marianne's only given me a brief summary of what happened to her beforehand. As for her eye-patch...she doesn't like to talk about it, obviously."
"In all my years interacting with children, I have never seen anyone act the way she does. This is also with me interacting with children who have watched their parents murdered or enslaved. The only time I have seen such violent and erratic behaviour is in traumatised army deserters." Solomon responded, crossing his arms together in front of his chest.
"Well, she's definitely traumatised," Solanne agreed, her voice getting lower so the others couldn't overhear so easily. "Though I don't think she cares anymore. Apparently the people in her village thought she was a demon because she had interest in the dark arts, including her parents. You can see where I'm going with this. By the time I found her, she was trying to connect the entrails of her neighbors to create...
something."
"And here I thought the Sky Kingdom was the Utopia of Atros," Solomon snarked at the women, "but I guess not all that is white is not pure."
"Gee, you think?" Solanne stated with a slight roll of her eyes. "Conflict exists everywhere Tall Beard, especially in utopias. Long story short, she has trouble getting along with the other children at the orphanage as you can imagine. She's well mannered, but of course no one exactly likes their eyes being taken in the middle of the night."
"I feel sorry for you Solanne, having both Hazel and Marianne wrestling for your attention." Solomon warned, before grimacing at a thought that passed through his head. "Though at least you don't have two rivals that try to start a fight as soon as they reunite with you."
"Heh, I think I'd rather take the two rivals then," she joked right back. "Besides, kids are kids, right? It's kinda my job to make sure they don't do anything too stupid. Though I'd still trade for them over a lonely girl with pyro issues and a giggling apocalypse anyday."
"Perhaps, except for the fact that anyone of our fights could level a small town if we truly put effort into them." Solomon commented, before adding, "Of course, that's when i started my habit of carrying around large amounts of money, after an honor duel with one of them demolished one of the communal baths in the capital."
"Er, do I even wanna know?"
"It involved a box of crumpets, four goats, a whip, and a miniature windmill." Solomon replied to Solanne's question.
"Well. I can see you certainly get into some exotic fights."
As she said this, it looked like the rest of their merry band were finally exiting the inn. At least more than half an hour had to have been spent already, so they should be moving soon. Marianne clung tighter than to Amadeus's arm, wondering the best method to remove said arm. Seeing this, Solanne sighed.
"Should we continue Amadeus' suffering Hound? Or should we spare him at your expense?" Solomon whispered into Solanne's ear as he walked over to the group.
"Eh, the kid needs a girlfriend. And if not, then at least he got a free grave digger. Just don't mention the eye-patch," she whispered back.
Nodding in response, Solomon pointed at Amadeus and Marianne, "Amadeus, since you have appeared to have grown... close to our newcomer, she will be assigned to your horse, as we do not have enough horses for everyone."
"Thank you very much Mister Lung," Marianne said kindly. "I'll make good use of your pancreas when you die in repayment of your generosity."
Ignoring that statement, Solomon walked up to his horse. Putting his foot, into the stirrup, the man pushed himself up onto the saddle smoothly. "Quickly, we have wasted enough time here. The longer we stay here, the fewer beasts we slay."
Amadeus nodded and looked down at Marianne, "Miss Mari, do you want to sit in front or back?"
"Hmm. Perhaps the back? Although it's very kind of you to offer Mister Amadeus."
"No problem" he said as he got on the horse and held out his hand to help her on, "By the way, has anyone seen Harley? I was kinda out of it when he left."
"Probably out getting his wings clipped," Solanne put in as she mounted her horse. Marianne took Amadeus' hand and gripped his body tighter than before, a slight hum in her voice. Yes, it was nice to have friends.
Amadeus sighed at this and then looked around, noticing that Harley's horse, like its owner, was missing. He put his medallion up to his mouth "Harley, I assume that you already left to base camp, I just want you to know that the Babettes + Marianne are about to head out of Laewae and towards base camp." He finished.
Hazel followed the group outside, mounting up. It didn't take long for Allush to return to the group. He momentarily took in the scene of destruction, sighing. He eyed the newcomer suspiciously, "I... will not ask how this has happened, but I trust you've already taken to compensating the innkeep, lest the authorities come after us." He mounted his horse, "I will also not ask about the child you have picked up, although I am sure Gregorias will have questions for her if you're taking her back to the camp."
"Well then, lets hurry. I don't really want to get on Gregoias bad side." Amadeus said as he scratched his cheek.
"Does Mister Gregorias have flammable eyes?" Marianne asked Amadeus.
"Ummm. I think the flamability of his eyes are normal." he answered as his horse began to start moving forward, "Lets head out. I need to get back to meet someone. She gets REALLY mad when you make her wait to long."
Marianne's grip became like iron, digging into Amadeus' shirt as her body suddenly froze up. Solanne noticed the younger girl's actions but chose to not intervene. Cause really, it was funnier that way. Well, at least to her it was.
"She gets mad?" Marianne asked in a sweet voice. "May I ask W.H.O.?"
Amadeus cringed a bit at the increased tightening, "I guess you can say she's my childhood friend, although she's more like an annoying sister. She makes all my armor and some of my equipment for me" he said as he sighed, "I asked her to visit me when I got back so I could give her some material for new armor. If I'm late, she'll use MY hide to make new armor"
"Is that so."
The dark mage said nothing more, simply digging her nails tighter into the boy's shirt. Right then. What was the best way to handle this potential issue? She could turn all of the girl's insides into lightning conductors and go from there. Or she could make her eyes into roaches and have them eat the brain from the inside out. There were so many choices and options for Marianne to consider for this "childhood friend".
"Hmm...she's sounds so nice," she said to herself.
"She's really not" he said with a sigh, remembering the times that she had smacked him over the head for being late, as the group had finally exited the town. "So Mari, where are you from? Are you also from the Sky Kingdom like Solanne?"
"It's not polite to ask a girl such intimate questions Mister Amadeus," Marianne answered with a smile. "That's how people get their skulls turned into flower pots."
Amadeus blushed a bit at the first part, then sweat dropped at the second. "Oh sorry Miss Marianne, I was just curious because I actually used to live in the Sky Kingdom before certain ...
Events transpired and I was forced to move to the Earth Kingdom." He said as he looked forward, remebering said events.
"Is that so? Ah, events are funny like that. Did people die during these events? Were their body parts scattered to the wind with blood staining the ground scarlet? If so...can I have some of them?"
"Someone did die." He said as he looked down and frowned, "Sadly, there was no remains."
"Well that's no fun. Ah, but there's no reason to look upset Mister Amadeus. People die all the time! Usually in very horrific ways these days."
Amadeus felt pure gloom at this, remebering yesterdays events and Harleys view of the world "It's sad, whether it happens a lot or not doesn't change that fact."
"You think it's sad to die?" Marianne asked curiously. "That's sorta funny to think that someone thinks it's sad to think about death."
He rose an eyebrow at this, "Well of course its a sad thing, if someone you knew learned that you died they'd miss you and be sad."
"Hmm. Maybe. Death is a funny thing. No one knows how people feel until they're buried in the ground themself. Don't you think?"
Amadeus looked at the girl. In truth, he KNEW what it felt like to die but chose not to say anything, and looked back forward at the path in front of him, "Maybe," he replied, "So Mari, how long have you known Solanne? You guys seem very close." He said trying to change the subject, it probably wasn't the best idea to talk about the subject of life with someone who was a professinal at collecting dead bodies.
"Hmm, I've known big sister for many years now," Marianne said cheerfully at the change of subject. Her grip significantly lessened on Amadeus' shirt and she cast a one-eyed glance over at the Crimson Hound.
Amadeus smiled warmly at this, "You must really care about her." he said in a soft tone.
"We're I.N.S.E.P.E.R.A.B.L.E."
He sighed and laughed a bit "I wish I could find a special person like that." He said.
'Now I sound like a hopeless romantic. Although, I don't have anyone like THAT either' He thought as he began to ponder about the females he knows. He looked to Hazel, she was admittedly cute, and he suspected that she was a good person at heart but he sensed that the girl had already had her eyes on someone else. He then looked to the girl grabbing onto his shirt. Marianne was cute, she was fun too, and in the short time (extremely short) he's known her he has considered her a very charming individual. He snorted for a second, there was no way he could ever have a romantic partner, his life was to complicated right now for him to even consider having a girlfriend.
"But Mister Amadeus, don't you consider me as someone special to you?"
The notion was laughable. They had literally only met each other for an hour at most, and it probably wasn't a good first impression when the party gifts were severed limbs. Even still, she seemed eager enough. That did nothing to sate the...unnerving look in Marianne's eye. That, and she kept glancing at the boy's bangs, wondering what it would feel like to pick his eyes like ripe berries.
Unconsciously, her hand began to glow in power once more. Reaching over, she decided to fulfill her curiosity with the easiest route. After all, no one really needed their eyes to live. Losing one wouldn't be so bad and once one got over the screaming and writhing, the pain was a bit easier to deal with in hindsight.
"Aren't I
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.?"
Amadeus, sensing the magic exerted, shifted so that the demon sword Pride's hilt touched Marianne, and her hand stopped glowing immediately. He then removed a hand from the reign of the horse and grabbed Mariannes hand before she could do anything, an event that would seem to definitly become a common occurance. "I think that this is the begining of our friendship, and that it will definitely grow into something very special between us.''
Marianne twitched sligtly as he used the demonic sword to cancel out her powers.
"Aha, that's a neat trick Mister Amadeus! Do it again, and
I'll rearrange your arteries with your skin."
"Yes, yes Miss Mari, I promise I won't do it again unless you try to break your promise again." he said with a smile.
"No guarantees," the mage said with her same smile.
"Well then 'No guarantees.' then" He said mimicking the Corpse Collector.
Solanne watched from afar with mixed feelings. It was like watching some kind of demented flirting session and she found herself wanting to watch Hazel and Harley go at it instead. At least then she could make fun of Junior without the risk of losing an eye. With that in mind, she wondered how the Diaphat was handling all this, since she was the one interested in the pint sized psycho in the first place.
Hazel was, as could be expected, sulking in her saddle, glaring daggers at Amadeus.
Pompous 'Prodigy Kid' with your stupid eyeballs. she though to herself. She momentarily considered flicking a fireball at him, but decided against it when she thought about the scolding she would probably recieve for lighting the kid on fire.
Well that answered Solanne's mental question. Obviously the younger girl was still infatuated with her other "sister". Marianne would probably not appreciate her latest obsession being roasted alive though. Then again, she could easily collect Amadeus' remains if that were the case.
Amadeus felt a chill go up his spine as Hazel glared at him,
'How come I feel a cold chill yet I sense the danger of an incoming Inferno.' he thought as he looked over to his other teammates. He saw Solomon in the back, staying behind everyone else. Amadeus slowed down a bit so both his horse and solomon's were parellel, "Miss Mari, you haven't introduced yourself to Sir Solomon correct?"
"Yes I did. Back at the inn, I gave him a lovely gift, didn't I? Even so, it's very nice to meet you again Mister Lungs," Marianne said kindly. "Oh! I have more gifts if you'd like."
At once, she produced a fresh eye from her pocket using her free hand and held it out for Solomon to take. It was covered in dripping blood and other eye fluids and she smiled warmly despite the dissonant sight.
"Please, take another gift. I have plenty to spare. Maybe you can repay the favor by allowing me to study your arteries when you eventually perish in battle? Or how about when you're sleeping? You won't even feel a thing!"
Looking down at the smaller figure, Solomon plucked the eyeball from her palm and brought it to his eye. Shrugging, Solomon pulled out a handkercheif and wrapped up the bloody object before he placed the object in his pouch. "Whether or not you are allowed to do that is dependent on my family's wishes." Solomon answered the girl.
Amadeus chuckled a bit at the interaction. Before he could comment, Allush yelled, "Warriors, a pack of
Amarago's to the south! Their heading straight for us!"
Amadeus turned to Marianne, "Can you let go for a bit? I'm about to jump off." The boy said as he reached for the demon sword on his back.
"I suppose so," Marianne said lowly. She took a few moments more to cling on before slowly letting go.
"Thank you" he said before jumping off the horse, rolling on the ground, and began to run towards the pack of wolf like creatures. "There seems to be around 16 of them!" he yelled as he fully unsheathed his sword and got into a battle stance as the creatures approached.
Thank Atros Hazel thought darkly to herself. She really wanted to burn something that wouldn't get her in trouble, and monsters worked really well for that task. She wordlessly swept off her horse, raising her hand, a fireball forming in her palm. She carelessly lobbed it into the pack, causing a small explosion in their midst.
Seeing the incoming blast, all the wolfs dispersed and began attacking the others in groups. A group of eight attacking those still on their horses and two groups of four attacking the two younger warriors who jumped off their horses
Solomon earged his horse into a leap towards the dismounted warriors, barreling into the pack. Bringing Emerald Wyvern back and forth, Solomon attempted to drive off the wolf like creatures. "Leave these to me!" Solomon shouted, "Go help the others."
Amadeus slashed forward as his group of four Amaragos reached him, "Sorry Solomon, but it looks like me and Hazel are gonna join this fight!" he got into a fighting stance
"IGNIS!!!" he yelled as a fire ball formed next to him, then shot forward, hitting one of the beasts in front of him, knocking them back.
"Don't be stupid Sword Slicker," Solanne called out, galloping next to Solomon and hacking away with her blade. "Jeez, first the overgrown mutt and now these pups. Didn't I tell you already that I'm the only hound around? I'm not bad looking either."
Marianne watched with a look of boredom on her face, still on Amadeus' horse. Hmm. She supposed she should help out her new friends...with a giggle to herself, the dark mage began throwing hex after hex into the pack of wolves, causing one of them to drop onto its side and whimper aloud. Apparently she was making its blood overflow from the inside.
Harley teleported behind Solomon from some unknown location, already running at full speed, he jumped, using the Emerald Wyvern's head to kick off, he launched into the air and spun, coming down with a kick that broke one of the wolves' neck, then dissipating in a burst of smoke.
Hazel renewed her attack, this time not intending to give the quick creatures the chance to dodge. She quickly extended her hand towards one of the beasts, a bold of lightning arching out towards the creature. The Amarago's were certainly swift, but not faster than lightning. The bolt caught the creature, causing it to quickly drop to the ground mid stride.
Harley once again teleported in to view, swords drawn, he came running from behind Hazel, taking a few steps, then teleporting directly under an Amarago in a slide and running a sword across it's belly. Then, in another flash he was by Hazel. "Eh? Eh?" he nudged her arm with a raised eyebrow.
"Very impressive." The girl stated sarcastically. "But I'll show you something much cooler," She said wickedly. She picked out another one of the creatures that Solomon had engaged, and focused for a moment, her hand extended towards it. It took a moment, but the creature paused, before exploding into a red cloud of gore. Hazel was breathing hard now, "I... probably shouldn't have done that."
"Showing off again Spell Spitter?"
Solanne noticed one of the wolves leaping for her. Reining in her horse, she twisted around to deliver a solid kick to the oversized dog. Said kick was a flaming one and she sighed as the thing was lit on fire, the smell of burning fur wafting in the air.
"Dude, you're not supposed to grab the lady until after you buy her a drink," she commented on the burning monster.
Shaking off the sudden blow, Solomon quickly leapt from his horse into a flip. While in the air, Solomon began channeling more power from his glaive making the air around him crackle with his aura. "Steady yourselves!" Solomon warned as he brought his weapon down on the earth. The resounding impact split the earth into a smal furrow, with the earth shattering around him, sending both the animals and earth into the air.
Marianne was no longer lying dormant on the horse. In fact, she didn't really feel the need to help out anymore. Why, when everyone else could potentially level a continent at this rate? So she left the specifics up to them as she crouched near the one wolf that was still spasming on the ground. Humming to herself, she lowered a glowing hand and brought it down to the whimpering creature's snout, fingers slowly crawling up to the eye socket.
Plop.The Corpse Collector was unfazed by the dying sounds the wolf was making as it struggled to claw at her. Nor did the shaking earth seem to deter her from her morbid fascination. Blood was leaking out of the wolf's snout and empty socket, the clear fluids of a freshly plucked eye mixing in with the scarlet ground. She continued on with her work, paying no mind to the chaos around her.
"It's nice to make art," she told herself.
Amadeus got into a fighting stance as the four wolf like monsters surrounded him.
'Amarago's love to jump. So stay low.' he thought as the beasts circled him. The one behind him leapt to bite at his neck but he quickly ducked, letting the beast crash into the one in front of him. "DIE!" he yelled as he jumped up into the air and landed approve the two beasts on the ground, driving his sword through their chests in the process. The other two jumped at him at the same time, which he dodged by quickly rolling under them and span around
"Oh daemonibus non huius saeculi perivimus!", he yelled as he extended his hand at the beasts. At first nothing happened, then the two beasts went wide eyed as they both began to vomit blood and fall to the ground lifeless. "Easy." he whispered as he looked to the others in his group.
The boy looked to the other combatants as they battled their share of the enemies, "And yet compared to them, I'm a weakling." he said as he thought about his strength compared to everyone else
'I guess the only way I can get to their level of strength, is if I use HIM' he thought with a sigh, "But he's almost as bad as Harley."
Hazel turned her attention towards the hounds that Solomon had knocked up into the air. She saw a pretty easy oppritunity to finally kill something with her preferred method
without them dodging. A cone of flame leapt from her hands, enveloping the creatures.
Amadeus stared amazed at the power of the inferno, "Thats is, I need to talk to the bastard." he said with a sigh. "The man who's power can match that of Atros" he said in a whisper so no one could hear.
Solanne scoffed at the fireworks Hazel had made. She could cause something cooler than that if there were more enemies to fry. She idly slashed at another wolf that tried to lunge at her, slicing at its abdomen as she tried to think of a way to top the display off.
Dislodging Emerald Wyvern from the ground, Solomon surveyed the carnage around him. All of the beasts lay dead at the groups feet. Stabbed, incinerated, and butchered, the pile of corpses was an uninteresting sight as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Excellent job, Daphiat, though perhaps next time you could aim a bit higher." Solomon complimented the girl as he brushed soot off his shouler pauldron.
"There's no need to worry Mister Wolf. Your body will help serve the finer purpose of collective science."
Marianne's words of course meant nothing to the scorched thing that was probably dead twice over. This was her fourth corpse in a row and with the battlefield fairly devoid of constant battle, she was making wonderful progress. Soon she got to work on this one as well. A little slice here, a tiny rip there. The eyes though, always found a way in her pocket. The rest of the body needed to be inspected. After all, she couldn't carry the whole thing back to base. If she had more transport then she gladly would. but she doubted her new friends would appreciate the stench.
By now, her hands had been well stained as red as her one eye and she calmly uncoiled the intestines out for her latest query to better inspect. In short, she was studying each individual ridge and bump of the lungs, aorta, and other internal organs. Why? Cause it was funny.
Amadeus sighed at the bloody Marianne, he took out a small cloth from his pouch and held it towards Mari "You should probably clean your hands before we meet Gregoris, I don't think this amount of blood will leave a good first impression."
"Oh thank you Mister Amadeus. Yes, this will do just nicely..."
Misinterpreting his actions, Marianne took the offered cloth and proceeded to wipe clean the various eye balls she had collected over the course of this one battle. She soon handed him back his rag, which was dripping with red liquid and all sorts of undesirables.
He took the rag and covered it up in another rag, making a mental note to clean them both later, and put then back in his bag, "Well I guess that problems done, but where did they come from?"
Hazel cut in. "They're monsters, they were probably... just out... monstering." She said plainly. She walked over to Marianne and peered over her at her handiwork. Butchering was not one's typical arts and crafts hobby, but Hazel hardly disapproved.
"Does it matter?" Solanne put in with a shrug. "Though you gotta wonder, maybe they were being chased by some bigger monster? That's usually how these things pander out."
Marianne looked up and flashed Hazel a wide smile before saying, "Aw, hello Miss Faker. Have you come to help me create my art?"
Hazel glanced at Solanne, "Not our problem, unless Greagoris tells us to take care of it." She said shrugging. She redirected her attention back towards Mari, smiling back at her, "But of course." She said, crouching down next to the girl. "How may I help?"
"Well I can't decide on whether to take the pancreas or the liver," Marianne replied. "I can only have so much room. Would you suggest the entire nervous system instead? Actually, I wish I could take the whole head to make into a nice flowerpot. But choosing can be so A.N.N.O.Y.I.N.G."
Hazel shook her head. "Yes, that is quite the dilemma... I'm afraid I might not be much help, it appears you've far exceeded my expertiese in finding uses for the internal organs of living creatures. If it was my choice, I would probably do something fairly mundane... like, I dunno, make a nice coat out of it's skin..."
"Hmm...maybe....maybe, maybe, maybe...M.A.Y.B.E....I think I'll do that. It's such a wonderful idea! Though big sister says I have enough things made out of skin..."
"A wol- er, 'Amarago' skin coat sounds fabulous to me. I don't know why Solanne has to be so uptight about minor things like the mutilation of dead animals... anyways, you may have me beat in the department of dissection, but if you need any help with your coat I do think I'll be able assist you. I rather enjoy making clothing." Hazel said happily.
"Speak for yourself when those things start reeking up the place Spell Spitter," Solanne muttered, having caught word of their conversation.
"I see. You're very much a kind lady Miss Faker," Marianne said with the utmost warmth in her voice. "When I kill you, I'll do something extra special for you, like turn your corpse into a P.I.L.L.O.W."
Hazel chuckled to herself. "I'm sorry to dissapoint you Mari, but I highly doubt you'll be able to kill me. I'd burn you to a crisp if you even tried! You remember that whole episode in the inn, don't you?" She said, still laughing, "But I don't want to do that, because I've found you to be quite the charming young lady, so perhaps it would be best for you give up on this foolish plan of murdering me."
Marianne twitched slightly, an unnatural thing on itself. Solanne held back a sigh, ready to break up the two if Marianne decided to raise an undead army in retaliation. Thankfully, the dark mage only giggled happily with a tilt of her head.
"Miss Faker sure is a F.U.N.N.Y girl."
Amadeus chuckled to himself 'They seem to be getting along great' he thought as he obviously was misreading the mood. "Miss Mari, can I ask for a favor?"
Marianne turned her twitching head over to Amadeus now, smile still etched into her face.
"Y.E.S?"
"Well I can tell that your carving skills are top notch, so I was wondering if you can make me a coat or something out of all these pelts, I'd actually really like to see how well your armor making skills are." he said as he bent down next to the girl to examine the pelts.
Marianne glanced over at the mangled corpses then to her red stained hands and then back to the boy. She blinked once before a much warmer smile crept onto her face.
"Perhaps Mister Amadeus. That depends on a great number of things."
"Well lets hope all those things work in my favor" he said with a smile
"Indeed, that is the best option," Marianne answered kindly, one-eyed gaze drifting over to the boy's ear. "Don't worry Mister Amadues. I may look calm right about now, but I've already killed you twenty times in twenty different ways in under five minutes in my mind. Isn't
L.O.V.E. wonderful?"
Amadeus looked at the girl next to him, trying to figure out if she was dead serious or joking. Then something clicked in his head and he finally realized something
'This girl is dangerous!' he thought as he finally realized it "Umm, I guess?" he said unsure
Marianne said nothing more, closing the distance between them and latching onto his arm with a death grip. Smiling, she allowed her head to rest in that spot, already lost in her wonderful fantasies of mutilation and murder. And if Amadeues died? Well, she could just ressurect him and the fun could repeat over and over again.
Solomon watched as the girl latched onto the boy's arm, despite Amadeus' obvious and growing discomfort. Decciding to keep an eye on the pair, Solomon looked back at his horse, who was currently lying on it's back from his shock wave. Feeling the horse's pulse, Solomon deduced that the horse was still alive. Placing his glaive horizontally on his lower back, he picked up the horse in a shepard posistion, the walked back to the group.
One might excpect Hazel to be fuming with jealousy over Marianne and Amadeus, but that was hardly the case. It was clear to Hazel that Amadeus would never actually have the ability to reciprocate the girl's obsession, or the motivation to. Amadeus wasn't exactly like Hazel or Harley or Mari, he was still fairly soft. When Solomon arrived with his horse, Hazel cast him an odd glace, "Why exactly do you feel the need to carry it around, Solomon? Just let it rest."
"It is resting, I will be carrying it to the next town." Solomon replied.
Hazel shook her head, glancing at the warrior incredulously, "Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt your strength or whatever, but are you... sure that it would be feasible for you to carry a horse the rest of the way and keep up with us?"
"I ran the distance from my family's manor to the capitol, without my glaive in 3 days, in full armor, to deliver a message. That distance is enough to cover 20 leagues." Solomon replied.
Hazel shrugged. "If you insist, just don't hold us up, I'd hate to be late." Hazel said doubtfully.
Amadeus sighed and walked over to the tallest of the group, Marianne slowing him down a bit. "Just put the horse down and I can heal it real quick." he said.
"Can I take one of its eyes?" she asked, looking up at Amadeus. "I promise it'll go to a good cause."
Solomon looked down at his companion, before replying, "It's not dead yet, so no. And Amadeus, I'm carrying it because it's not any physical condition, it is locked up in panic."
Amadeus nodded in understanding, "If you say so." he said as he, and Marianne by extention, began to walk back to his horse.
And where was Solanne during all of this? Lying underneath the nearest tree of course with her hands behind her head and a slight grin as always. Until Solomon-since he was pretty much the de facto leader-said for them to move out, she'd stay right here under her apple tree....apple tree?
Looking up, the redhead confirmed that it was indeed an apple tree. Well that was convienent. Standing up, she swiftly cut one down with her blade before palming the bright red fruit. Interesting to note as she turned her gaze over to Hazel. An idea formed in her head.
Hazel glanced around, noting that her 'sister' had moved away from the group, having seemingly elected to fiddle around with apples. Hazel shrugged, returning her gaze to Solomon, "So, do you suppouse we should get a move on? I'm sure that the rest of the 42 would frown upon deserters, and the absence of someone as powerful as me will surely be noted soon enough." She said, striding towards her horse.
Shrugging his shoulders, Solomon shouted to Solanne. "Whatever you are doing, are you able to do it in the saddle? We must be on our way soon. And you two," turning to Amadeus and Marianne, and taking care not to smack Hazel with the horse, he said, "Get saddled up, we leave in five."
"Yes sir!" Amadeus said as he looked around
'Did Harley disappear again? Dammit man!' he though with a sigh, the prodigy child wanted to ask Harley for a favor but it appeared that the Black Devil was no where to be seen.
It didn't take long for the group to reassemble. They all mounted, minus Solomon, who's horse was instead mounting him. And so began a long and thankfully uneventful journey back to camp...
