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[Shade : Land of Dragons : Bamboo Thicket]

Shade's eyes narrowed as the woman walked past her. With a silent casting of a spell upon Fang giving the wolf the enchantment of Double Take to make the wolf take the appearance of his master.

Fang stopped running and held in it's hands duplicates of his master's weapons. Turning to face the strange woman, dark green eyes staring coldly at the enemy ready for her to make the first move.

As Fang kept the woman's attention on him, Shade silently walked through the shadows of the thicket. Attempting to sneak up behind her and unleash a sneak attack.

Tsurumi

I'd prefer if you were to just...

...disappear

{Land of Dragons ~ Bamboo Thicket}

Within moments, she'd caught up with the newly transformed Fang. Not that she'd noticed the transformation. It'd been hidden by the bamboo. Well, she wouldn't have cared either. "Oh? You plan to fight me? That's just a silly thought. How could you ever want to fight little old me?" As she spoke, Fang and Shade would both feel a wind blowing through the thicket, seeming to originate from Tsurumi.

Feeling the wind blowing through the thicket, she held out a hand and made a small circular motion. Instantly the wind started to circle around her outstretched hand, soft and gentle, caressing her hand. She watched Fang patiently, waiting for any small notions that would mark him as starting to attack. However, something was...wrong. All of the bamboo was making it harder to discern, but she felt something else. Another presence. "Tell me...do you happen to have a comrade? No, wait, what am I saying. Of course you do. I felt two of you before. So...where did the other one go?" She pondered aloud, still feeling the circling wind. "Well, I did say that Revelin could have the other, but if he choose not to take the person...then that leaves one more for me to kill I suppose." In that instant, the wind turned much more forceful, pushing down some of the bamboo stalks.

Pirouetting on one foot, she sent out blades of wind, cutting down the bamboo near her and sending blades towards Fang. While she did realize that someone else was in the thicket, she couldn't place exactly where, so she sent out multiple blades in every direction.

[Third District : Merlin's House]



"S'only unpredictable to those with closed-minds," Merlin said sagaciously, a mischievous chuckle sounding from his lips shortly thereafter. He took a swift glance over the machina, his beady eyes enlarged by his spectacles just a bit as he looked for something. He walked around it, his hands behind his back and wand out as he peered at the many gears and wires that ran throughout. At one point on the left side, Merlin poked a wire with his wand; nothing happened, but Merlin seemed particularly interested, nonetheless.

"If I had to guess, the materials you're using aren't receptive enough. Or conductive, however, that oaf might put it," Merlin said, continuing his round; he even hunched over to get a good luck at the lower mechanics (coming back up proved more difficult, as his back cracked in a few places). "Magic is a very free force, much like air or water. Restraining it effectively would take materials very receptive to the flows of mana... materials I doubt we've discovered mass amounts of. Maybe replacing the old wires with new ones, or however that goes, might work..."

At this point he was once again standing in front of Byoki, standing to his full height and looking at the young man within the armor. "I'm afraid I can't be 100% sure, but I do hope you manage to find some way to fix this..."

'Disturbing chimera...'

"Interesting creation of yours. Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked, keeping a helpful smile on his face behind his beard. "How are things at home?"

[[Byoki : Third District : Merlin's House]]

The boy atop the machine sighed, hoping for sure Merlin would have an answer fr the problem. He brought up a holographic HUD, placed his fingers through the flat projection resulting in a few mediocre graphs and gauges to light up around him as well, "It would seem that the engine has leveled out. Maybe he just needed a bit of exercise? Get out of the garage and grab a breath of fresh air?" Byoki laughed and slapped his hand against the side panel, miraculously avoiding cutting his hand open. Well, since I'm here, I might as well come in and visit awhile. That is, if you don't mind, Old Man?"

Byoki pulled back hard on the controls then thrust them forward suddenly with a twist resulting in a sudden spew of exhaust from the pipes and a drop in elevation in Byoki's position as Machina Mauler hunched down and laid its body out like a dog sprawling out for a nap. Byoki pressed a button resulting in the clamps around his legs to suddenly come undone, "Give me a sec for me to get situated then you can poof me across like always."

Byoki pressed another button and on command a small compact object ejected itself half way from the Machine's back. Byoki grabbed hold of it and pulled it out, then opened it up like an umbrella revealing a fold up wheelchair that he had stored inside Machina Mauler in compact form.

With practice attained muscle memory Byoki lifted himself up and slid down the side of Machina Mauler supporting himself with sheer uper body strength before he landed in the seat of his wheelchair.

After situating himself a bit more he rolled over to Merlin and smiled, "K, I'm ready."

Byoki, to most, might come across as arrogant, or rude, but in his own way, it was actually a form of respect. Those he was closest to became part of his jokes, and often came with embarrassing nicknames of sorts. Those he held up to the highest respect, as he did Merlin, he treated like the closest of all. Merlin, he saw as a mentor or grandfather of sorts, aside from the natural air the magician put off. He cared allot for Merlin and valued him greatly. Not just as a reference in regards to his work, but as a person and a friend he could talk to and converse with, without a fear of being looked down upon, well, not in a literal sense. As he stood, or more, sat, he was far shorter than Merlin. If he had a full pair of legs, and not been born lacking half, he'd be taller than Merlin, this however was not the case.

[ Ϩ Ѳ Ʀ ¥ Ʉ ϑ Ʉ ]

{Ignorance is bliss... until reality throws a Heartless siege at you.}

[Traverse Town : Second District Alleyways]

Soryuju listened as the two spoke their pieces; Suzuran insisted that sticking together was the best option, mentioning that she and Kuumaru would prefer to find out more about this group regardless, making the Dragon Knight quite the asset (though of course he knew she'd never intended to make it sound like that, so he thought nothing of it).

Alexandra, on the other hand, took a more.. blunt approach. She gave a bit of her past, and he got to see why she'd become such a battle-hardened young woman. Unlike him, who'd only trained during times of peace, she'd actually seen battlefields, seen the horrors of war. Not exactly a cheerful talk, but the point got across.

Then, however, she brought up something about him leading, almost leading to him scoffing aloud, though he retained his composure long enough for her to finish, his ears turning a deep shade of crimson underneath his blond hair. The knights back home would have laughed quite jovially at such a thought- young Sory, leading around an entire fang (Halorian Dragon Brigade term meaning a group of five warriors, give or take)? Humorous. He may have had the raw talent, but not the experience.

"Even if I didn't want to come with you guys, I get the feeling I wouldn't have much choice in the matter, regardless," he muttered, massaging the bridge of his nose. Stubborn, these women, following him around... and suddenly, the possible inference his friends from Tusvryen would make hit him like a sack of bricks, immediately lightening his mood a bit, if only making him more determined.

I'm doing this for them, after all.

"Fine, fine," he sighed, rolling his head around slightly, as if to crack his neck, taking the chance to stare at the sky; this gave him no clue as to what time it was, though he sure felt like it was evening. "You convinced me. Now, let's get somewhere safe before something else decides to play with us. The hotel is protected by Merlin's enchantments, so we'll be able to rest easily."

[∫ ʋ ʓ ʋ ʁ ᾲ ɳ]
{You look like you fell down a tree and hit every possible branch on the way down.}

[Traverse Town :: Second District :: Alleyways]

If the heiress was eating something, she'd choke on it. Luckily that wasn't the case. She looked Soryuju up and down, sure he was tall... a little lean. He could only be... 19? 20? Maybe that other guy was better outfitted for being 'leader'. Hefin... was it? Although, Suzu couldn't really argue. There was some commanding presence the blond-headed Dragon Knight seemed to wrap himself in. The geomancer shrugged lightly as she shifted her scythe onto her other hand. Sure he was convinced now, but there was some itching feeling like he was going to sneak off while they were all asleep. Kuma was a mechanic, maybe he could dismantle his ship. Though she doubted that Sory was stupid enough not to be able to place a few blocks together. Whatever, rest sounded like a good plan regardless and surely her brother would agree.

It was at that moment that the trash can behind Soryuju shook, like one of the fireworks had gotten in it. Suzu frowned, tightening her grip on her weapon. It wasn't until it fell over and what looked like a certain moogle rolled out. Still maintaining her frown, Suzu walked a few steps and leaned over to pick up the 45lb bundle, once again attaching her scythe to the clasp on her back. She brushed the stray pieces of trash off the moogle and made sure that the creature wasn't in any sort of immediate danger before smiling somewhat, "Moggie?! What happened to you? Pick a fight with a firework and lost?"

~Window~

[Traverse Town::Merlin's House]

Window still stood tense, though his face betrayed little of the worry and concern he had for the situation. The girl in pink didn't seemed too perturbed over Merlin's reaction and subsequent disappearance, and Window didn't hear anything out of the ordinary coming from outside, so he assumed that all was well. Since he was now the only person standing, he made his way over to the remaining chair before answering the girl's question while leaving an awkward silence in his wake. Window was decent enough in social situations, but not a lot of people seemed to want to speak up. For the first time, he noticed how much energy Nalo seemed to fill the room with, like a natural conversationalist; he was a people person. Window was not, so much; he had to make an effort to be outgoing. Speaking of which...

"Ah, well, yes, we did come here for help, I suppose. I am a...rather new arrival to this world, and, not knowing how I came to be here, I came to Merlin on the recommendation of my companion, Nalo, who suggested that Merlin might be able to help me locate my home, or at least illuminate a few possibilities I might be able to pursue in order to reach this goal. Though, to be honest, I have had no previous knowledge of the existence of other worlds with life, and I am rather eager to discover more about them and this situation with the 'Heartless.'" He looked steadily at the pink girl. Suddenly her name came to him. Ah! What a relief. That would have been embarrassing. Aerith, yes. Window continued on. "My plans are considerably open, as the course of my life has changed suddenly and I find myself released of my normal day-to-day tasks. This leaves me with little direction, and I guess that I am hoping that Merlin might give me some bearings. If he cannot, then I will search elsewhere. But might I ask why you and the little girl are here in company with this wizened man, and we are fortunate enough to meet again?"

[-Traverse Town | First District | Baitos' Repair Shop-]

As time went on, Baitos had managed to upgrade his pocked knife to a smaller crafting knife, and was peeling away more finer details into the music box cover he was working on. The wooden peelings curled around in a perfect spiral, and as Thales came in to view he just happened to appear in the eye of the wooden swirl. The male lowered the wooden lid from eye level and rest it on his lap, as for the crafting knife he let it drop and stick into the wooden deck right next to the pocket knife. After situating himself in a comfortable position, Baitos lowered his feet from the railing and set them down gently on the ground in the midst of wood shavings. Sitting his hands down a different knee Baitos listened intently to what the other man had to say. His head nodded a few times and he let out a few statements of agreement so Thales knew he was following along.

Leaning forward, Baitos crossed his arms over his legs and peered through the wooden railing at Thales. "Here I was thinking you would have a ship for me to fix, but if it is directions you are looking for...I have them..." He looked around all suspicious like, then simply grinned as he turned back to face the man. "Not too long ago there where some explosions over in the direction of Second District. I really had no need to go and indulge my curiosities so yeah...I'm here." Getting up, Baitos brushed off wooden shavings from his shorts and straitened up his belt and harness.

"If you want-" He bent down to pick up the wooden box then stood back up, flipping his hair in a nonchalant fashion. He replaced the wooden lid on top of it. "I can guide you to Second District that way you wont end up getting lost and perhaps mugged..." Baitos chuckled as he said his last few words and stood there on the porch, box in hand.