final fantasy//endless abyss

[Captain Glomps]

Seph shook her head trying not to snicker at Chobi strutting past a small band of fellow travellers head held high and eyes clothes."Probably though not likely. I think Alpha has met maybe one of his half siblings then after that had no interest in any of the others. So I guess that didn't go to well. Still enough about Alpha. Theres no hidden family members you need to know about in my family. Just me and Alphas family is the closest I have to a family of my own and his kids are pretty laid back meaning no awkward meetings" she assured him.

Hebal tilted her head towards Jeckhart a second "Yeah yeah theytaught me all about how to take down winged folk. Was probably why they trained me to be a dragoon to deal in general with flying things including angels. But they were mean and I always wanted to leave at first opportunity. So I did meaning no need for any fighting I didn't want to do" she shrugged watching a few of the other rare over night stayers having a go at a darts related sidestall.

"Oh I am not intimidated by that. Trees are actually very nice and not agressive. Or at least the ones in my forest give out a rather pleasent vibe to them and they have never been mean to me or made me feel bad. Unless you have fire cause that hurts the trees." Amane added giving Zadina a thumbs up.  

[lack-of-originality]

Felina got up and bowed to Asule, then hesitated giving Corella the opportunity to copy her behaviour "Thank you for allowing us to look around. We'll behave while we're here I promise. And not do anything to disrupt your camp" she told Asule, before cautiously getting up and leaving with a small sigh of relief.

Corella bowed herself out before hurrying after Felina gllad to be out of the little circle around the fire even if it was colder. "Phew that that pretty intense wasn't it. I hope all things involving negotiations and talks dont have such a frosty atmosphere that isnt related to the weather" she whispered.

Satoshi shuffled into the back of the queue listening for a moment to the instructions as to their role in the parade "Nah some stores sell costumes that people can just buy" she eventually answered pointing out six different people in the same dragon outfit. "I think its just more fun being home made and there is an award for best costume. A little bit of extra spending money in your pocket post festival is always a welcome reward for the creative mind and means If one of these costumes wins I can maybe buy one or two little birthday treats"  

[Pierre42]

Oassu nodded imitating Felina's bow before following smirking once they were out of earshot "Hey don't be too frightened, one day you'll be expected to hold down talks like that on your own Corella" he said giving Felina a peck on the cheek "Well that's certainly quite a sight, for a second I was wondering if Asule was like a pegasus-centaur or something didn't think the demon blood in her would allow her to transcend like Kimino did," he chuckled "Perhaps centaurs are like the offspring of a horse demon and a human or something crazy like that then" he said looking around for a Cid to cuddle.

Gil nodded wiggling the costume into a more comfortable position "I suppose so, and you certainly are a talented artist and a dress designer" he said raising his voice slightly to compensate for the furor of the crowd of dragons somewhat glad of the anonymity his costume provided "But don't feel too bad if you don't get it, while you got your talents I'm pretty sure costumes like this are judged on different criteria than your dresses" he said.

Itaka nodded to the travellers dressed warmly for the weather and waved a hand wishing them seasonal greetings as they passed "Probably heading to the town as well for the festival" he said once they had passed the travellers "Still yeah did Alpha say he was going to meet one of his kids during the holiday or something?" he asked while Annabell politely admonished Chobi for being so impolite to the travellers.

Jeckhart nodded somewhat sadly "Yes many demons fly and Angels are probably a significant threat to them as they are our biggest advantage we have over them due to the magical properties of them" he said somewhat uncomfortable talking about the clan "Still it is good you got out for sure, your soul must be a very pure light indeed to escape with little repurcussions" he added quietly

Zadina giggled "I do have fire but I'd never use it on trees but trees aren't all that nice, lots of them are cranky and mean and really boring to listen to or so I'm told" he said peeking to see how well the dart-throwers were doing.  

[Captain Glomps]

Seph mumbled a small "show off" to Chobi before giving her a slight nudge to speed up again once the travellers were safely out the way "Yeah he's off to see his daughter Mu wherever the circus has dragged her off to this time. I dont think hes planning on flying on to see Psy afterwards though. Apparently he's too busy with something plus their relationship is a funny on and off thing. Personality wise, you guess he was adopted" she laughed knowing how often the pair used to argue.

"Oh it wasn't easy but I had made a few friends while I was there who would help me out. Turned out some of them were undercover members of the clan so they probably had some sort of inflience on me there. But I wont go into all the details of what happened. There were a lot of fights when they tried to drag me back there out of pride and even now I still have some bother" she sighed glancing over at Amane. "Thats mainly why I can't always be around for parenting stuff"

Amane scratched her head confused by the fact there was a greater cheer for hitting the dart higher up than then center of the target which she thought would have been a miss "well what dom you think based on the trees you have seen not on what you have heard. And in the trees defence they can't move around or anything so are probably limited on what they can tell you"  

[lack-of-originality]

Satoshi gasped faking shock at Gil "Are you trying to say that my costumes arent as good as some of the ones up there. So long as the winner actually made their own costume rather than just bought their way to the title I would be satisfied. Though I think I made you into a rather dashing dragon that all the lady dragons would like. Also the instructions are to follow them, keep to the center of the street and keep a sensible distence from eachother with smaller costumes at the front and the larger ones at the back so we will have to move."

Corella felt herself blushing and quickly looked around searching for a newish subject "Well I guess if its always going to be that scary I'll have to take someone like Nares or Dysocu with me who seem to have no bother stamping down their authority. But centuars... did they come from fiends or horses or a bit of both? They are confusing me already."

Felina smiled returning the kiss before linking arms with both Oassu and Corella "They are an unusual bunch for sure but we would have to ask them to know more if they even do. Though centuars are mostly meant to be seers according to the old stories so I'll bet they know more about the future than the past" she pondered thinking of her old storybooks.  

[Pierre42]

Gil chuckled wishing he could cuddle Satoshi in his costume settling for a nuzzle instead "Well so long as I look great and dashing to ou I will be happy but lets shuffle onto the back, it's getting crowded enough here as it is" he said noting several other big dragons including one with multiple people in it moving along the side to the back.

Oassu scratched his head retrieving Cid from Felina for a cuddle hoping he'd calmed down a bit now "Well I've never heard of seers before but why don't you go about and talk to some Corella? You probably just need to get used to them to lose that shyness of them" he said.

Itaka chuckled "Well I'm sure his son is lovely then if he's a bit different from Alpha that old pervert" he said indicating to Seph they needed to move to the right at the fork ahead "Still lucky Zadina and Hebal getting to see a circus, they'll probably love that knowing little kids and....well Hebal" he shrugged.

Jeckhart sighed slightly tentatively patting Hebal on the shoulder "Well Amane has turned out really well for what it's worth so I'm sure when you do get to be a parent you do a wonderful job, it's common in human cultures for children to resent the parent somewhat if they can't be there but Amane adores you so don't feel bad because you're doing fine" he said not wanting to see Hebal sad.

Zadina blushed slightly "I suppose I may have not fully grasped tree language yet but only a specific sect of Elves actually train to commune with trees but from what I heard they mostly just compare leaves and branches and complain about the wildlife living in or on them" he said.  

[Captain Glomps]

Seph snickered following Itaka's instructions "Yep he sure is a pervert but we still like Alpha all the same. Psy in contrast just gets incredibly shy around women and tried to avoid looking at them as if they would bite him if they did" she compared the two while she wondered if Chobi would be able to learn to walk backwards for fun. "I wouldn't want to be the one keeping an eye on Hebal during a circus for fear I would have to try and stop her crashing onto the stage and joining the show midstage. I have been to that circus before though, its really quite good and the standards are so high being all demons" she added approvingly.

Hebal smiled turning round to give Jeckhart a brief hug seeing what he was trying to do "Thanks though its only cause Amane is such a kind soul or I think she would be rattled. That combined with how she has had a really nice upbringing with my mum. Regardless no need to complain, when she's older and stronger we can maybe spend more time together of she wants... after her pilgrimage"

Amane rubbed her ear but quickly sped up having spotted an older looking cat demon dart across the artifical path made from the placement of the stalls. "You think they are off to where Runide is? But I always assumed thaat tree talking was a natural thing to you elves with them being your ancestors and all"  

[lack-of-originality]

Satoshi nodded trying to nuzzle Gil back only for it to come out more like a headbutt "Well whats not to like about a big dragon with gold and silver sales possibly gold and silver. Makes you look legendary" she laughed following close behind the three man dragon. "They are just doing this so everyone gets their chance to be seen. Otherwise the big dragons would block the view of the little ones. Big ones tend to hog the spotlight"

Felina nodded petting Cid "Well heres the chance to meet people. But Seers... well its a very specific branch of white magic and really hard to master because it involves gaining insight into future events. It was a seer that was used to find out the gender of my new sibling. I dont really know much about it beyond what Adohand mentioned about his training as one though the centuars might say more"

Corella hesitated reluctant to approach some of the centuars "I could try though I dont think they all know our language so conversation might be a bit awkward as a whole." she mumbled smiling at the centuars secretly hoping some would be polite enough to make conversation with them.  

[Pierre42]

Gil nodded shuffling after Satoshi "Sure seems fair after all, some small costumes are going to be equally impressive and it's only fair to give them a chance to be admired too, I'm a large man anyway so I'd hate to block some children who are really trying to be dragony" he said roaring at a set of twins whose mother was helping them get their costume on.

Oassu nodded "Yeah language barriers might be a problem but y'think we could get some food from here somewhere? We didn't really give time for breakfast before we left and that little trek is leaving me a little peckish" he sighed wondering what the Centaurs often ate.

Itaka shrugged "Circuses never really impressed me, I dislike sitting and watching people do things, prefer to get into the action myself," he smirked slightly "I reckon Gilgamesh is probably the same, he says he is on his big quest for excalibur but probably really enjoys the adventure all the same, could easily retire on the fame and rewards he's found in his time" he said.

Jeckhart gasped somewhat surprised by Hebal's sudden hug before returning it slightly "Well I'm sure you helped as well, though yes you certainly could, perhaps you could help her for a bit on her pilgrimage too if need be" he said releasing Hebal as they walked on.

Zadina scratched his head "Well it's easy to listen but it's a distinct practice to speak to trees, we are far evolved from them after all" he said pausing as he spotted the Cat demon running past "I'm not sure...lets go see if we can find her!" he said excitedly hopping almost into a jog before pausing to explain to the others "We're off to find Runide before we leave Cap'n Alpha we'll meet you later!" he said gesturing for Amane to follow before hurrying after the cat demon  

[Captain Glomps]

Alpha chuckled watching amane and Zadina run odd "Ahh kids these days... then again this must still be all new and exciting to them and maybe something caught their interest"he mumbled to himself not to concerned about where they were off to.

Hebal shrugged "Maybe I could a little bit... I guess I dont want to because thats the time when they are meant to develop on their own without parents to become adults and awesomely strong individuals. But I will always be there to cheer her on. She's stronger and faster than even she thinks"

Amane nodded hurrying after Zadina and the silhouette of the demon "Wow those cat demons are fast, maybe they are running towards food or just have early morning energy like mum has" she groaned struggling to keep up as she weaved her way round narrowly avoiding running into people. "Well at least you guys get pleanty time to learn. I just always thought your bond with trees was similar to that of viera but I guess not. That said we're only able to speak to the wood we are born in for some reason"

Seph nodded her head understandingly "Sure if you ask them nicely I bet they could find you a small act in the circus so you arent left out. But I dont mind so much watching people do things I could never imagine doing myself or needing to try. But you never know Gil might want to settle down one day when older and we might one day too. I mean the only reason hes with us really is because of Satoshi. But for the time being I am sure he'll still leave when an opportunity arises."  

[lack-of-originality]

Corella shuddered a little spotting across the camp a small group of individuals appearing to toast something over a fire unsure as to whether it was a rabbit or a squirrel. "I would guess they eat what they hunt and gather like the rest of us. Not vegetarians at least though their meal doesnt look too appetising" she grumbled to used to the finely prepared cuts of meat from the kitchen staff.

Felina laughed instinctively taking the others towards the other fire "Hey dont turn your nose up Corella that squirrel at the end of the day is what you eat on your plate just a bit less presentable so if going out and about will need to get used to that." she pointed out before attempting to communicate with the nearest centuar who looked blankly at her while she waved her hands and pointed.

Satoshi roared happy to have found a reasonable spot in time for the parade to start "Exactly though if we look carefully we might be able to spot Hitomi inside one of those two man dragons. Can't miss her because she'll probably be the only dragon where the back is significantly taller than the head. Tallest one is meant to go at the front but her sister just loves being in the head that much" she snickered on the look out for the hunch back dragon..  

[Pierre42]

Oassu sighed "Can't imagine Cid approves of being here but yeah that quirrel looks no different than most cooked ones, though don't worry Corella I imagine most places you end up visiting will probably really roll out the red carpet and give you the best they can offer" he said sighing at Felina's seemingly futile attempts to communicate.

Gil scratched his head "Uh why? What's so special about being in the head" he asked looking around as well as he could within the costume "What's her little sister like then?" he asked peeking out from under the costume for a second for better vision.

Zadina nodded "Yes I suppose so though many summoners start their pilgrimage's older than she will, King Elorin was a young man when he set off on his supposedly, though yes she's already very inquisitive and energetic like her mother" he said pointing to the kids running off as proof.

Zadina smiled "Yeah you also have an advantage in that you can sense animal's feelings I've seen your mother do it once or twice" he said scooping Merric up when it looked like he was starting to struggle "Still perhaps it's her father and he's playing a game of tig or hide and seek with her?" he said skipping slightly glad the circus was quiet or running like this would be difficult.

Itaka laughed "I doubt I've got quite the skills required to join the circus" he said pausing for a second to remember the directions and brush the snow from his shoulders. "Sorry been a long time since I've travelled to town this way" he said before gesturing the direction they needed to take "Still yeah hope that's not entirely the case, Satoshi might be heartbroken if he leaves, hell she's only got a faint reason to join the group herself" he said.  

[Captain Glomps]

Seph shrugged having already thought about the group a few times "well when you think about it, most of us don't have an exact reason as to why we are still together. In fact the only people with real reason to things right now are Oassu and Felina and possibly Hayate and Zadina too. The rest probably have similar reasons to what I have and thats because I want to be here. Amongst our merry band of misfits" she smiled while she made a mental path of the roads in case Itaka forgot the way back.

Hebal gave a nod still tempted to chase after the two of them "Yeah I know about King Elorin but no offence to Amane or anything but I am pretty sure that he's a lot smarter than her and better at fighting. He was like hundreds of years old when he started and had all kinds of private tuition no viera could imagine getting. But even if she is a young summoner shes still spirited and very likable and theres still so much more room for growth so I bet she'll make top summoner in her own time" she started to ramble proudly.

Amane panted a little only just realising how fast they were running "well we can only see that if the animal wants us to. Cid must be very trusting to let Hebal see his feelings. Merric is a bit reluctant to share things but not very good at hiding feelings yet so it doesnt matter" she answered gasping suddenly at the cat demon starting to ascend the metal tower that formed the height of the rollercoster "Excuse me there could you talk to us for a moment" she called out hoping they were still in hearing range.

The cat demon almost jumped despite his hands kept tightly around the metal bars he was climbing "You want to talk to me meow? The ride wont be open for another two hours or are you two lost" he asked hanging by his back legs now to look at the pair who stopped him"  

[lack-of-originality]

Satoshi laughed spotting an oversized tail across the street but with too many big dragons blocking the path to speak to them before the parade "well the heads are bigger than tails in costumes see. So to make it looks more correct in terms of anatomy. The head person also controls the breast and arms which needs a lot more force" she explained waving her head and arms to demonstrate. "Her sister is cute. Quite good at charming others into getting her own way I warn you though also incredibly clumsy and not the brightest kid out there for sure"

Felina sighed seeing her efforts go nowhere "well this isn't much good, its hard to believe we're making any progress at this rate. And I bet they would think us rude also if we just sat down and hoped for food" she complained ignoring her own tummy rumble.

One of the centuars laughed trotting over to the group somewhat out of pity "You hungry? Everyone get food if want it for hunting is good in this forest. Lots of choices for dinner" she told them trying to be friendly by waving another squirrel still uncooked in their faces causing a small shudder from Corella.

Corella smiled having thought back a small squeak "Thank you miss we'll be happy to share some food with you" she told her privately wondering if she had been watching and laughing at Felina's attempts to comunicate the whole time,  

[Pierre42]

Gil nodded "You've done a pretty good job making these costumes usable by one person, most of the ones back here are multi-man dragons but I'm sure it'll be a funny little dragon with a big tail." he chuckled wishing he could see it.

Oassu chuckled the sight of the uncooked squirrel reminding him of the meals he used to get back in the guild "That would be delicious thanks" he said stretching slightly before allowing Felina and Corella to lead the dialogue "So what kinda things do you think they'll be discussing Felina?" he asked.

Itaka smirked "Well I guess that's fair enough then, provided enough loot anyway in the meantime" he said stopping to check a sign post before nodding satisfied they were heading the right direction "Besides it's nice to have an acquaintence in the Royal Family after all" he chuckled thinking he could have free holidays to Yithra whenever he fancied.

Jeckhart smiled slightly "I'm sure she will and will be a very lucky girl befriending a wealthy young elven noble to help with her journey" he said watching the two kids till they ran out of sight "Alpha where is your daughter at this time of morning?" he asked

Zadina skidded to a halt by the demon "Good idea Amane shouting out to him like that" he praised Amane before placing Merric down on the ground seeing how agitated he was to not be allowed to run "Err no we aren't looking to ride on the rollercoaster" he said shaking his head "We were looking for a young cat demon, named Runide and thought she might be a relative of yours?" he asked.