Welcome to Gaia! ::

Wont let me post a reply but I guess I can still edit, the notifications I get anytime someone reply's to this are a touch annoying, could you please either close this down or start a new thread?

Also since I'm taking the time to type that up I'd also like to mention that any characters I left behind (with the exception of Ishtur) I would prefer for them not to be mentioned or killed off as some characters who have left have.

Simply say they've vanished or something if you must.

I'll edit my other posts in this thread with this same message to ensure someone sees it.

Enailios was busy moving some things around between his forge and the Cloak HQ and a flier caught his eye. Taking a closer look, he noticed who had posted it - Derrin. He scowled a little, recalling how he had met this guy. He hadn't given him the best impression, but this was still work nonetheless. Besides, things were going slow at the forge that he could take a break. "May as well..." He muttered to himself, heading on back to gather the rest of the things he needed.

- - -

Once morning came around, he got up and picked up his supplies. Grabbing an apple, he started out the door with his supplies over his left shoulder. It seemed that there was two other people at the HQ, and he recognized her as Blossom. The other person he didn't recognize. "Well good morning." He said, setting his stuff down for a moment. "Hope you guys weren't waiting for too long."

Sun rising, birds singing, wind blowing...as people gradually woke up, another day was starting in Eyris. Khalid's morning started no different from most other mornings. Going his rounds in the HQ, going along the various rooms just to check what other members were up, obligatory greetings, eating breakfast...

...checking in with the boss.

The tanned man sighed as he knocked on the door. Although Lance had an additional housing outside of Eyris, most of the time he would stay at the office, converting it into a second home with all its necessities such as a cooker, a spare bed inside it.

As today was the day an expedition was about to take place, Lance was supposed to go with them to ensure a safe and clean mission. Thinking back, most of the members had learnt to get along better with eachother, although the boss still worried they'd work together as a team properly. So it was only natural that he wanted to oversee their progress. Which worried Khalid, as he was fairly certain Lance was merely looking forward for some mayhem and mischief.

Khalid knocked again. Still no answer. Frowning, he opened the door. The time for gathering had already passed, yet Khalid had not yet seen the boss. No doubt he had been sleeping in after another sleepless night.

To his surprise, the bed had been tidied already, and he could find his employer sitting upright at his desk, seemingly mesmerized by something at his desk, as he had not answered the door and was leaning in forwards. "Oh. Sorry, chief. I didn't think you were awake yet. Did you start your work early today? You didn't hear me so I thought you hadn't gotten up yet."

Still no answer.

"...Boss? Lance?"

Moving forward, Khalid leaned in from the other side, his brows furrowed as his friend had his eyes closed, with his hand resting on a bottle. Judging by the smell, and the weary face, one could only come to one conclusion.

Gently nudging his side, Lance opened his eyes. "...G'morning." He said softly, not turning to look at the enchanter.

"...Have you been drinking?"

Finally shifting his eyes to Khalid's side, there was a moment of embarassing silence before he finally replied sheepishly. "...No?"

Khalid sighed again. "You were supposed to meet the expedition several minutes ago. They already left now. You have to hurry if you need to catch the--"

"I'm not going." Like a child objecting to school, Lance grunted back at him.

Khalid felt his brow twitch and a vein pop. "...Don't tell me you want to skip our on the expedition because you just got a hangover?"

"Of course not, don't be silly. Something came up..."

"Like what?!"

A moment of silence again, as his employer stared sternly at him. "...we may get an official contract from the government."

Khalid's jaw dropped. "I-...what? Really?"

"Yeah. Really important things. I was approached last nights over drinks. This could mean a lot of money for us. I need to stay in Eyris until everything is taken care of. The expedition takes less priority."

Khalid heated up in embarassment. "I'm...sorry, boss. I didn't mean to..."

Lance merely grinned. "S'okay. I don't always get capable streaks like this, so enjoy it while it lasts."

"But...what about the expedition? You did say you wanted to see how their teamwork had improved, and like this you can't..."

"Why don't you go?"

"Me? N-no, my adventuring days are over. I'm fine with the secretary stuff here..."


As the two grumbled over the problem, as if on cue, a red haired swordsmaster walked in through the doorway.

Except he took a detour into the doorframe first, muttering obscenities as he came in. "Sir! Sir Lance! Good morning!"

Lance turned around his chair to face Quentin, one of the newer members. Lance found the poor blind man as he was almost getting robbed of his laguz which he insisted upon was a normal kitten, despite being quite large. Or rather, he thought he was given the kitten away to a street urchin who had lost her parents in the war, when it was just a bunch of delinquent girls smoking in the streets. Lance took both him and the laguz Velkan in under Cloak's wings. In fact, after that skirmish that took place in Arajudia, the got a large number of members suddenly...it was as if Cloak was becoming a safe haven for outcasts and vagabonds who had no one else to turn to.

That was fine. Lance hoped it could bring a glimmer of hope to people who could really become something despite having nothing.

Upon seeing the swordsmaster, a plan hatched in his head as he stood up to greet the aristocrat. "Quentin! Khalid and I were just speaking of you!"

Ignoring Khalid's confused look, Lance went up and grabbed Quentin's hand. "I have a top secret, but very important mission for you!"

Quentin smiled broadly at the attention he was given. "Really?! Splendid! What is this mission?"

"Oh, it's crucial! There is an expedition to some ruins about to take place, and you're just the man I need for it! I need you to make sure everyone gets along there, and guide them onto the path of righteousness and justice!"

The bearded man's face lit up. "Really?! You think I can do that?"

"You're the only one who can! I can't trust anyone else with this, Sir Quentin!"

"Y-you do me too much honor, Sir! You should only call me Quentin!"

"That's the spirit, Quent! Go now, quickly! They'll be at the north gate, so pack quickly and set off there! And you stop calling me sir too, ya funny guy, we're friends! You can call me Lance"

"I will be honored to, Lance! I'll leave right away, and I won't let you down!"

Quickly turning around, Quentin opened the door and exited the room, closing the door behind him. After a brief moment of silence, Lance spoke up again. "...Quentin. Get out of my closet."

The door opened again, with Quentin exiting again. Sheepishly, he turned around and took a pail out with him along with a broom, before closing it again.

"I meant to do that. I noticed a dirty spot on the floor and decided to help you clean it."

Lance and Khalid looked at eachother, before Lance replied. "But...you're blind."

The swordsmaster flailed with his arms wildly as if upset. "WHAT?! I respect you, Sir Lance, but that is prejudiced! Just because I'm blind, it does not mean I'm not tidy and can't keep things clean! I felt your office needed to get cleaned up, so as a polite gesture I went and got cleaning gear for you!"

Lance opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, before he hung his head. "Sorry, I apologize. I didn't mean to insult you in anyway. I appreciate the thought."

"No worries, Lance! None taken!"

Another awkward silence, before Lance spoke again. "So...did you actually notice a dirty spot?"

"No, Sir, don't be silly, I'm blind. I wouldn't be able to even if I tried." He promptly replied with a faint smile, before exiting the actual door.

Khalid turned to Lance, still with a confused look on his face. "...You seem to get along well."

Lance chuckled. "Two idiots will always be on the same wavelength."

**************************

After quickly finishing packing, Quentin rushed as fast as a blind, lucky man could towards the north gate. Finally catching up to the group, he proudly spread his cloak and showed his badge. "Greetings, fellow Cloakers! I am unsure if we met, but I am Quentin Hazard Blake, and I'll be joining you on this expedition after recommendation from Sir Lance! Pleased to meet you!"

You know, Derrin and Venetia really didn't get along. So why the hell would he even invite her in the first place? People..This wind sage couldn't even read him that well since he a bipolar person. But after being in Cloak for some time, you'd think she'd learn some things from other people...But then again, the only person she's officially met was Derrin and Lance..seen Khalid a couple of times but not really enough of the others to be taking notes on how people behave around each other. Attatched to her back belt was a couple of Elwind tomes and in her hand was a notepad and pen for needing to write down whatever came to her mind she supposed. Whatever, point was, she needed to be at the north gate and north gate was where she was at.

D'Rias
Location: The North Gate

The day was cool with a slight breeze as D'Rias made his way down to the North Gate. The job proposition had been interesting enough. It was not so much the money, though he was in desperate need of that after managing to get his hands on a Flux and Nosferatu. It was truly the amulet that caught his attention. It sounded magical in nature and magic meant one thing. Power. He had hardly even begun to recover from his imprisonment. The shackles had taken far more out of him than he first realized. The thought of the cursed things sent a scowl across his features and his crimson eyes grew dark. He quickly banished the thought as he grew nearer to the growing group of mercenaries by the gate. Five people were already there. A slim, short girl with brown hair armed with a sword and axe, another girl with hair like his own, a mage seemed present as well along with a sword wielder and a man had the build of a blacksmith.

D'Rias quickly began to calculate the tactical strengths and weaknesses of the group in his mind as he stopped next to the two girls. There were three mages by dress, what the other two cast he was unsure of. Two sword users, though the girl carried an axe, good. The blacksmith appeared to use a hammer, an effective weapon in the right hands. They would be able to counter armed opposition well enough. Any knights would be hard pressed to take them, as would common bandits and mercenaries. Their magic could take the place of archers. He closed his eyes and folded his arms in thought. The shining sun sent clouds of color dancing across the back of his eyelids. They would be in trouble against mounted units however. They had no spears or arrows which meant against pegasus and wyvern knights they were nearly crippled. Though the chances of running into any armed opposition on this mission seemed unlikely, he doubted this Derrin would have requested help if he did not need it. It would be best to prepare for any eventuality. Regular cavaliers would be a problem as well, it was there that the lack of lances truly hurt them. Even two or three mounted men would be able to break apart the group while fighting. If foot infantry moved in then they would be individually surrounded and cut down... A sigh heaved out of his nostrils. That would the worst case scenario. In any event they were more than able to handle the most common threats they would face. After all, he was not in Rausten anymore. There was no reason for them to run into well-equipped men with military gear in such numbers. Not to mention a bandit group would hardly be able to gain access to mounts so close to the city. The mage unfolded his arms and let them rest behind his back and opened his eyes. The clouds drifted by and a cool breeze blew over his skin, briefly washing away the smells of the city. He turned to the brown haired girl next to him.

“Is there any news of when we will be leaving?”

Blossom's face fell a little as Derrin's awkward expression immediately melted away to anger as Enailios approached, yelling at him for arriving at the headquarters instead of the gate. The Hero glanced back at Rin, giving her an apologetic shrug. 'Don't worry about it,' she mouthed to her before reaching back, taking the young girl's hand, and walking with her behind Derrin towards the gate. A few people had already arrived as they reached the Gate - there was a mage she didn't recognize, Iris, and a rather loud fellow by the name of Quentin walked up right as Blossom got there. Oh, and David, who was sitting off to the side! He was rather the shy one, too. Blossom waved at him before grinning over at Rin, giving her a one-armed hug. "Can you believe so many people decided to come along?" she whispered.

Rin had retreated back behind Blossom once Derrin had gone off into his little bout of anger, her smiling dropping altogether unlike Blossom's small dent. Thankfully Blossom's word of encouragement and attention was enough to keep her from running off before the situation worsened, though only pleasant surprises awaited her at the Gate. Though Blossom didn't seem to notice a few of the newer members, Rin was at least aquainted with a few.

"Oh! Sir Quentin! Miss Venetia! It's a pleasure to see you again, I'm afraid we didn't have much time to talk after everything that went done before, but I'm happy everyone is doing fine..."

Even with Rin's social problems, you couldn't exactly shy away from people who went through the things that happened in Arajudia. Things like that didn't just vanish over night..At least she was somewhat familiar with the others after getting to know them during the post-recovery and escape. "It's good to see there's some people I know at least, Miss Blossom..."

"Of course!" Blossom smiled again and patted Rin's shoulder. "Just you wait, this is going to be just fine, okay? Derrin's just always got a grouchy face, don't worry about him. I'll take care of it. He's like a frustrated bear, just poke him in the right spot and-- hm?" Blossom turned to face D'Rias as he spoke up, looking up towards his face. She vaguely nodded to Innes as he spoke up, then turned back to the mage. "Ah... I think soon. Otherwise, go talk to Derrin. He's the redheaded one, with the angry face. He'd be able to tell you more accurately."

So now that the group was actually moving, it was easier to see who was here and who she recognized. Oh, there was that one little priestess from Arajudia. Haven't seen her in a while...and then..the blind man. Was he seriously going to insist on coming? I mean...Sure, she's seen his 'skill' back during the prison outbreak..or just luck...or just....being..stupid. Derrin of course assigned him to be baggage man. However, Couple tomes and a pen and notepad..not that she'd give the blind guy her stuff since it was all she had with her. Come to think of it, she should have brought along a vulunary too. Odd, surely she wouldn't forget such a thing. A staff too! Venetia what were you thinking, you're just now remembering these things you should have brought.

Oh well, it was something she forgot often and as a sage she wasn't really capable of using a staff in the first place unless it meant bashing it over your head. There were a few other girls in the group, one was a crazy person who seemed...to like talking to herself..and the other two were Rin and the one she called Blossom.

scribble scribble That was the sound of her pen writing on her notepad. Quite loud although with walking they were doing, it was drowned by everyone else. This would be an interesting trip if she could learn how girls socialized in the real world...by real, she means not a book. Venetia couldn't help but stare at the two as they locked arms with each other, starting to write down in her notepad that it seemed to be a friendly manner among two friends. Then there was the other girl...were all noble girls like this? Act as if they were crazy, had a 2nd personality or have an imaginary friend? Hmm...interesting indeed. She'll have to take notes of the men too if they start to interact. But so far it seems like they treat one another depending on how they see it...or was that just Derrin to Quentin?