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"Interesting, we have never been to Mizuho!" exclaimed Kai

Lilith was looking over at Azriel, slightly raising an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Rhone crosses his arms and nods to the group while talking to himself.

"Mizuho, eh? Sounds pretty logical. I go there every couple of years, but for around the last 100 years or so, the chief has been out doing some sort of business every time I visited. Maybe I'll actually meet her this time, especially since she's friends with Lloyd and Colette..."

Max looks at Lloyd and Colette as she holsters her weapon.

"Accidents don't happen with me. If someone's injured or dead, that's what I was going for. Now, I've never actually been to Mizuho myself. Is the fastest route there by land or sea?"

"You seem to be having eye problems, might want to have a look at that" Lilith remarked

"strong chance the girl is possessed..shouldn't take any action 'til im sure though" she thought to herself

"Eye problems? If having fancy eyes is wrong, I don't want to be right!" Eduardo, ever the advocate of exotic features, waved his hand as if dismissing the idea of Azriel's eyes being a problem. Though some mental alarm was going off in his head at the "eye problems", he decided to ignore it.

"Note to self: Fix mental security system." He stood. The others were signaling their readiness, and he didn't want to be left behind. "I don't know about you guys," he said, referring to his fellow therianthropes, "but I'm set to go."

He then set his mind to picturing ninjas in orange. According to this little thought experiment of his, they were also quite stealthy. He didn't get it. He decided to just ask the ninjas how that worked out later.

((I, on the other hand, apologize for this longness. sweatdrop ))

Lloyd turned his attention to Hunter and laughed a bit. "As long as it's a dark color, but I see black more than anything. I enjoy that series myself, but no, it's not entirely an accurate depiction of what the people of Mizuho are like. If it were, Sheena would see to its discontinuation."

Azriel's eyes widened slightly at what Rhone was whispering to her, and she straightened up. "Wh-what??" She fumbled for a bit in her coat pockets until she was able to get out a pocket mirror to inspect the change. Startled, all she could manage to continue answering with at the moment was "Um...um...."

Lloyd nodded at Colette. "Alright, let's—" However, now noticing the attention she was getting, Lloyd looked over in her direction. "Huh? What's up you guys? ...Whoa. I think I agree with Lilith there. I thought it was my imagination last night, but I think your eyes are doing some funky things. Are you alright?" O.o

"I'm fine, I'm fine! It's just uh...." ^_^;; Her nerves were getting shot as, one by one, the rest were noticing and saying things about her eyes.

"Azriel," Eloysio spoke up calmly in her mind amidst her internal panic.

"Huh...?" She stared off into space for a second, then her eyes turned to look out the left corner as if there were someone behind her.

"Chiaro's explained that you're having some trust issues. How about we use this as a stepping stone, a test? Go ahead and speak of me, see how they react."

Her mouth formed a small "o" as she nodded, then she replied, "O-okay... ... ...Wait! I have a better idea! Why don't you introduce yourself? No, it's okay! Really, it...." For the next few moments, she appeared as if she were arguing with an invisible entity, growing a little bit agitated until she stomped a foot with clenched fists. She surprisingly kept a pleasant grin on her face, however. "Eloysio! I trust you! Please, go on!"

"Wha...?" The spectacle Azriel was making made Lloyd simply stare and blink at her in confusion. Then what followed made him do a double-take.

After a nod, Azriel relaxed her body, closing her eyes. She stopped breathing and shuddered for a few seconds. After which, her brow furrowed, and she...or rather, he took a deep breath. Upon opening Azriel's eyes and lifting her hands to look upon them, he started to look a touch nervous. As he flexed the fingers, he uttered under his breath, "J-just as I suspected...this just feels wrong, Azriel, I-I'm not doing it again out of respect for you. P-please understand."

"I don't think you'll be able to hold to that. Until we're able to get you what you want, I think you'll find you need to do this sometimes." mrgreen

Oscuro was snickering to herself and Chiaro was hiding a smile behind her hand.

As the realization that he was now in the midst of a group of people settled in, he lifted a hand to the blue eye in the attempt to adjust a monocle that wasn't there. "Ah, right...you're not wearing one. H-habit..." After straightening up, he cleared his throat and continued, "Er...greetings. M-my name is Eloysio Donovan." He did a slight bow, then looked over at the Necromancer for a moment, hands starting to fidget. "Actually...Lilith, w-we had conversed last night. Then, while you all slumbered, I proceeded to meet with Azriel in a plea for aid. You see, I am a sorcerer who has been long dead for over four thousand years. But I refused to leave this plane because I have unfinished business, so to speak."

There was an awkward pause in the air. Lloyd was gaping and blinking at the possessed Azriel the whole time, and then he broke the silence. "Wow. Well. I'm not sure I understand completely, but... Uh...Eloysio, right? At least we know you don't have bad intentions...do you?"

"Oh, perish the thought! I honestly do not intend harm upon any of you!"

"And you say you've been dead for over four thousand years. How come you couldn't get your unfinished business done in all that time?"

Eloysio took a moment to gather his thoughts. "...Because it involves Azriel directly. More will be revealed in due course, but for now...I feel she is reluctant to open up about it so quickly. Thus, I also ask that you do not rush her—I believe that will only serve to make her more anxious. Are we...understood?"

"Well, well, so the lost spirit found itself a place to stay; normally I don't tolerate spirit possession, but it seems the girl is not bothered by you..."

Kai bowed his head politely

"I am pleased to meet you sir, you may call me Kai."

Eduardo scratched his nose and listened to the sorcerer. He had heard a story like that once, though he couldn't quite remember the name of the story, or the events. He wasn't even sure if it actually had a sorcerer in it. Maybe a sorceress? A legendary warrior? A really fantastic pharmacist? Who knew? Certainly not him.
Forgetting what he was thinking about, he turned his attention back to the sorcerer and spoke to no one in particular. "Also gadzooks, 'cause that's neat stuff." As usual, he seemed unfazed by the turn of events.
As curious as he may have been about what they were not supposed to rush Azriel about, he gave a thumbs-up of approval, this time addressing Eloysio. "Okay, nice to meet you, and I think we can sit through the suspense for a while! Am I right?" One never knew for sure about one's own correctness, he found.

To complete the round, Lloyd added his two cents with, "Yeah, you are..." He trailed off because he had more to say, but wasn't sure how to go about it. This whole possession business was reminding him a little of the time Mithos put Martel's soul into Colette. "Uh, can you still hear me, Azriel? Heh...I guess I mean this for both of you anyway. Just know that...whatever it is you want to hide for now, even if I might not agree with it...I won't turn you guys away."

Eloysio blinked at the party as he thought for a moment. It was a relief to learn that most of them were accepting of his presence, though he wasn't completely sure about Ilene and Sol, and that was leaving a twinge of anxiety. Still, the ratio of tolerance was favorable. Intrigued by Lloyd's reply, he returned with a curious expression, "How do you say that with such sincerity, facing the unknown?"

Lloyd smiled confidently and folded his arms. "Like a friend of mine once said when he rephrased my ideals, 'Even if I don't agree with someone, they have every right to be here.' I'm sure you have your reasons, and I'll try my best to understand them."

Eloysio blinked at him again and nodded, slightly astonished. That remark was hitting quite close to home on...something. But not exactly. "...I see. My gratitude for that sentiment," he concluded between them with a bow. Then he directed another one at the rest of the group. "I thank all of you too. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, as well."

He then turned his glance directly to Rhone. "Um...er...as for your question...w-well..." he began to look a little nervous, first folding Azriel's wings so tensely and closely to the body. He also had the arms wrapping around in a self-hug. "B-being a science-minded man, I-I do admit this is an experience to commit to memory a-and..." It was then that he realized as he looked down, that in all his fidgeting, he had subconsciously moved Azriel's hands so that they were now cupping her chest and....groping.

Chiaro and Oscuro's jaws dropped at what their master inadvertently did. Azriel was simply wide-eyed.

"AAAAUUUGHH!" Making a most horrified facial expression, he then sharply flung those hands out before him, frantically brushing them against each other as if trying to scrape that dirty deed off them. "I am through here! And I am so terribly sorry, Azriel!" gonk

Azriel's body suddenly froze in the middle of those panicked motions, her arms slowly dropped to the sides, and her eyes closed before she shuddered once more. After a few seconds of silence, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes, starting to blush and laugh nervously. "...awkward," she muttered to herself under her breath, then cleared her throat. "Um, where were we again? Oh yeah! Thank you all for taking kindly to Eloysio! We, uh....should be getting a move-on now, shouldn't we?"

Lloyd couldn't help but snicker quietly behind his hand for a moment. "Yeah, we should. If everyone's all set, let's start heading for the Gaoracchia Forest now."