Seeking The Answers - Part 1

Seeking The Answers - Part 1
Date of Scene:	11 May 2013
Location:	Wutai
Synopsis:	Leon has come to seeking answers from Maira. It seems Percival has other things in mind...
Cast of Characters:	Maira, Percival, Rena Laradyne, Leon

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Leon has posed:

The City of Wutai was a place of tradition, technology, and ninjas. The last time Leon was here, he was the Dark Knight. Sadly whatever his evil counter-part did, he has no memory of but stepping off the ship he is already impacted with the sudden images of the Dark Knight. News articles. Places where family members were lining down flowers for those who had been claimed by his actions.

By the actions of the Dark Knight.

Each steps Leon took across the road, he found himself trying to fight back the tense feeling of dread and thanking the makers for the pair of ray-bans he bought to hide his red eyes. Poster after poster. News article after news article. It was really causing him some slow mental issues.

As for what this adventurer was wearing?
Well beyond the Ray-bans, he had on a pair of blue denim pants, black leather hiking boots, pair of fingerless gloves with a metal forearm guard that also slightly with over his wrist for some joint protection. Metal shin guards. Weapon belt hooked to his actual belt with a scabbard at his side with a rather basic sword. It also held a small dagger on the other side.

A white, plain t-shirt, and a black brown leather jacket, that had been buckled up at the bottom, and half zipped up. Hiding of coarse the metal forearm guard by its sleeves.

He had /no/ idea where Maira would be here. He wasn't even sure how to find her. He just knew she was here in Wutai and that her guardian protector, wasn't going to let him near her. This was-- going to take a bit.

Thankfully no one would recognize him as the Dark Knight, right? ...right...

Rena Laradyne has posed:
It had been a pleasant enough sea voyage. What had been a constant and cheerful reminder was that almost immediately upon arriving at the port, the articles and the posters were seen. She picked up a few of them at random.

The tall woman (whose height advantage was more than distinct) wears the scale and leather armor that sheathes her from neck to boots. She folds one of the newspapers in her hands as she walks, tucking a few more of the articles under one arm as she reads. As she compares the different angles, she hmms to herself softly.

As she walks folds one of the articles into a little origami crane which she sets on top of a shop shall "Anything to sell papers, I suppose."

She leaves a trail of paper cranes behind her as she walks. She quickens her pace to catch up with Leon, walking beside him as she finishes another crane and pulls at the wings a bit so that the paper flaps their wings back and forth as they walk. "So.. where is it that we are meeting this person?"

Percival has posed:
Maira was asleep. She'd told Percival to wake her up before the time came of their meeting with Leon.

He let her sleep on.

All he'd done, is hid Maira's linkpearl somewhere in the room. He didn't want Leon waking her up with what was to come.

And so afterwards, he began a silent vigil on the rooftops, waiting, watching. Scanning faces. None of his clan really took to the training they'd received, but some of it stuck. Being able to pick out faces in crowds was one of those exercises that stuck with him. He'd only caught the briefest of glimpses of the Dark Knight's face, with his helm off.

A brief glimpse was all he needed.

Who did he think he was fooling, with those clothes? With those glasses? He still carried himself like a swordsman. Not some tourist from Manhatten. He didn't recognize the woman with him, so he considered her just to be a sad dupe that he'd managed to talk into travelling with him.

And so silently he slipped down into an alleyway, his wings carrying him into a slow glide down. And then he began to carefully pace Leon from behind, keeping the sounds of his footsteps in check. His talons raised just slightly enough that they wouldn't clack upon stone.

When he got close enough, he'd put a hand upon his shoulder. Waiting for the instinctive action.. as when Leon turned around, and actually caught sight of him...

He'd rear back his right hand, ball it up into a fist, and send a haymaker right into the center of his face. Right at those ridiculous raybans which he knew were hiding those eyes... the one feature he wouldn't be able to hide, if it connected. His voice radiating a sort of calm anger, and menace, "I told you to stay away, until you had yourself checked out! To get Merlin, Isaac, or even Sora give you a clean bill of health! But you didn't, LISTEN!"

Leon has posed:

Leon was indeed a swordsman. He was also someone who knew how to use a bow as well! After all, when you had to raise your little sister and had to be the individual that not only brought in the money, but the food as well, you learned all types of skills to survive.

So yes, there has been some features that the man and the Dark Knight carried. The walk was indeed one of them, just it wasn't as precise or methodical.

Now Leon was about to answer Rena's question when suddenly Percival took a hold of his shoulder. There was indeed an automatic turn around and only in the corner of his eye did he see what was coming. "Son of'a--!" No time to react right.

His arm came up to block the blow, but was to short, even his foot was sliding back to try and correct his position. All was to slow. The fist connects from the Gargoyle knocking off the sunglasses and nearly placing the man over on himself.

Yet his feet were quick to react to up right himself. He shook his head a few times before glaring at Percival with those red eyes. The sudden street lash out was enough to catch people's attention. /NOT/ what Leon wanted. Not with so many posters, pictures, and news write-ups of whatever he did; he honestly hasn't even read them. He just got the general idea - Bad stuff.

However Percival did the 'hello' and it be rude of Leon to not reply back. He smiles softly, but it wasn't that very calm smile. He then ran right up for Percival with his fist reared back.

If he can connect, he will ram his fist at least twice into the stomach of the Gargoyle trying to knock the wind out of him, if not maybe watch the Gargoyle fall down to the ground.

Not much for words, are you Leon?

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena continues to flap the little wings of the paper crane back and forth a few more times. She sucks her teeth and clicks in the back of her throat as /abruptly~ -- BIFF. POW. New Challenger!/

She twists her lips to one side, looking down at the little crane with a raised eyebrow and then at the fighting. The woman cradles the little crane in her interlaced fingers, taking a step back and cringing as if frightened by the sudden violence. She lets in a quick gasp, her expression shocked and horrified as she looks at Percival.

"Leon. What's going on?" she asks, her voice quavering a little. "Please. Please don't hurt him." So combine the voice with the body language and the drawn in posture and suddenly Rena does not look as tall or stand out nearly as much.

She looks like a genuinely frightened bystander holding a little paper bird in her trembling fingers while a cold wind gathers, plucking at posters and anything now tied down. Frost rimes across the little paper bird.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle put up his dukes, so to speak. Leon rams two punches right into his solar plexus.

Mmm. Not bad for a human that was supposedly not infused with Darkness any longer.

The Gargoyle felt his breath leaving him, as he instinctively doubled over. A gesture he knew that any competent boxer would follow up on.

/WHAM/ A jab at Leon's jaw with his left. You should have watched his left, Leon.

The Gargoyle was tempted to follow the Marquess of Queensbury rules for this engagement. Keep it civil.. honorable.

Where would be the fun in that? Since when did the Dark Knight keep any of his engagements civil, and honorable contests. Being able to teleport around, encase people in crystal, smother people with darkness. There was nothing civil about that.

And so, the Gargoyle would follow up with his left, then his right. And then he'd try to grab Leon. And... yeah he sure was trying to grapple him in an attempt to turn him over and suplex him to the ground. He had to admit. Payback, was, /FUN/ under these circumstances.

He realized his error almost immediately when he felt the air chill, just ever so slightly as Rena worked her magic. Something was wrong. The woman acted the part well, but she wasn't a dupe. He didn't know what he was going to do when she actually decided to join in the engagement, so for now he left her alone, just trying to get the upper hand on Leon before this turned ugly.

Maira has posed:
When Maira wakes up, she knows something is amiss pretty quickly. First of all, Perci is not there. He's also not sleeping, which she knows because its touch to miss a sleeping gargoyle-statue. Why would he leave? Wasn't she suppose to meet with Leon? Wha---

OH <GOOSEHONK>!

Luckily, Uist at least isn't a total butthead and helps her find where they have gone. Uist is angry enough with Perci at the moment to actually lead Maira willingly toward the former dark knight. Think on that.

Soon enough Maira runs into sight, her eyes locked onto the brawling pair. She has no doubts who started it. "STOP IT!" she yells, waving her arms like she's trying to signal a plane. "STOP FIGHTING, DAMN IT!"

Leon has posed:

Leon gets jabbed back with the quick jab that land right on the mark from Percival. He staggers back a bit, before he glances over to Rena. Was she /really/ being scared by this? No. She couldn't be, could she? Yet he can feel the cold air. A cold air that should not be here. Yeeeah. Last time he saw her drop the temperature was at a beach when she was singing. He wasn't sure what she was fully able to do, but it really was the question of was she faking this-- or was this a reaction from her when she got frightened? He had /no/ idea.

"Look pal," Leon tries to state as he wipes a bit of blood from his lip. "I don't have time to be pussy footing around looking for people. She has answers and I /need/ to talk with her."

"So either we can stop this street show or.." He wasn't able to finish as Percival came in to apparently keep this up. Each strike came in and Leon quickly blocked the blows. Percival would seem find on those blocks his arms were impact some type of metal guard behind the leather jacket. Not only that but some was amiss as well.

Yet with each defensive blow the darkness starts to build up under his feet. Those red eyes trying to stare right into the Gargoyle's own. There was life there, yes, life that the Dark Knight didn't have. "Will," Block, "You," Block, "Listen?!" BLOCK, suddenly the darkness flared up. It exploded from under his feet.

Leon then went to break away and then swung his foot around, the darkness seem to be just drawn to the blow, moving with the roundhouse kick, before another one followed, before he leaped into the air and went to bring heal down straight for the Gargoyle, before landing down in the crouch.

It was about then he realized the dark wisps of energy was following him around. It was then he realized that once /again/ the darkness had woken up and his eyes went red. "Damnit!" he quickly tried to brush it off like some kind of instinctive reaction anyone would do. Fear was obvious now in his eyes. Fear of not only this being seen by the people who were gawking (some even now backing away and then bolting), but by the sheer fact he couldn't seem to ever get control of it.

Then he heard Maira's voice and looked in that direction toward her. That mark of fear was still on his face. Just another reminder that he had /no/ idea what Mateus had done to him. What he had been turned into and the very woman he needed to speak with was no there, he wasn't even sure what would happen if she got close to him, so he yelled the only thing he could think of under such circumstances. "Stay back!" Yes. He was actually concerned for Maira's well being.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena narrowed her eyes very slightly as the fight continues on. Savage. Wordless. No attempt at explaination. No break of hostilities. A whimper crawls out of her throat as she takes another step back but her fingers are slowly closing, crushing the little paper bird that splinters apart in shards of ice so sharp that they slice into her fingers.

Blood oozes inbetween her fingers. Drip. Drip. The people start to panic and she closes her eyes, reopening them to look over at Maira signaling like a plane. She looked helpless and frightened, bringing her hands up to her chest.

Only a faint trail of red leaking around her hand and down her wrist gives any indictation that there is a lie buried in the fear. Rena brings her lips up to her clasped fingers. She whispers something into her clasped fingers, and there is something.. the tones of a melody filter through her lips.

Her eyes harden as she opens her fingers, blowing gently. "That's enough, gentlemen." The red crystalline shards of ice fly from her fingers towards Percival. Every fragment is a small piece of the song. A small piece of a woman's voice, perhaps her own.

They swirl in the wind which has suddenly turned bitterly cold, slashing at Percival and the touch of the song and the ice is paralyzing. Binding. A numbing and impossible cold should they actually strike.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle would reply to him as each of his blows were parried. "Answers? I have answers available for you. YOU, ARE, A, MONSTER! You don't even /know/ yet what is lurking within you, not truly! That is why you are a danger to everyone around you!"

Like me.

He would feel the darkness swelling within Leon, as it exploded from a roundhouse kick. The Gargoyle just raised his arms, and allowed the darkness to scour his arms. Rena's assault of blood red crystalline ice would follow up, and he'd howl with pain, as the biting cold sank into his bones. But he wasn't directing his anger at her...

He'd snarl at Leon, his eyes flaring to a bright white color. "NOT WHILE YOU'RE A DANGER TO HER!"

It was tempting to draw his sword. Tempting to just finish this right now, while he was still vulnerable. He might even move /just/ quickly enough that Leon not be given the oppurtunity to do the same. His hand fell to the hilt of his sword and then...

Maira..

How did she find him so quickl.... <GOOSEHONK>IT UIST! I thought we had a thing going on there. We could have bonded over our dislike for the Dark Knight! TREASONOUS SPECTRE!

His hand fell away from his hilt with a snarl. The glow dimmed from his eyes, as he jabbed a talon in Leon's direction. "You are out of control!"

He did however stop any assault for now, ranging to stand closer to Maira, interposing himself between her and Leon.

Maira has posed:
Maira keeps running, panicked as she sees the darkness forming around Leon. Of course, she hadn't purged it--everyone had darkness, but his was probably rising BECAUSE PERCI DECIDED IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO DECK HIM! What is the point of punishing someone for something they don't remember? Doesn't he see!? No. He doesn't see. He doesn't see, and he doesn't trust her.

When Leon spots her and yells for her to stay back, she stops in her tracks, eyes wide. "No...no no no, not going to let this happen!" she says, letting the light that is begging for escape flow from out of her. "Perci, BACK. OFF." she says, thoroughly and completely infuriated.

Maira takes not of Rena, not knowing who she is or why she is here with Leon, but she's trying to break up the fight too. Women, let us bond over the bullheadedness of men!

When Perci says Leon is out of control, Maira looks like she's like to burn him with her gaze--that is probably a thing she could do-- "No YOU are out of control!" she counters, sadness mixing with anger.

Leon has posed:

The wisps of melody carry in the sky and though Leon stands at ready for another assault as Percival indicates going for his sword. Leon does /not/ go for his. His red eyes watch the flickering of the crystals for a moment. The darkness by the air of the melody seems to cut down the edge of the hostile darkness, simmering slowly back closer to its own, back closer to Leon.

He glances over to Rena about then, before he looks over to Maira. He then looks back at Percival. Monster was he? Maybe. Maybe he was turned into one.

Leon closed his eyes, trying to regain control of the darkness thanks to Rena's song he was doing just that. Reigning in back in. His red eyes peered at Percival again. "..Monster huh.." He says softly. "..maybe I am.. but maybe you should look in a mirror." Cold words, probably not helping the situation any though.

People by now had cleared the streets, some probably already gone to the authorities.

Leon just goes down to his knee, just to kneel there as he tries to calm down his nerves. Trying to reign in what little bit of darkness still was trying to escape out. He looks across to Maira before his eyes soften slightly and he whispers. "..I am sorry.."

He then looks over to Rena and gently gives her a nod of his head. Yeah. He was ok. For now at least.

"..if the people went to get the authorities.. I wont have much time. They will probably arrest me." Leon says softly, yet he doesn't even try to stand up. To dangerous to do that right now. He isn't sure how well he himself has things in check and honestly wasn't for Rena's bit of melody in the air and her quick thinking with the ice-- it was hard to say how bad things would have gotten.

..for either males.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena continues singing very softly under her breath, shaking out her hands and brushing the red smears over her armor. They seem to flake and disappear and this too might have been illusion because her hands don't seem particularly damaged.

The melody is a low, repeating intonation and almost hypnotic in it's repetition. It comes in and out like the tides. She strides across over to Leon and smiles down at him. It is a chagrined smile like. 'Oh dear. We're in trouble now, aren't we?' with the same teasing look of mischief. She extends her hand with a flourish for him to take if he needed a hand up.

She continues whispering the threads of that melody, ignoring Percival. Ignoring Maira and anything else.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle would narrow his eyes as Leon makes his accusation, "I do, every day, and it stares right back at me. At least I /know/ what lurks within. Do you?"

The Gargoyle would listen to Maira, and grimace, before finally looking away, ashamed. "I trust you Maira, it's just the devil inside him that I don't trust. I made a reasonable request to him. Reasonable. And yet he came straight here! I just.. don't think we can fix him, without help."

And then he'd shake his head, trying to shake off that melody. Something was wrong. What exactly what was the woman doing? Was it to calm whatever was in Leon.. or something else? His ignorance frightened him, all he knew is that he had trouble thinking straight, with that song whispering upon the wind.

He wished he had wax for his ears.

Maira has posed:
Maira frowns deeply as Leon implies Perci is a monster as well. Oh, great, just what she needs. "Don't say that. Neither of you are monsters. Just....stop throwing that word around," she says, moving closer. She's still totally pissed at Perci, but she puts her hand on his arm for a moment, as if to comfort or calm him. "He's desperate. He wants answers and I offered them. You can't just--you can't just keep doing things behind my back Perci," she admonishes, looking then to Leon and Rena. What is Rena doing...? WHO is she? Maira is so confused. Is she from his past? Did he make a quick friend?

"Then you should leave. I'm sorry this didn't go as you hoped it would. I'll try to answers your questions, but I fear I don't have the answers. The only person who does....well, you should certainly stay away from him. We'll figure something out, okay?"

Leon has posed:

Leon doesn't even reply to Percival's question. He just gives him a look before he takes Rena's help to stand back up. The Darkness seeming to all be reside back within the former Dark Knight once more as it was before the battle started.

Leon glances between Rena and Maira, "This is Rena. My handler." He says with a half-hearted joke, before he gets serious once more, his attention directed at Maira now seeming to put aside the hard bruising battle between he and Percival.

Those red eyes looking directly at her and his brows furrow. "But see, that is the thing. You /broke/ what he did. You have to know something. He could come after you and if he does, you may be in trouble." The man frowns slightly. "I don't know what his game is, but he is pretty sure I will eventually come back to him and the fact he didn't continue the fight is even more concerning."

He then looks over to Percival, "..and if he does come for her, what chance do you think you have of protecting her? He nearly destroyed an entire city with his forces, to only, from what I have heard, rebuild it back to pristine order as if /nothing/ ever happened."

The former Dark Knight then looks to Maira. "You also have to know something. You broke his control over me. You awoken me after maybe, I don't know, maybe a year of slumber. How did you do that-- how were you able too?!" He starts to walk toward her. "And why? Why did you even /do/ it? You don't even know me and yet you are risking everything to try and /protect/ me."

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena interlaces her fingers with Leon and squeezes briefly before letting her hand drop. "We really should do this somewhere else." she says in a calm, quiet voice. Her eyes glance over at Percival. "I would have respected you more if you had simply wanted our money, violent assailant. Not because you extracted some sort of penance on yourself by turning the scourging lash on someone else." She then turns her eyes away from Percival as if not even acknowledging that he exists. She looks over her shoulder at the empty surroundings.

"Maira, right? Please. Would you grant us a brief trespass on your home?" she gives a small, tired smile at the woman.

"I'm still hoping for answers, but sincere and honest company can never harm. But this is a conversation for calm and quiet and the rules of hospitality. Not out in the street."

Leon has posed:

Leon cuts a glance over to Rena for a moment and gives a slight nod. "Point. Streets wont be safe place soon." he cuts a glance over his shoulder. He was just /waiting/ for police officers to show up. Or.. Police officer ninjas.. with Ninja masks... and a million katanas of policeness.

Ok. Maybe his imagination was getting a bit carried away there.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle would run the back of his hand across his face, "Why does he need to be here for the answers, Maira? None of it makes sense. All this situation does is give me a sense of terrible foreboding. Like Hell is empty, and all the devils are here..."

He'd give Leon a look, "What chance? A better one I think, to see him coming, with stars falling from the sky, declaring that all creation is his dominion.. than to allow ourselves to be beguiled by a demon laying a trap with plaintive desperation." He'd reflexively reach towards his chest, but then allow his hand to slide away. No, he wouldn't use that, not now...

"Why did she do it? Because it was the right thing to do. That's all she ever needs to know. I don't question that. All I question is how we are going to prevent you from returning to his grasp."

And then he'd just give Rena a contemptuous look, crossing his arms. "Is that so? And what dulcet tune does this spoony bard spin that would have me think that you'd respect a common cutpurse over one exhibiting reasonable caution. How many hearts has that one taken? How many more are to come? If I am a flagellant, trading the lash meant for me, upon him. It is only because I seek to protect others from an all-too-predictable fate."

He'd grumble at that, "Maira..I don't think this is a wise course. But if you desire it... I'll stay my blade for now."

Maira has posed:
Maira looks to Rena, nodding to her. "Heh, nice to meet you Rena...glad someone has been looking out for him," she replies before turning her full attention on Leon as he asks some difficult questions. They are the same questions everyone is asking, and Maira sighs and looks embarrassed, because she really doesn't have all the answers. "I don't...know how I did it exactly. This is one of the things I'm trying to discover for myself. All I know is that my light--the light of my heart or something I guess," modest blush, " It reacted to the darkness. I can feel it, sense it...and you didn't feel /right/ You felt empty. But as I met you over and over I knew there had to be a spark there, some part of you that was a /person/. So I just...I burned through the darkness and I reached for it and I tried to draw you out. ...and you came," she explains, shrugging slightly, looking at her feet.

"As for why...because, yes, it was the right thing to do. I was drawn to you, like...like some invisible string or magnets were between us. Once I knew....I had to try to make it right. Plus, it was defense on my part. I....well. The Dark Knight tired of games and came for my heart." She doesn't mean in a courting sort of way, obviously, by her expression. She's pretty sure he was going to try to rip it out.

Maira looks up to Rena again, nodding. "Oh--oh yes of course. I'm just staying at an Inn though...I don't live here. I'm just..." well, hiding here. Badly, apparently.

What she says about Percival, Maira makes no verbal response to. She knows Rena is correct. She looks up to Perci to see if he knows it too.

Perci however, continues in his extreme grumpiness. Maira sighs heavily. "Perci, I respect your caution, but I feel like this is something I need to do," she informs him. Maira's fear is not that Leon is still a puppet, but that by distrusting him and not giving him a chance she would drive him right back to being the Dark Knight. If she is to be a fool then she'll be a fool. It would hurt her more to know she could have helped him if only he'd been shown more kindness.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
"--Or we could just empty our hearts out onto the street." Rena says quietly with chagrin, rubbing her eyes with one hand as if to shield her laughter. Her shoulders shake once and then she looks up at Percival.

"Ah. So you can speak in complete sentences." The Shivan favors him with a bright smile. "I never would have guessed from your earlier actions. Thank you for teaching me a little more about the world than I already guessed."

She inclines her head politely to Percival, his insults sliding off her like rain from a rooftop.

Leon has posed:

Leon glances over his shoulder again as everyone discusses stuff amongst one another. Percival still snarling like an over protective father, Rena giving some words of wisdom, and Maira-- poor Maira was apparently beside herself.

He cut a glance over to Maira once she was done talking and then looked back at Rena. He blinks at Rena's remark before he suddenly spins around, his eyes drawn to some part of the street. He could pick up the sound of heavy footsteps on the wind as it passed by.

Those red eyes scanning the distance of the roadway. "What inn are you staying at?" He turns to look at Maira. " what floor? Tell me now. Quickly." Leon looked about ready to bolt.

He then peered over to Rena. "..They will just be after me. No one else. Go with them and I will meet you all there." He then glanced around the area, placing some distance between himself and the group, but he didn't bolt yet. He needed to know where to go and then he would bolt.

After all, if those were the enforcement of this area he did /NOT/ want to get them involved in his trouble of being chased. It was just easier giving some men a run for their money, sneaking around a corner to be lost, and then making his way to meet them again.

So long as he doesn't get caught.

Percival has posed:
Percival grumps sardonically at Rena. He is the grumpiest right now, "Only on occasion, in-between hunting for Mammoths and clubbing females over the head and carrying them over my shoulder back to my cave on the frozen tundra. I sometimes manage to grunt out something coherent."

The Gargoyle would rub his hand against the back of his face. Fine. If they were going to continue this folly, then he might as well continue to play the part of fool. "You'll find it two blocks over, to the right. The one with red columns. Second floor. Room.. I don't know these Wutai numberings. It looks like a symbol. You'll be able to find us there."

Maira has posed:
Maira is about to bludgeon Perci and maybe Rena. Focus on Leon. "Second floor, corner room," she informs him, then begins to walk away, back toward the Inn

Rena Laradyne has posed:
"Have fun." Rena tells Leon with a nod and smile, starting to shepard the group away from the street and the sound of approaching boots. She lets out a rolling BOOM of laughter. She looks at Percival with delight, even glee.

Her eyebrows raise almost into her hairline as he says that. She puts a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. Tears almost stream down her face as she laughs. "Oh. Oh.. I can see why you like him." she says to Maira cheerfully. "I think we should return there before your guardian's charming wit gets us in even more trouble."

And one way or another, she starts following the directions and peering at the signs. She does NOT wait for either of them.

Leon has posed:

"Both work." he states and then slinks back a few steps with his hand in his pockets. About the time he at last sees a few of the officers at last come into view and yell at his general direction. Good. Chase time.

The former Dark knight was suddenly off with a hard push from the ground and bolting down the alley. Soon those officers of the Wutai law go chasing after a few breaking down in another direction in probably hopes to cut off Leon.

It was hard to say how this was going to end, but for now it seems the three of those who were left standing where pretty much ignored. After all, they were most likely just people he had cornered and thus were innocents!

Also help they probably started to dispatch as soon as the cops came rolling in with those heavy boots.

Percival has posed:
Percival gives her a look that just states /not sure if serious/. Either she was mocking him, or expressing admiration, or both. Either way, the woman was more dangerous by far than she let on. He just could not, read her.

Maira has posed:
Maira looks to Rena, dumbfounded and blushing. Was she being sarcastic? Maira can't tell!

She looks to Perci, confused and....well, grumpy. She'd say they'd talk about this later, but she doesn't even want to.

So they gather in Maira's room at the Inn. Maira gets some tea and snacks sent up, and they wait for Leon....

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena takes the tea graciously when it arrives. She shrugs off her armored jacket and folds it very neatly, putting it beneath her as she kneels on the floor by the low table.

She places the tea tray on the low table and begins to pour, starting with Maira and then Percival and then herself. She puts her hands in her lap, looking around at the room before preparing the snacks as well.

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle would be seated, with wings furled, his tail twisting around the leg of the couch. He was on edge. He wasn't certain if he should be more afraid of Leon, or the woman in front of him. He was watching her every movement, to try and make certain she didn't slip anything into the tea. Even though he didn't notice any sleight of hand, and she had served herself last, he'd take his tea cup first, taking a sip from it. Well if it were poisoned, better he fall ill than Maira.

He was quiet, just trying to appraise her actions, but finding he just couldn't discern anything about her. That screamed danger right at him... but he had no choice. If he tried to oppose Maira's wishes too much then she'd ask him to leave, and then she'd be in even more danger.

Leon has posed:

Now how does a man scale a to a second story window and not be spotted? Well-- you don't actually scale to the window. You scale the /entire/ building and then come through the roof hatch. How he got up to the top of the building without being seen is a mystery unto itself.

Yet soon enough there is a knock on a window and Leon had somewhere changed cloths. Now, how he changed it and when he changed it is also probably best not asked. Yet now he had a new pair of glasses with dark blue, reflective lens, a black leather armored top vest, still those metal arm bracers which were now easier to see. Full black leather gloves, and a pair of black denim pants with those same shin guards and those same dark leather boots.

Maybe he /always/ had the leather vest on?

Yet there he was standing at the door with his arms crossed over his chest.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
"Well. This certainly is not the most awkward conversation I have been in, but it's certainly in the running." Rena says to Maira with a smile. "The.. most awkward conversation I've had was with my brother, when I walked in on him in a rather delicate position." she clears her throat. "Suffice it to say. The other two woman were also people I knew." she smiles and takes a sip of her tea, both hands curled around it.

Then there was a knock on the window and Rena rises to take a look at Leon. She steps back to take in the full effect. "Nope. STILL could do that all day." she says with a grin, letting them in.

"The tea's ready when you are. I think I'll terrify a local shopkeeper into some of those dumplings a little later on."

Maira has posed:
It is kind of awkward, isn't it? It would be so awkward if Perci were not currently being played by Grumpy the dwarf. As Rena explains about finding her brother with two girls her eyes widen and her cheeks flush.

Maira watches then as Lena pours the tea, observing with quiet awe. She's so graceful! Maira tries to take note. She remembers another tea-drinking instance. Gosh...maybe she should tell Leon about /THAT/. He's not likely to believe SINISTER TEA PARTY, but it was...an interesting story.

Maira jumps when Leon knocks on the window, then settles down and smiles softly as Rena went to go let him in. Huh, what did she mean? "Huh? What could you do all day?" she asks innocently.

Percival has posed:
"With all due respect... Rena, wasn't it? I'm not certain I want to hear about your brother's m�nage � trois. Unless his name is Maximilien and he's insufferable French. If so then I might as well face the inevitable right now."

He'd stroke a single hand against his forehead, before turning to watch Rena let Leon in. "Welcome."

Maira has posed:
Maira looks between the two, confusion rising. "What's a menage a twa?"

Percival has posed:
The Gargoyle runs the back of his hand across his face, straight down from his forehead, "Not.. important. I'll tell you later Maira."

Rena Laradyne has posed:
"Well. My people /are/ known for their stamina. So--" she clicks her tongue at Leon. "Just about /anything/ I guess." she grins and returns to her place at the table.

"So, we're at the respect stage already, are we? I'm surprised. You are not nearly as insufferable as you let on."

she winks at Percival over another steaming drink of tea. "A good start." she tells Maira with a smile. "And perhaps a little off topic. Let's settle down to figuring out what questions have answers and which do not."

Leon has posed:

Leon stares at Rena for a moment as she seems to take all the view in, before at last opening the window. He looks her dead in the eyes, just slightly over the brim of his shades. He wants to remark something, but he decides better against it.

He slips in and then goes to remove the glove off his hands, along with pushing the sunglasses up to rest on the top of his head, which pushes back a few of the loose bangs of his dark short hair. "Hopefully you guys got me a cup of tea." He says with a soft smirk and then goes to remove his weapon belt before sitting down.

See, no weapons Percival.

Then as Percival speaks of french and Maira asks her question. Leon only clears his throat cause he /does/ know what it means and raises his eye brows up slightly. "The things I miss when being chased by armed men." He glances over to Maira, ignoring Percival for now. "If you really want to know. I am sure visual aids could be in order." There was a teasing sound in his voice, but he doesn't press on.

He then glances over at Rena comment on Stamina, "..no kidding. Get her going and she doesn't stop." He doesn't go further on that one /either/.

Maira has posed:
Maira, completely not getting it, tilts her head. "Visual aids can be helpful I suppose, but is it really so complicated?" she asks, reaching for her cup of tea. She smiles warmly to Rena. "Thank you kindly Miss Rena."

She's also not sure what they are talking about with this stamina business. She just purses her lips and continues to look confused.

Percival has posed:
"Oh bloody hell.." He actually reverts back to a British accent. The situation so absurd that he can't even keep up his fake, yet practiced American one. "All right. Let's just.. get off that topic. Ask the questions you truly want to ask."

Maira has posed:
Suddenly Perci had an unfamiliar accent!? Maira blinks and looks toward him, questioningly...That was new!

Percival has posed:
And then all of a sudden, the Gargoyle wobbles, then topples forward, landing on the tea set with a crash. And then he's out cold. He'd been bewitched by the spoony bard witch.

Leon has posed:

Leon was about to say something until suddenly Percival meets table. He just blinks his eyes a few times, before raising an eyebrow. Now did he really /want/ that tea. He just leans forward with a spoon and pokes the Gargoyle.

Nope. He doesn't know anything about what Rena has done. He is completely oblivious to her devious plan.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena smiles over her teacup. "It must be tiring being that self-righteous." she then takes another sip.

"He'll be okay in a few hours. I just wanted us to be able to have a conversation without any more interruptions." Rena chuckles and waves to the window.

"When I came to Wutai, I had somewhat of an itinerary that included a hot spring. It was somewhat of a treat and now the three of us are somewhat confused, tired and runaround a bit by your guardian's ire. " Rena's voice continues to be completely calm as she continues.

"May I ask to see what it is that you did to free my friend here? Is it something that you can draw up at will, or only at great need?"

Maira has posed:
When Perci collapses onto the table, Maira gasps and rushes to his side, shaking him and checking his pulse. "Perci!" she says, quite alarmed until she looks up and Lena explains. Well, alright she still looks a bit alarmed! "I know he's...difficult...but you shouldn't have done that! He /will/ be alright won't he? What did you do? Sleep spell?" she asks. Hello, I'm also a mage. Nice to meetcha.

Maira frowns and fetches a pillow, slipping it (with great difficulty) under Perci's head.

Then Rena asks her the question she's come to dread. Maira sighs. "No, I can not draw it up at will. I can show you...some of what I can do but...not what I did to him. I can't replicate it, though I did something kind of similar..." she says, sighing gently. She looks to Leon, who is apparently as surprised as she is by Perci's very sudden unconsciousness. "Poor Perci...." she mumbles, sighing lightly.

"I could show you the hotsprings, I know where it is now. Though Perci knows better since he's....well...he does the flying," she answers. Knight and mode of transportation, all in one!

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena smiles and nods with understanding. "Just a simple sleep spell and I think you know as well as I do that this quest for answers and for help is going to be difficult even without your guardian trying to shunt the responsibility onto someone else. I just didn't want us to come to blows again. Not when people could potentially get hurt for no reason. "

she finishes her tea and gets up. "Would you still be willing to show us the way to those hot springs? This isn't exactly how I imagined the day trip, but I think perhaps we'll make do with it just the same."

Leon has posed:

Leon watches the two women and raises an eye brow as Rena explains. He kinda wonders what the trick here is, if any trick at all. Is this what she honestly does to men who annoy her, if so-- then he may want to watch his own back one day.

He inhales deeply before he goes to stand up once more. He pretty much stays quiet, but does peer at Maira when she explains she can't do that trick again so easily. Well-- this explains why she also doesn't know how. It must have been instinct for her that drove her to such things.

Really was just magnetism, yet, so strange.

Then he glances over at Rena, then back over to Maira. Seems the young man has decided to take a moment of silence while these two talk. Perhaps while at the spa, he can take time to at last jot some names down in a journal he bought. After all, if something happens to him again, at least he can have a record of who he has come to know.

Maira has posed:
Maira sighs heavily. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to get answers as to why I could do what I did. A lot of people have been asking me that same question. There are some people I need to talk to, I guess. A friend is looking into it too," she explains, vaguely.

"Yes, I can show you how to get to the hot spring....why not," she says, her eyes rolling toward the ceiling. She could use a little relaxation! "Just let me leave Perci a note so he doesn't freak out when he wakes up," she says, moving over to a desk to grab a notepad and a pen.

Quickly she scribbles down a note that looks like it was written by a gradeschooler, but is more or less legible. 'Perci, there was a sleep spell. I'm fine. We just went to talk and soak in the hotsprings. I have my radio, so don't worry! <3 Maira'

Maira looks to Leon then, smiling gently. "If you want I'll tell you what happened each time we met. I don't know if it will help any, but....who knows. It might."

Leon has posed:

Leon cants his head to Maira, he watches her write the note and then listens to what she had to say. He gives a faint nod of his head. "Right. At least then I may be able to get some idea what perhaps the other 'me' was trying to do.. or at least.. some idea of what Mateus may have been after, if anything at all."

Or he may only learn how much of a monster he really was and just how much danger everyone could be of him if was to loose control of the darkness; ever.

He walks over to the door and opens it, before bowing softly and open hand motioning out. "Ladies first." He says with a warm smile.

He was also wondering silently though hidden well on his face--

Was he really ready to hear this?

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena looks at the note and nods sagely. She tears off a sheet of her own. 'Look at the table /first./' is what she scribbles down on the notepad./ She then kisses Percival on the unconscious forehead and slaps the note right on his face.

"Good night, prince charming." she says to him as she raises herself up and grabs her armored jacket, shrugging it over her shoulders as she moves to the door. "..Looks like it's time for this story, huh?" she asks Leon as she walks out the door.

"Perhaps some drink should be involved somewhere in this arrangement-- and definitely food."

Maira has posed:
It feels really strange leaving Perci behind, but he can't be with his constantly! This needed to happen, and it would be easier without him glowering. Still...she frowns softly, but she does make her exit, luckily before she sees Rena slap a note on Perci's head. Well, not luckily for Perci. But someone, surely.

"Food sounds great! Drinks too! Yes that sounds nice--we can stop on our way to the springs, there is this great food cart with amazing dumplings...."

Insert fade, maybe a corny screen wipe, here.