Shard Seekers Unite: Fluorgis

Shard Seekers Unite: Fluorgis
Date of Scene:	06 October 2012
Location:	Fluorgis
Synopsis:	Things go down in Fluorgis surrounding the Shard Seekers and their leader. Something precious is stolen!
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Reize Seatlan, Lily, Faruja Senra, Priel Aylin, Riku, Shiki Misaki, Dr Facilier, Nagetta, Maira, Vespa, Scarmiglione

---

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Fluorgis, the air trade city. It is a city well-known for its trade in goods and for clans to become established and recognized. With the mass of people out and about, it's no surprise that there are so many travelers.
Through the crowd of people that are walking about and exploring the place, two of the Shard Seekers are at the town square of the district. While the fresh water and the lavish plant life are generally enjoyable, there is one person that is unable to enjoy anything right now.
"My head hurts."
Comical tears roll along his cheeks while he drinks from his water. Still suffering the hangover, Reize mutters to himself. His ahoge is curled up, holding the curve of its tendril, as if it has a hang over as well.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"It serves you right!"

Don't ask what happened to Shiki and Reize this morning, OK? Just don't. The former is walking with her nose in the air, arms folded, indignant in the way only a girl can be when certain terrible things have happened to her. Mr. Mew is walking along next to her.

"Alright, Reize, we've overcome a lot of things to get this far. Only one last thing to do. Where are we meeting everyone else? DON'T SAY A BAR."

Faruja Senra has posed:
Ahh, Fluoris. It's a city built with Burmecians in mind, or at least it would seem as Faruja lounges atop one of the buildings overlooking town square. The buildings allowed ample landing, laying, and leaping space from one to another that could easily serve as a young Dragon Knight's 'My First Jump Attack' training grounds. Sipping a cold local beverage, the Temple Rat is looking quite happy with his current assignment. 'Investigate and recon the city of Fluorgis, it's people, and the formation of so-called guilds.'

A glance down to the ground, and he spies a familiar looking scarf attached to a familiar boy...who's looking a little worse for wear.

Standing, he leaps, landing about three feet away from Reize and Shiki. "Ser Seatlan! Lord's blessings, fine Ser! Pray, drink. Why, if I were to not know better, the look of one awakening from a long stint at the local tavern hangs about your face." The Templar offers a bow to the pair and his cold drink to Reize, even as a smile comes to his muzzle. Yup, he's been where Reize is now.

To Shiki, he adds. "Ahh, apologies, dear Lady. Templar Faruja Senra. An acquaintance of Ser Seatlan's." He explains. Introductions, ho! And apparently his guess is right, judging from Shiki's words.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
He's breathless.

Though their adventures as yet go unreported in entertaining journal form, Ivo and Lily successfully traversed the desert between Costa Del Sol and Fluorgis, managing to ditch a certain pesky huntress along the way. Needless to say, no one was eaten by a sandworm, though this had as much to do with Lily being a veritable magic battery as with Ivo's thoughtful planning. That aside, strolling through the Waterfall City, a vibrant flower amidst the arid sands, is worthy recompense for their ordeals. Surely not even a village could survive out here without an oasis, but the amount of natural beauty here is truly stunning.

Yet for an engineer by trade who is ever fascinated by the new--

"Look, Lily."

The finest sights are above.

"It's an airship... just like they said."

Lacking the funds or werewithal to find a Sky Port and thereby take the shortest path to Fluorgis, Ivo and Lily had taken the scenic route, through Luca and Costa Del Sol. No doubt they're better for the journey (and the girl is surely better acclimated to, er, being awake in general), despite a few minor and inconsequential mishaps on Ivo's part, not to be further discussed here. Yet just the thought of these fabled flying ships had filled the serious-minded knight-errant with a kind of child-like exuberance far beyond his designedly playful demeanor.

On one side of the plaza, currently uncharacteristically unaware of his surroundings, Ivo gazes up at one of the departing airships, blue eyes wide and sparkling.

"Magnificent," he whispers, able to breathe at last.

Vespa has posed:
"This is a nice city huh Al?", Vespa says as she walks along the stone streets of Fluogris. "Yes I know I know we do need to find some work..", she sighs to herself looking over as a man leaps down from a building landing safely on the ground. She a bit impressed by that act. They all seem to know each other. She smiles. "They look like a lively bunch don't they?"

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta finds herself somewhere she's unfamiliar with once again. She's heard that there might be lamia here so she's decided to check out the city. Of course she's not quite exactly sure where to go, so she finds herself in the town square. She stops upon seeing a few familiar faces wondering if something was going on here. Of course the girl with the massive axe stands out, how exactly does she carry that?

Riku has posed:
Riku startles awake. He awakens with a faint cry, jerking upright from the tree he was leaning against. It only seemed like he'd just closed his eyes. Riku rubs at his eyes, leaning forwards a bit as he shakes his head, one hand propping up his face with the elbow leaning against one knee.

He coughs, using the tree to help pull him up to his feet. He shades his eyes with a hand, blinking as everything still seems disorientingly bright. As the silohuettes of washed out color and too high contrast fade into something resembling actual buildings, and flowers, and people Riku drops his hand.

He moves unhurriedly through the crowd, walking off whatever phantoms left behind by the dreams by exploring a new place. He turns his head back and forth, weaving through the crowd and stopping every so often to look at things. It's at this point that he spots some familiar faces in the crowd and begins making his way across the town square towards them.

One hand is raised slightly to wave when someone lands abruptly and he pauses, the stranger making him unsure of calling out. He takes a breath, and approaches the group anyways. "Hey." he calls out when within easier hearing distance. "Are you lost again, Reize? Or is this actually where you meant to end up for once?"

Maira has posed:
Maira has been in the city for a little while, minding her own business on a bench nearby the gathering group. Her eyes, like so many other's, are fixed on the sky where an airship sits at port. Now, she comes from a world in which this is not a strange thing. She is accustomed to the rhythmic chop-chop-chop of helicopters, the whistles of trains and the percussive BANG of gunfire. Airships are so....quiet. So peaceful.

She's done the smart thing and changed since her last battle, though a certain scent of smoke hangs around her still. Its her own unique perfume. She's dressed in a pair of black pants and a white button down several sizes too big tosses over a black tank top.

She sighs quietly, her eyes falling from the sky to follow the voices that travel. One of those voices was familiar...

Lily has posed:
Trekking through a desert would be really hard most of the time. But for Ivo and Lily it's been fairly pleasant. That's what happens when you hang out with someone who can keep you cool and refreshed through the intense heat.

Like Lily.

But now they're through, and she can stop straining her magic for comfort. It's like a burden lifted off her shoulders, to be sure, but even more so...

"... W-wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

The young woman's treated to an amazing sight. Water everywhere, and things flying in the sky that aren't birds!

Excitement flashes on the girl's face, eyes going wide and lips curling into a cheery smile before she simply JUMPS up and squeezes Ivo's arm ecstatically. "Let's go find the others!"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Cheeks puffing towards Shiki, one can tell a bit of steam rising over his head before he exhales a sigh. Truth be told, he isn't sure where to meet the others at. Honestly, the town is pretty crowded as is, it would be rather difficult to see the people that they are looking for through the large mass of people in this town. How annoying.
Headaches can make even the most cheerful people grumpy as hell.
In his grumpiness, he mutters, "I don't know. Maybe---.." He looks over to see someone very familiar. The first man-rodent--err... nezumi! His grumpiness subsided with glee, Reize waves a hand the knight's way, "Oiiiiii, Faruja!" He then sighs from the templar's words and he gratefully takes the cool beverage, "Thanks!"
A sigh of relief exhales, frowning to Faruja, "Yeah, I met a new member, and we went to the bar. ..I don't remember what happened, and.. uhh..." Then he lowers his head, comical tears flowing along his cheeks while his ahoge flops.
"Now I have cooties."
So many people in the crowd, his attention quirks up when Riku arrives. The cheerful demeanor up once more, "Oiii, Riku!"
And then his comment comes. Twitch. Twitch. The cheerfulness ends with the hangover-induced grumpiness returning. His eyes "We made it to the right area, thank you very much." He rubs his forehead, "Just gotta make this headache go away and---.."
Is that them...?! There they are! Past Riku, Reize can see Ivo and Lily, "Oiiiiiii! Ivo...! Lily...! Over here...!"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki stare.

Then, she laughs. "You don't know, do you? Oh, Reize, you're just..." she tries to compose herself, but she can't help up and puts her arm around him. "You're too much. Oh, man, hang on, I... I don't even know what to do! We don't even know a local landmark, or something, but..."

Oh hey, a person! People! People Reize knows, what are the odds! Thusly she withdraws her hand from his shoulder LIKE IT WAS ON FIRE.

"Don't offer him anything to drink, he has a hangover," Shiki says, with a tone that strikes a balance between caring and teasing. "And don't ask about the cooties."

("I did it to tease him.")

And then there's Riku. "Oh, hey, you're that guy we met for a while in Manhattan. I don't know if I even ever got your name." Something about this meeting feels unusual, as if it should have happened in another time and place under different circumstances. But it didn't and it won't so she just smiles sweetly at Riku...

And Reize is already distracted. DUCKFACE.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Smile! Smiiile! Faruja seems highly amused by poor Reize's tale, even reaching over to pat the poor boy on the shoulder. "Ahh, yes! Your companion offers you a drink, which of course it would be rude to refuse. Ten rounds later, and you are outside in an alleyway, wondering where your coinpurse and clothes have gone." He pauses, and rubs one of his ears. "...Perhaps that was just my first time." Gotta love bars of questionable repute.

The Templar's good humor evaporates. "Cooties? I...I am afraid..." Pause. The rat-man turns to Shiki, catching the tone, and smirks. "As course, M'Lady." Taking a moment, he looks her over, and her choice of clothing. Particularly, the hat. Hmmm~

A tailswish, and the ratling steps closer to Reize. "Hold still, please, Reize." A small incantation, a flash of white light around his fingers, and...

"Esuna!" The spell will settle over Reize, hopefully purging him of the remnants of the 'poisonous' alcohol, and it's hangover symptoms.

"There. Any improvement?"

To Riku, the Burmecian scowls. "Now, now, Ser. Words laced with poison spoken upon the innocent denotes ill intent. Pray show respect to this fine young man." His single red eye narrows at the youth as he takes a step closer to and in front of Reize.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Turning to Reize, as he waves over two other familiar faces, the rat continues. "...New member?" He questions, tail flicking a moment.

Nagetta has posed:
Well, the people gathered seem friendly enough. Would they accept a lamia as part of their meeting though? Nagetta's already met Ivo and Faruja, but she's not sure about the others. It was hard to tell was these things after all. Maybe she should keep some distance for now at least. She doesn't want an angry mob after her.

Maira has posed:
Maira spots Faruja, a small smile appearing. Goodness, that guy is just about everywhere! He doesn't seem to notice her. Should she say hello? He seems to be in a large group, she doesn't want to interrupt....After last night's events, Maira is feeling a bit shy. She totally made an idiot of herself with that Leon guy. And that woman from Shinra...and...okay probably everyone.

Uist, her invisible companion sits beside her, suggesting she should indeed go over and say hello. "I don't know..." she responds. Faruja is certainly very nice though. He'd be happy to see her, wouldn't he? "Alright! Fine! I'll do it!" she says, standing up suddenly. She blinks then, suddenly realizing she said that aloud. And with great volume.

Facepalm.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Ha ha ha!"

Those seeking assurance that strategy and sincerity needn't be at odds need only look upon Ivo's laughing face, grinning down at the girl clinging to his arm, eyes warm with affection.

"Good idea."

Thus brimming with /happiness/ and /friendship/ which /everyone loves/, Ivo Galvan, Shard Seekers swordsman and official Ideas Man and unofficial Older Brother Figure to At Least Two of Them turns, blue cloak swirling, and still smiling steps forward to begin searching for his friends.

"Oh, there he is."

It takes like three seconds.

The young knight takes his swift success in stride with his usual aplomb, not in the least because he can't exactly credit his own perceptive abilities when Reize is shouting across the plaza to get his attention. "Hey, Reize!" Grinning back, Ivo guides Lily down the steps and over to their fearless leader. "Ah, it's Ser Faruja. What a pleasant surprise. You've been well, I trust?" Nodding affably at the rodent lancer, Ivo's gaze then alights on Riku, whereupon he almost imperceptibly stiffens, his expression unchanging but freezing momentarily. "Fancy meeting you here." It sounds pleasant enough; he elects not to ask if Riku's found his friends yet. With another nod, he then turns to Shiki, in whom Ivo suddenly seems quite interested.

Or is it, 'by whom he's suddenly quite amused'?

"You've made a new friend, Reize?" Placing a hand on his hip. "You sure are popular." It's not clear who exactly he's teasing with that statement, if anyone. Did he see Shiki put her arm around the kid? He's acting a little like he did. That's the benefit of an enigmatic smile. Well, it's a benefit for someone, anyway. "What's all this about cooties? Oh, pardon me -- I'm not supposed to ask." Still looking like he's enjoying himself a little too much, Ivo arches a brow at Reize slightly. "Am I to watch over this girl too when you go gallivanting off on another adventure?"

Oh, dear.

"Well, if so, I could imagine no better consequence," he says, at last easing up, his smile toward Shiki now more kind than joking. "Ivo Galvan, co-founder of the Shard Seekers. Charmed."

Riku has posed:
Riku smiles with bemusement as Reize's demeanor flip-flops with practically every sentence. He initially ignores Faruja, nodding to them before seeming to completely dismiss him out of hand. He's not going to look surprised at a rat in armor. He's not. It's normal, for whatever value there is in normal.

Right. He startles slightly at a loud exclaimation somewhere in the crowdRiku turns to Shiki, nodding again in greeting to her. "Your Shiki, aren't you? My name is Riku. It's nice to meet you. Well.. awake, anyways." he walks a few paces to the side, looking over his shoulder at who Reize is calling to. He recognizes Ivo and Lily from their brief meeting, turning back to the others.

There is a dark look on his face as he regards Faruja, but as Ivo and Lily join the group, and he watches the interplay between Ivo and the others, the moment passes. Riku rubs the bridge of his nose and puts his hands back in his pockets, rocking back on his heels.

"Sorry." he tells the armored rat, with something like genuine apology. "Bad habit." he turns to Reize, voice mildly interested. "So.. Reize. Is this everyone? Your group's all together now?"

Lily has posed:
"Reeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiize!!"

Yes. After letting go of Ivo and spotting her other big friend in this big wide world - a somewhat DANGEROUS big wide world - Lily beelines for him blindly, paying no real attention to anything like who else is around or what's in the way. Eyes are set on the goal and OFF SHE GOES.

WHOOOOOOSH. CHARGE. STAMPEDE.

... one could almost imagine a comical dust storm kicking up in her wake as she waves out with both arms shouting the boy's name, happy and with stars in her eyes!

... that's when it all goes wrong.

"Hyiik!" She trips over her own feet. "Hwah!"

--and kind of turns into a living projectile that goes flying into Reize and barely misses Faruja and Shiki in the process.

WHUMPF! This time a small dust cloud really DOES get kicked up when the two of them hit the ground and tumble together in a short roll that ends up with... Lily woozily sitting on Reize's chest and rubbing her head. "Ow ow ow... I'm so glad you're here! We never got to talk about anything and then it's just sand everywhere. Sand, sand, sand and what are you supposed to eat?!" These words are spoken as if they are of DIREST IMPORT, a pleading look in LIly's eyes as she glances down at Reize imploringly.

Yeah they'll have to talk later.

Scarmiglione has posed:
Somewhere dark, somewhere deep, a being of hatred rests. Darkness shrouded in darkness, he sits perfectly still, brooding, the only light in this place coming from his eyes, seeming to glow with a piercing yellow light. After much time, they shift, slightly. The sound of ragged breath, a slow, pained inhalation, echoes throughout the otherwise silent cavern. His voice, raspy and rotten, follows.

"I smell.../happiness/."

And then he's gone, leaving this place empty once more.

SHORTLY, IN FLOURGIS

What appears to be a heavily cloaked hunchback covered in manure steps out of a nondescript alleyway, burning yellow eyes scanning for what he /knows/ to be here. "Where, where, where? Where is it?" Several nearby people step away from what is probably some kind of insane homeless man, as much due to his feverish ramblings as his formidable scent. "I know it'sss here! Where?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Well, that's not entirely true. Shiki is rapidly becoming kind of flustered- not just because a lot of people are talking, but she is only now becoming aware that one of them is a /rat/ and over there there's a /snake/ and one of them is a /humanoid typhoon/ and the-

Shiki momentarily experiences a few seconds of paralysed culture shock, which is exacerbated by Lily just... doing that thing she just did. Mr. Mew climbs up onto the table and offers Faruja and Reize handshakes- well, pawshakes- well, stitched felt tubeshakes- and Shiki decides to just windmill her forearms for a second.

"Gah! I mean, hi! Hello, everyone! My name is Shiki! Shiki Misaki! Me and Reize travelled here from Goug NOT THAT THAT MEANS ANYTHING."

God she's blushing so hard.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
For Nagetta, she will find that the atmosphere is rather diverse. While the majority are humans, there are moogles floating around, along with the bangaas, vieras, and numous. There is occasionally the elf and other burmecian about. While passing by, there are occasional looks, but considering the fact that Nagetta hasn't outright attacked anyone, the people don't seem to mind the presence.
Overall, Fluorgis is pretty diverse in all races.

Unfortunately, Reize is very easy to distract, given the circumstances of very familiar people. So many familiar people. This is a good thing for Reize, nevertheless.
When Faruja casts the soothing spell that is Esuna, he can feel the malign elements slowly ebb from him. This takes away the feelings of his headache. He brightens to a smile, feeling a great relief, "Oh! Thanks, Faruja!"
The question about the new member earns a bright smile, "Yeah! Shiki is part of the Shard Seekers. Ivo, Lily, and I were supposed to meet here in order to get our group official as a clan." He scratches his head, "I think Ivo has been worrying about the financial aspects of it all." Reize, meanwhile, is unaware of the human storm that is beelining towards him.
The travelers in the town all wince and shift away from the girl charging throuh like a stampede.
There's even a dress lifted up in the midst of the storm kicked up.
Reize lifts a finger up, noting a response to Riku, "Yeah, the group is all----" His eyes shift over to see Lily coming his way.
Eyes are wide.
"...---Uh?"
GUH!
Reize meets with the human bullet that impacts against him and sends him hitting the ground in a rolling motion. Oof ooof oof oof... And he lands pretty hard on the ground.
His antenna hair flops, looking crumbled and beaten. This helps shows the state of Reize.
His eyes: x_X and then @_@
"...We are..." His voice becomes high pitched, "the Shard Seekers." Head hits the ground with a x_X.

Priel Aylin has posed:
"My, my, my....look at this band of misfits and fools~"

Came the sound of a female's voice. The sound of footsteps walking along the stone tiles at a casual pace accompanied the voice and soon revealed a young red-headed woman as the owner. Her arms were crossed and she looked only mildly entertained with what she was seeing before her. With a smile that seemed to suggest nothing but mischief and ill intent, the girl came to a stop eventually, eyeing all present with an impassive gaze. "Hmn, how intriguing. We have rats, children, snakes, and wannabe knights. All in the same place. Truly, only in this world forsaken by god, could this sort of meeting happen. Ehehehehe~"

And with a giggle, Priel brought a hand to her mouth, clearly quite amused. With just the fact that they were all there together, the fact the Reize was currently bowled over by Lily, the fact that there was a rat in armor even existing, Shiki and her stupid hat, oh and we can't forget Ivo and that ridiculous cape. ...And then there were those other people. ...Yes.

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta hears the word snakes, it looks like her cover has been blown. She moves in a bit closer with that but the girl's a bit shy. "This place seems pretty nice..." It doesn't seem godforsaken to her at all. A bit strange, but that was to be expected. "Are you okay?" She looks at Reize on the ground, it looks like he took that hit pretty hard.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Having a flying mount helps with that, oh Fire Lady. The increase in volume, from yet another familiar voice, has Faruja turning in Maira's direction. "Ahh...Lord in heaven, Lady Maira, all is well fine Lady?" he offers with a touch of concern, only slightly raising his voice, but carrying quite a ways like anyone who's led a squad on a field of battle. It works pretty well here, too.

And /more/ folks! When Ivo and Lilly arrive, he offers a bow to them. "As well as can be expected, Ser Galvan! Though the Lord tests me, as He does us all, with faith and good companions I yet perservere. Looking well...ahh, and the young Lady! It warms my heart to see you well, and in such honorable company as Ser Galvan's. The Lord's good grace finds you both in high spirits and health, I pray?"

Riku's apology is accepted with a bow, and the rat offers him a nod. "None are perfect, aside from the Lord and His Son. May Faram and the Divine Prophet bless you, Ser."

Suddenly, a blurr of Lily passes by! Or, more accurately, trips and zooms by. Cursing himself for not noticing her mis-timed steps, he looks down to the pair. "Ser Seatlan, M'Lady, are you both quite alright?" he asks quickly, even as his hands glow white. "Cure!" Thank Faram for white magic.

Ahh, but hands are offered! Shiki's hand is taken in the rat's gauntleted own. Kneeling down to one knee, he kisses the back of Shiki's hand, before rising.

"To meet a most precious...companion of Ser Seatlan's is an honor beyond telling, Lady Misaki. May the Lord bless you, and guide you in all of your endeavors." Rising, his red eye glances from Shiki, to Reize, to Shiki. He winks, drawing the obvious conclusion here.

"A fine choice, M'Lady." He whispers to her as he gives the girl some breathing room.

Faruja once again looks at the lump that is Reize. A hand goes to his muzzle. He's totally not trying to hide snickers. Ignore the vibrating tail.

Still, opportunity knocks. "Shard Seekers." He repeats, looking over the group. A clawed hand rubs his chin thoughtfully. Hmmm.

Priel's arrival and announcement has him first turning to Nagetta. Wince. Be /calm/ Faruja. She gets a brief smile even as he tries to calm down instinctive fight-or-flight response, before returning his gaze to Priel. "Truly, I wonder...'tis it a symptom of the world's fall that manners and good graces are utterly left aside and forgotten?" His peering turns to a full on glare, however.

"Knave! The Lord has not abandoned us! Indeed, 'tis Divine Providence that any yet survive such darkness. Now hold thy tongue! These people have shown bravery, even when faced with abominations most foul. More, M'Lady, than I can say for you! Who simply stood by, as if 'twas all jest and comedy while lives were at stake." He yells. The smell of a manure-covered homeless man doesn't phase him, too busy to notice for the moment as he's focused on Priel.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki squeaks as Faruja kisses her hand. Mr. Mew, you're betrayed me! "I-it's nice to meet you, too," Shiki says, slightly numb from encountering the third anthropomorphic non-human in her life, so much so she doesn't even deny what he said and just blushes even more.

She flinches a bit when Nagetta looks over at Reize, it's impossible for her not to react but she's just uh, got this thing about snakes. So she's helping Reize, and to a lesser extent, Lily up.

"Hi," to Nagetta.

She's suddenly quite protective when she turns her attention back to Priel, after the initial jab. She crosses her arms. "I guess it's a small world after all. Why don't you go gather needles in the desert?"

Maira has posed:
She's been seen! Maira looks momentarily panicked. She nearly jumps behind the bench behind to to avoid drawing any more attention to herself. Alas, but it is too late. She's been spotted and addressed by the oh-so-courtly Faruja Senra.

Flushing, she gives herself a mental shake then walks on over toward the group, coming to stand beside Faruja with a shy smile. "Hello again Faruja!" she says, dropping a curtsy to him. He always seems to inspire story-book manners. Of course, it looks totally ridiculous is pants. "Whatcha doin?" she asks then, hanging back. If any eyes turn in her direction she waves a hand to wave lightly.

Lily has posed:
"A-awah... Reize?!" And the boy goes down. LIly stares at his dazed face worriedly, and reaches down to tug at his cheeks as if hoping this will get him talking again... she has no idea what's wrong, of course. "Are you al--" Whooosh.

A cure spell washes over him. She can feel this... and glances about with wide, innocent eyes towards the caster... and smiles upon recognition. "Fa..." Oops, no finishing that name. One finger raises to scratch thoughtfully at a cheek as she gets up and tries to tug Reize to his feet while glancing straight over at Shiki who's near Faruja. "... that hat's fun to look at--"

... this will likely meet with very little success, given her lack of real strength. But she stops when a familiar and unfriendly voice rankles in her ears.

Letting go of Reize's arms she whirls around to stare at Priel. STARE.

STARE LASERS. Icy fury.

... very, very frigid indeed. The temperature around the girl starts plummeting as she points a finger at Priel. "We're together, and you're alone, where it's dark. You like it there." She mumbles... as if this is supposed to make sense.

... wait, did snowflakes just start forming out of the air around her while she's glaring...?

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo just smiles to himself and crosses his arms as Lily barrels past him and crashes into Reize, utterly nonchalant as a stuffed, um, animal silently reaches out shake his hand. Obviously, he accepts, appearing as calm and gentlemanly as he would in the Celestial Court of Cosmopolis. At least he and Mr. Mew can see eye to eye. Uh, sort of.

"Nice to meet you, Shiki," the knight with the completely fantastic and not in any way absurd, thank you, cape replies, though he looks more like he's talking to the cat. At last he turns back to the girl, and though he corners of his lips twitch upward, he has the decency not to pick any further on a girl who is blushing that hard. "If you've endured a journey with the Prince of Disorientation, I'm sure we'll get along famously."

Then Reize's voice is heard, and for some reason, Ivo seems to find this comment so delightful and hilarious that his lips twist, contorting, until at last he can contain it no more, and he just begins laughing, loudly and unabashedly, in the middle of the plaza, abandoning all poise, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes.

"Ha ha ha ha... that's right," he manages at last, short of breath, wiping his eye with the back of a gloved hand. "Welcome to the Shard Seekers, Shiki. It's good to have you." Seemingly have forgotten all urge to tease, Ivo's expression has taken on a peaceful cast, and the young knight smiles kindly. "And it's good to be here," he adds softly, to no one in particular, his gaze shifting.

It's like he's /happy/ or something.

But soon enough, 'tis all jest and comedy once more, as Ivo simply crosses his arms again to watch the shenanigans in full display. Fortunately, Faruja seems to have been persuaded to like Ivo due to his good manners, which means Ivo is spared any abuse and gets to watch, very entertained, as the holy knight at turns eloquently pontificates and tongue-lashes. And then teases Shiki, to boot! What a champion. "You're a good man, Faruja Senra," Galvan says like he means it, which he does, though not only in the straightforward way it's likely to be interpreted. Good for a laugh! "With charming friends," he then adds, when Maira approaches, turning his smile momentarily toward her. "Welcome to the crowd. It's a mess, isn't it? With the worlds as they are, people seek friends like we seek shards." Have you even started doing that yet, though? "Ivo. Nice to meet you. Lady Maira, was it?"

But there's so many people, and so little time, and there's a bizarre stench in the air, counterbalanced by a perfume that's oddly familiar, though he can't place it--

Oh. Well, well.

"Priel."

Whereas Faruja is in the midst of shouting her town and Shiki is offering bitter words, Ivo saunters over closer to the redhead, stopping by her side, glancing toward the shenanigans taking place. Looks like there's more than one Amused Observer in the plaza -- but one of them's having significantly more fun, and being met with a lot less hostility.

"If this world is forsaken," he says conversationally, "it's a world of opportunity too, isn't it? Look at all of them. This could never be in the land from whence I came." And it was a diverse place, too. He smiles slightly toward the dragon-girl. "And look who made it across the desert. Seems to me like all of us are in one piece, even traveling separately."

He tilts his head slightly, letting some of the madness continue on behind him as he addresses Priel in a slightly quieter tone.

"Any luck on your end?"

Riku has posed:
Riku has to replay the last few seconds to get everything.

There's the wind up..

and the trip..

He looks towards the wreckage of the aborted charge with a new found respect for Lily. She did a very passable impression of a train right there. Or possibly a lesser killer version of a Taxi.

Riku knew that Reize seemed to draw people to him, but it looks like it misfired right there.

He blinks as then Shiki is set off, who starts to windmill her arms in a flustered near panic. He also draws the more than obvious conclusion as Faruja steps in to speak with them.

The whole situation is so.. hilarious, with Reize dazed and squeaking out the name of the shard seekers. He starts to laugh, giving Mr. Mew a what.. tubeshake? as it approaches him. He doesn't have the flailing impulse to culture shock that Shiki does, but seeing a snake woman even if it is not for the exact first time is disconcerting. There is also Maira, another stranger whom is drawn to the group.

Riku idly wonders if Reize will eventually attract the entire town. That could be very dangerous as another misfire would surely crush him flat.

Something in his chest starts to loosen as he struggles to make sense of this whirlwind of activity. He starts to relax. Much of this felt so familiar that he couldn't help it. The nightmare starts to finally fade.

That moment, when he starts to let his guard down for a moment, ends up costing him. His body stiffens, that knot of fire inside burning abruptly so hot that it knocks the wind out of him.

Riku raises a hand to his chest, blinking as he looks around. It's not like before. Why is it not like before..? His expression blanks down to an almost eerie neutrality as he looks around for the source of the chill darkness.

When Priel introduces herself, and some of the others appear to know her, he turns a deadly glare in her direction until he realizes that is not the reason he froze.

So the deadly glare turns off like a light, and he ignores Priel completely as inconsequential as he starts to turn in place slowly, scanning the crowd for the source.

His eyes keep being drawn back to a homeless man in rags. Skip over it and return.

Skip over it.. and settle.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Mr. Mew stands in the centre of the storm and is unmoved. He simply gives Riku a knowing glance between gentlemen. Even though his eyes are made of plastic. This is the face of a cat who could stare into the eye of chaos and be unmoved.

This is because he does not have a brain. He's a soft toy.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Lily is tugging on his cheeks, tring to get him to wake up.
Right now, Reize is seeing black chocobos flying over his head. It's tiny little chocobos. The flock move around the boy like a Merry-go-Round. At least, until they see his hair.
They all swoop in and start tugging at the antenna hair.
"GAH! Argh! Argh! Argh! They got my hair!" The boy vainly flails along his face and hair, trying to get the imaginary chocobos to STOP PULLING ON HIS ANTENNA HAIR! Of course, this likely nearly pushes Lily off of him. Suddenly, the boy feels a lot better. No more pain. Oh thank Faram for heals.
"I'm alright!" He answers to no one in particular, though it was an answer to Nagetta's question. He heard it, but he hasn't seen her in particular yet. He's trying to regain his senses completely. Then, he is tugged up with Lily, who receives a smile from Reize. "Sorry to leave you worrying, Lily." He brightens, leaning over to ruffle her hair. "I hope you've been well with Ivo while I was helping a few folks. It's good that we all finally meet up."
And then, his eyes drift towards Riku and Maira, about to open his mouth until Priel shows up. A sigh exhales for a moment, frowning towards Priel, "..Guh, you again." His antenna hair flops low, "...Why are you such a jerk?" A glance is given towards Maira and then he ooks to Faruja, "One of your friends?" His attention falls back to Maira, "Pleased to meet you! I'm Reize and....---"
The repugnant smell of the homeless man flares in his nostrils. The boy chokes, shaking his head. However, that's not the strangest thing.
t--It is the fact that his pendant is suddenly glowing.
"...Buh?" His eyes widen, looking towards the green crystal illuminates. It flickers on and off, but is getting brighter by the second. "...Something feels wrong." The young man is holding onto the pendant. He looks towards Riku, who is looking over towards the man, "....Riku, you sense something wrong as well, right...?" The expression of the adventurer is a bit worried, now growing serious.

Priel Aylin has posed:
"Manners? Hah!" Priel onl scoffs and shrugs her shoulders in the most cavalier manner possible. It didn't look like the knightly rodent's words had any effect on her at all, if any. "Your 'lord' is nothing but a lie fabricated by men of ill gotten power for the sole purpose of freely enslaving the minds of geniuses like you~" Saying that, she wagged a finger at Faruja playfully, not taking this seriously at all. His reactions were far too entertaining, and telling of other things, for her to do so in any case. "Regardless, you're still talking about that? My, you must REALLY be a weakling if those little heartless had you on edge now! Ehehehe~"

...Of course this was all a game to her. She seemed to revel more in their reactions than their words. And Shiki was up next. "Hmmn? Needles you say? Oh, that is rather tempting I must admit! It HAS been my life's goal to gather needles in from every desert in the world and beyond!" Speading her arms mocking, Priel spins about as if in the middle of a musical number. "....Buuuuuuut, pissing you off is much more entertaining!" The redhead winked playfully towards Shiki after, bringing a finger to her cheek in a childish manner. "Sorry~"

Priel's gaze cooly shifted to Lily then, raising an eyebrow at her glaring. "......I'm not afraid of the darkness. Unlike you." Her smile turns into something...different upon saying that, and she turns away, glancing at Ivo then as he comes to her side.

"...Opportunity? ...I guess that's one way of looking at this mess as." The girl mumbled non-committedly, shaking her head as well. She eyed Riku momentarily as she continued to speak to Ivo. "...I see all of them, and all I wonder is; what good are any of them? What are they going to do? When are they going to die?" She smirks then, speaking honestly and clearly, not sparing any effort to muffle her voice in the slightest. "...And you seem to be surprised that I made it across. I'm not an amateur now! I know my way around the bend!"

Priel fell quiet at his final question however, her eyes narrowing in irritation. Not at him, but at something else... "None whatsoever. I've found a good deal of other things, but not the thing that truly matters..." And so she gave the knight beside her a sidelong glance.

"...And you?"

Scarmiglione has posed:
This place is so busy, so confusing. /Ugh/. There are cheerful people, well, basically everywhere. It's completely mucking up the bestenched hobo's joydar. Truly, this is the most wretched of places, and while he would like nothing more than to immediately see it brought low into a flaming, broken ruin, a nightmare made terribly real...

Well, he's just one man. Sort of. Baby steps.

But even as the confusion of a city continues to bustle around him, the hunchback slowly gets his bearings. "I can tassste it, yes..." Though his head raises, his face somehow remains cloaked in shadow. That strong emotion, he can /feel/ it nearby, the pure joy of the living. Slowly he turns to look at the commotion caused by Reize and his group, and he advances with an awkward gait, slow but steady in its own way. And coming close, he stops dead, and reaches out a shrivelled, bony hand to nobody in particular.

"...spare some change, kids?"

Maira has posed:
What a crowd! Its crazy! She finds herself becoming rapidly uncomfortable.

She is grateful however, for the attention of Ivo. At least someone who's name she has now learned! "Heh, nice to meet you Ivo....um, just Maira. No lady. I'm not a lady--I mean, I'm a girl! But..not...you know...a lady," she says, blushing once more. This is very unnerving. She should just go home.

Indeed, attention is soon elsewhere and Maira will use this opportunity to sneak away without notice. Time to go make some potions or....something. "Byeeveryonenicemeetingyougottago," she mumbles quickly, then takes off.

Nagetta has posed:
"Hello there." Nagetta seems friendly enough. At least until she sees Faruja. A part of her is tempted to swallow the nezumi, of course but she manages to overcome it. Her attention turns back towards Shiki, "I like your hat." She does her best to try and break the ice. Of course suddenly seeing the man's bony hand, she begins to curl up with her tail wrapping around her.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Reize and I have come a long way and encountered things a lot nastier than you," Shiki says to Priel, swatting her hand away. She steps closer to Ivo, saying "It's good to be here, and meet all of you /awesome/ people. I just wish we could go find somewhere a little quieter to sit down and introduce ourselves," looks at Faruja and Nagetta kindly, "get away from, you know, all of the--"

Stuff like this. Someone's already getting cold feet and someone's...

oh gack

SHiki is suddenly, terribly made aware of the sudden appearence of the smelly guy, who has just come in out of nowhere and cut through the tension like a piece of cheese.

She looks at Reize, and Riku... and Lily, and Ivo. Wait? What's wrong? What's going on?

Faruja Senra has posed:
Take refuge in a non-anger-inducing person, rat! Maira's approach has Faruja forcing a smile, about as fragile as glass. A quick bow, and even an arm is offered to Maira. "Why, a chance meeting of the honorable, and well-acquainted, Lady Maira. Though it seems these fine Ladies and Sers have a great endeavor before them." His gaze returns to Priel. Glaaare. "For the most part, anyway." Snort. Maira might catch him mumbling something about 'blasphemous knaves'.

And Lily is suddenly glaring alongside him! Is...is that /ice/? In this heat? The Templar raises a brow, glancing to Lily. Who /is/ this girl?

Deep breaths, Faruja. Turning to Ivo as he's addressed, the Burmecian flicks his ears back to hide the slight flush. He's never been good with compliments. "Nay, nay! 'Tis only my desire to be worthy of such fine people as whom I find myself in the company of." He deflects, before latching on as the ever-charming Ivo tends to Maira. "Seeking Shards...well named, then. But the question of the hour! Shards of what, exactly, does your fine guild seek?" He asks to just about everyone here.

Then, there's the young man. More glares to Priel. The rat wouldn't admit it, but he's warming up to the odd young man. "All is well, Ser?" Comes the rat's voice, quiet. One fuzzy, un-burned brow rises in a 'you okay?' manner.

Faruja goes utterly still, gaze locked on Priel. Reize's question goes unheard as he focuses on the dragon-woman. Every muscle in his body screams for him to wrap hands and jaw around Priel's throat. Enslaved indeed! The rat drank a whole bunch of the Church's Kool Aide.

Glares, and silence. Then, the rat /laughs/, long and bitter. A hand goes to his armored chest. "Poor, poor girl. To hear such blasphemous words! A sign of the times, truly, that one would make light of the Lord's radiance that keeps us all from our dooms! Pray you, do not spit upon the good Lord's work." His tone is low, even cold. Then, he turns away, to settle on Reize. He'll deal with you later, oh Miss Dragon~

Hey, wait, where's Maira? Blink. He looks around, frowning. Sneaky girl! His attention is grabbed finally by a certain smell, and an outstretched hand.

"Ahh, Lord bless, Ser! Of course!" His voice is a bit nasaly, as he tries to not breathe too deeply of that stench. Trying to not look utterly put out, he draws several coins, roughly fifty gil, and offers it to the beggar.

"Forgive me to only give this much. May I offer you...ahh, begging your pardon, a fresh set of robes?" A hand goes to a pack, where a set of green robes resides within.

A smile to shiki. "Why, that would be wonderful, M'Lady."

His muzzle frowns. "What is it, Ser Seatlan?" A hand goes to his spear-butt upon his back.

Lily has posed:
"We-we've been great, but-- but..." Fury rages in the eyes of the young girl who's been named Lily, her response to Reize cut off by everything going on - particularly Priel's attitude.

Not only does the temperature continue to plummet and frost start forming on the walkway...

Her whole face has started TWITCHING. And the more Priel speaks the WORSE it gets.

When are they all going to die? Death, death she's seen once or twice. And now, the thought that it could strike these people - people, not ANIMALS, that's unsettling.

No, that's TERRIFYING. It cannot be.

Even as a horrible stench starts clouding the area and a new voice joins them, her attention is set.

Through a few locks of drifting hair flutter along with her robe-like clothes, revealing the crystal upon her forehead... which is glowing oddly in sync with Reize's pendant, scattering vivid cerulean light every which way.

"You... you bring nothing to us but misery. SO GO AWAY!"

The pointing finger's brought into an open palm aimed right at Priel, and swirls of frosty air pull in quickly towards the palm, tiny ice crystals joining into a collection of woven vortexes, a sphere of compressed winds forming in the palm and growing swiftly to the size of a baseball... a softball... a basketball... and casting frigid gusts in every direction!

OH is she furious at Priel now!

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"You can't see the good in them?"

Ivo's words to Priel are soft, gentle even.

"You doubted they'd survive more than a minute, but here they are," he continues quietly. "Reize didn't even need my help. You see their weaknesses and their flaws, but when are you going to find someone without those? What matters is that these kids are trustworthy -- and that doesn't mean they're predictable," he adds, now smiling slightly again. "Half the fun is that, when you least expect it, sometimes they still surprise you."

His smile broadens into a grin.

"Sometimes."

Perhaps it takes a jerk to know a jerk. Regardless, Ivo's words, though a response to Priel, sound more empathetic than anything. "I'm not surprised that you made it on your own, though I am impressed. But even someone as strong as you must be willing to rely on others. Otherwise... you're not seeking, Priel... you're running away. Trust me: running away," he adds, quieter than before, "is something I know a lot about--"

So caught up in his careful persuasion efforts is he that Ivo misses Maira's departure -- shoot! he'll have to ask Faruja more about that one later -- and doesn't yet see the glowing of Reize's pendant, which would otherwise certainly deserve at least one arched eyebrow, if not too. The stench is getting quite bad, but Ivo is fortunately standing close enough to Priel to ignore it, as for some reason her hair seems to him to smell particularly good. Now is probably not the time to ask what shampoo she uses, though. In fact, now is not even the time to finish his sentence.

"Lily."

Now is the time to act.

"Don't."

Ivo Galvan, palms up, the protection of his buckler turned aside and ignored, has in an instant moved between Priel and Lily, facing down her gathering ice fragment with complete composure, even as frigid winds whip at his dark hair. People in the plaza, who have already turned to watch, now seem genuinely alarmed, at least those of them who are not already holding their noses and coughing while staggering away. Despite all the madness, Ivo glances over to Shiki, who has moved closer to him, and smiles once, reassuringly, before the expression fades.

"You remember what it was like, don't you?" he says clearly, in what is likely an ensuing silence. "In the darkness, alone with your fear. Not everyone reacts to fear in the same way, Lily. Some people laugh at fear. Some people, in order to laugh at their own fear, laugh at the fear of others." He pauses, choosing his words carefully, looking into the spell. "You don't have to forgive those who do. But don't hate them. Understand them. Even those who choose to be alone, who choose not to risk losing again... understand how they feel. Even if it hurts. Even if they're wrong."

He lowers his hands.

"Even power of your magnitude," he says to Lily, quietly, "won't change how she feels. So please, Lily. Don't."

There follows a lingering silence.

"Um," Ivo adds, furrowing his brow, "does anyone else smell that?"

Classy as always.

Riku has posed:
That's some seriously rank cheese right there, slicing through the tension. Riku swallows hard. Definitely not what he was expecting unless that guy is somehow keeping a Princess underneath those rags. Not a thought he wants to entertain, really. He's not really paying attention to Priel. That's somebody elses problem. Hopefully the solution is a boot to the head.

What he does do is what Faruja did to him a little earlier. He's at the edge of the group, not really a part of it, but still he slides between them and the homeless man without a word.

He knocks Faruja's hand away, striking it with not enough force to wound but enough so that he can occupy the space. Riku abruptly has a sword in hand. This happens about at the same time that Lily hurls globes of ice at Priel, a chilling gust marching up his spine.

The fire pushes back against the cold, the faintest flicker of heat mirage playing off his skin as he struggles to push it back down where it belongs. He liked Lily a whole lot better when she didn't cast magic. There was nothing about magic he trusted.

Where did the sword come from? He's not pointing it at anyone, but between one eyeblink and the next it was just suddenly there. His voice is deadly serious as he glares at the homeless man.

"We don't have anything you want. Leave."

Priel Aylin has posed:
Reize's question went entirely ignored as the girl focused on other things, name the rat again. "Lord's radiance? Well there's a load of nonsense if I ever heard any! Ahahahahaha!" Laughing openly, Priel pointed at Faruja with one arm while holding her stomach with the other, clearly and earnestly laughing her head off at the knight's glowing words about 'the lord'. "If your 'Lord' was so great, then why the hell are we in this mess to begin with, huh? Do answer me that! Oh no! Wait I know the answer!" Shrugging again, she tilted her head slightly as she spoke. "The 'Lord is testing us and--hmm?"

She did not finish what she was going to say as Lily's little magic show had drawn her attention. "Ooooooohhh~ Look at what we've got here~" The redhead spoke in a singsong voice, not at all threatened by Lily's show of power. The words that followed had not seemed to bother her any either. Rather, she simply smiled. It was a stilted smile, but a smile all the same. But first, there was Ivo. "....Perhaps, but what's to say that they will last any longer? What's to say that they will continue to 'surprise me'?" Priel visibly frowned now, glaring at Lily, but speaking to Ivo. "...Maybe I am running away. ...But I think I prefer running to putting my trust in people like them." Seeing Ivo place himself between them only caused priel's frown to deepen. "....Stop. She needs this. She needs to hear this.

And with that, she stepped aside, facing Lily without Ivo's protection. "...Misery, you say? You're the last person to talk about misery now..." Rolling her eyes, Priel spread her arms slightly, flames beginning to form all around her, counteracting the ice and swirling about her, creating a faint dew in the air. "With the way you act now...you certainly will be the one to bring misery to those around you. You are volatile, unable to control your emotions....you are utterly useless."

The flames began to intensify and Priel's eyes shifted from their usual blue to a feral yellow, complete with slits. And her hands began to subtly shift into claws. ...Say, was that a tail peeking out from under her skirt? "You want me to go away? ...Well then make me~"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize's pendant is acting very odd. It lights up, the pulse of the glow is slow, until that man is approaching closer. His eyes are no longer focused towards the group, but his pendant. Something is wrong.
He isn't sure what.
But his pendant usually reacts this way when something is wrong.
As the horrible-smelling man makes his way towards the group, the pulse of that pendant is reacting faster. It's /warning/ Reize. He looks at his change, getting a few gil from his pouch. "..It's not much. We spent it n the ride getting here and the stay at the inn, but..."
It's a small bit of change, but that pendant is becoming as bright as the sun, possibly blinding towards the beggar. Even worse, Reize is moving closer towards the man.
His hands open up.
The coins drop over towards his hand. However... Reize cannot ignore his pendant. Nor can he ignore the fact that Riku has his sword. Riku tends to be paranoid. However, when his pendant is reacting the way it is and Riku's actions... Even Reize knows that something is wrong.
~ Something is wrong about this guy, I need to get away from him... ~
One foot steps back from the beggar after the coinis given---
--- And then Lily goes berserk.
tReize's eyes widen, and he snaps, "Lily! Stop! There are people in this town!"
And... this chaos is starting to cause quite a bit of panic in the town. Things are not looking so hot in what was a peaceful gathering between the group members.
This leaves Reize's attention off of the beggar, even forgetting the fact that he was supposed to /back away/.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki Misaki is just... so, so lost.

Things were easy before this, at least in the sense that it was her, and Reize, and the darkness. Usually it was a big monster, or five, or something. Sometimes it was the environment. The problem with walking across empty mines and plains and deserts is you forget, even for a while, what the bustle of a big city is like.

She'd forgotten what Shibuya was like, for a while, and she realised she liked it.

And now everything is moving far too fast for her and there are just /too many people/ and everything's so confusing and people are talking about gods and death and the pendant is doing something she doesn't understand and she's still blushing a little bit and and and and

"Stop," she just says, eyes disappearing underneath the brow of her hat, personality collapsing. "Everyone just stop. Please."

Scarmiglione has posed:
"Oh, such generosity." The grimy panhandler somehow sounds less than sincere; one might even call him sarcastic, as he responds to Faruja's gift of cash moneys(munnys?). It's a little hard to tell, because while it seems he's going to go on in a similar vein, suddenly Riku decides to get violent. He'll just have to talk about how that robe's the most disgusting shade of green he's ever seen later, once things have maybe settled down a bit.

"Excuse me for not being born as tall and strong as handsome as you." He lowers his voice just a bit, in an obvious stage whisper. "Ass. Telling me what I want. Think you can just get away with anything, huh?" Even as he rambles, the hunchback's eyes drift toward Reize, a generous, pure-hearted boy if he ever saw one. And with such a pretty little knick-knack around his neck. "A young brat like you, too good for the poor, unfortunate souls littering this world?" He spits to the side in disgust. The loogie sizzles lightly.

"You, though." He takes a step forward toward Reize, getting uncomfortably close. "You're a kind one, aren't you? Trusting and open, living a cheerful life of wonder and adventure with your friends." He pauses, ignoring the building confrontation between elements; this is play time for babies compared to what he's seen. He inhales again, tasting the air, focusing on the brilliantly pulsing pendant. "Let'sss fix that, shall we?"

And then with a startlingly quick motion, he plucks it right off of Reize's neck.

Lily has posed:
"H-hwah?!" There's simply too many people about for Lily to follow through. With Ivo in the way, and even PRIEL trying to speak instead... Reize's warning, and Shiki panicking... Lily trembles.

The hand rushes skyward instead, launching the ball of roiling and compressed winds. It explodes after reaching a hundred feet or so, harmlessly - but with a sound like a typhoon.

... it does snow across the surroundings for about a minute, but it'll all melt probably before it hits the ground.

But she meets the draconic glare with her own stare, unyielding there. "... why do you keep following us?" She finally asks, coldly.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Despite the situation, Faruja finds himself smirking and nodding in Lily's direction. What fire in this blank slate of a girl! And what power! Faruja beats a gauntleted claw against another to knock off the ice forming there. A red eye catches the glowing jewel, then that pendant. He'll have to keep an eye on the young girl.

Augh! His hand is knocked aside by Riku. "Hold! Stay your blade, Ser! What harm has this man done, hmm? Charity to the poor."

But Lily and Priel have his attention now. The Burmecian moves up to place a hand on Lily's shoulder. A glare is shot to Priel, and he takes a deep breath to calm his own trembling. "As Ser Seatlan and Lady Misaki say. /She/ is trying to provoke you. Waste not your abilities upon blasphemous scum. And we would not wish to involve those others in this town, now would we?" That said, he'll gently try to tug the girl behind him with his tail.

The draconic woman gets a long look from the rat. "Cease your games. They grow tiresome." His own weapon slips from his back, the butt slamming into the ground as he stands guard in front of Lily. He shakes his head. "Pathetic, really, to enjoy suffering and misery as you do seem to. Do be careful, hmm? Words such as yours often draws many unfortunate souls to...unpleasant ends." Fire. Why /would/ it be fire? His tail trembles as he watches those flames, but still he stands. He will /not/ abandon a girl!

A snowstorm, and impressive magical display. The rat smiles to Lily. "...Good show, M'Lady." He stage whispers, quite pleased at her restraint here.

Wait a minute, did that beggar just yoink Reize's pendant away? "Thief! Return that to Ser Seatlan immediately!"

Priel Aylin has posed:
"Following you? Please! I just happened to be headed in the same direction. How was I to know that you all were going to come here, hmm?" Pausing then, Priel tilted her head slightly, and then amended her statement. "...Well actually, your babysitter DID tell me that he was coming here...regardless..." It looked like Lily wouldn't be going through with it. Which meant that she didn't have to either. With that thought in mind, her claws reverted back into human hands, her eyes returned to their normal blue color, and that tail that was waving about seemed to vanish. All in all, she looked normal again.

"...I still maintain that you're useless however. If something this small causes you to blow up...then you have far too long of a way to go." And it was with that, that she would turn away from the smaller girl, giving everyone present a glance, and then she was off. Their nonsense was of no concern to her now. Despite how entertaining it was.

"...I guess we'll see just how much more these kids of yours continue to 'surpise'" Were the words offered to Ivo in passing. And then the girl was gone, turning a corner and leaving the others to their devices....which right now would seem to be the theft of Reize's pendant.

Oh dear.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
And it just keeps getting worse.

So Shiki does something she doesn't rarely do. I tend to be so full of mercy, she thinks. I almost got choked to death by my partner on a whim and I never complained about it. I've been chased by snakes and almost sold into slavery and eaten by a sandworm and picked needles out of that guy's back and the only thing keeping me going was the idea that when we got here I'd make new friends and sit around and find out about new peoples' lives and new worlds. And everything's just going crazy with the chaos and the fighting and the jerkwads and do you know what /I'VE HAD ENOUGH."

She shouts that last part out loud. She started out thinking it, but then she was talking it. How much of it did she think and how much of it did she say? Even she doesn't know.

What she does know is she's tired of this crap. She snatches her Sexy D pin up in her hand and scratches her fingernail on it with a motion like swiping a neck. The psychokinetic snap goes right for Reize's pendant in the dirty man's hand, and with Mr. Mew at her side Shiki is suddenly /smouldering/.

"We are going to find a nice place to sit down and talk about one another and I know /more than one person who is not invited/."

Reize, you picked a scary woman.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Whew. Crisis averted.

...Probably.

Ivo visibly winces as Priel ups the ante. What she's saying isn't wrong, and it's nothing Ivo is unaware of. You'd never be able to tell by looking at Ivo laughing together with Lily that he's very concerned about the girl's tendency to let her magic go haywire, with her inability to get a handle on her intense emotions, whether positive or negative. That he doesn't say anything further to contradict the dragon-girl suggests that much, at least. But he has to have faith.

Even if he has no single guiding passion, still, Ivo can have hope.

Isn't that right, Father--?

He turns to Shiki then, and as Lily's magic detonates in the air and snowflakes begin to gently rain down among them, despite their desert surroundings, he softly places a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright," he says quietly. "It's going to be rough sometimes, and we won't all get along, but it'll be alright. You can count on us -- on Reize. I mean, look at him, he's--"

Record scratch.

"What--!?"

So much for his valiant effort to calm Shiki down. Ivo has time only to spare the fleei-- departing Priel a single inscrutible glance and mutter under his breath, "Call me, maybe?" before blinking, furrowing his brow in confusion, and shaking his head once, at last turning toward the shenanigans.

"Riku, what're you doing!?" Though outrage is unlike him, Ivo's tone is sharper even than Faruja's, doubtless due to his pre-existing mistrust. "As if magic weren't enough, swords are--" Only then does he see that Reize's pendant is glowing. And then see that it's in the stinky guy's hands. Surprisingly fast! "--ehh--" ...Eeriely fast, actually.

It's a small blessing that, in spite of all the craziness and potential violence, the surrounding townspeople seem more interested in the brief snowfall than anything, such that the Seekers' mischief for now goes ignored.

As soon as Ivo's eyes narrow, though, they widen again. His attempt to mollify Shiki is entirely unsuccessful, but perhaps it is for the best. Her psychokenetic lash strikes at the homeless man's too-spindly hands, and the knight-errant just blinks in the silence that follows after Shiki's deafening shout.

"Nice technique," Ivo offers conversationally.

See, when you don't go around deliberately antagonizing people, having a Priel-Type Personality has plenty of advantages.

Riku has posed:
Riku doesn't dare close his eyes and seek a moment of calm darkness in which to focus himself. Too much was going on. His attention was being pulled in too many directions. His back is to the chaos going on behind him. He hates that, but he had to trust that the Shard Seekers could handle their own problems.

Although his fragile faith is shaken by Shiki's sincere cry from the last fraying edges of the end of her rope. His faith in himself shakes next as he is brushed aside as easily as a discarded tin soldier. Riku continues to stand where he was. The words really meant nothing to him, barbs cast like darts to sloppily strike walls instead of the target. It's the actions that gall him. The way darkness steps in and takes, and takes.

Why didn't he just start lashing back? He sat there and watched the darkness take his friends. Was he going to do it again? Sit there while it did what it wanted?

Riku trembles, the snow overhead from Lily's blast melting in a space around him as his shoulders shake. The grip on the blade tightens, and tightens until his knuckles turn white and every muscle on the back of his hand can be plainly seen. The heat mirage effect becomes much more distinct.

He will not lose control. Riku clenches his teeth so hard his jaw aches, the pain spreading up the side of his head into a pounding headache.

Riku sucks in a ragged, coughing breath through grit teeth. When Shiki snaps and Ivo yells at him, he almost triggers on them instead. The sudden, jarring shout nearly sends him over the edge. Especially when Shiki's words sink in. In this state, a part of his mind immediately assumes the worst and for a moment he wonders why he bothers.

What was any of this to him? They were nothing. Just echoes he was foolishly chasing after, when he should be looking for his friends. All of this was just a distraction. %r Riku just reacts. Without thinking. He just seems to explode into action. His face abstracted and passive, the sword lashes out to strike at the hand Scarmiglione was keeping the pendant in, not with the blade, but to strike the hand hard with the handle while the other hand swung towards his head.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
 !!!
Reize lowers his head, seeing Shiki's reaction, "Shiki." Then, even Riku is starting to tremble. This is where the boy looks at the older teen with a faint smile, "Hey, Riku, lo---.."
He couldn't say anything when the ragged man gets very uncomfortably close to him. His eyes widen when the man is moving very close.
That pendant is now shining ight a bright alarm.
But just as the pendant is plucked from his neck, its glow stops

> Reize loses 'A mysterious Pendant'.
> 'Limit Break: Pendant's Power (Fireball)' is sealed.

"Hey!" Reize snaps towards the older man, "Give that back! That isn't for you to take!"

Scarmiglione has posed:
Unfortunately, Shiki may find the cold grasp of death is more difficult to overcome than that. The pendant wavers, broken chain defying gravity in the player's direction. In response, the shiftless, thieving bum's grip tightens, fingers clutching all the more tightly. This tug of war continues for a long moment...and then POP.

One of his fingers, slightly less attached than previous, goes flying through the air at Shiki.

"I don't think ssso, rat. This is mine, now." He doesn't seem all that perturbed over losing a digit. "We'll call this a trade, hmmm? Gwah?!" Telekinesis is one thing, but flat-out assault is another, as Riku basically hulks out on him. Yet his grasp remains firm through the pain, spasming only slightly, even as the follow-up blow knocks him flat on his butt.

"You...dare?" For a moment, the very atmosphere around him seems to go dark, an almost tangible malice spreading in every direction. But as quickly as it appears, it's gone, leaving only the usual skunky smell. "A helpless, sickly old man like myself, and this is how you treat me? Kicking me to the ground over a worthless bauble?"

"Hrmph. Now we see your true selves."

Lily has posed:
With a new fuss rushing about, Lily doesn't have much time to regard Shiki or even Faruja too well, but she calms down noticeably with someone gripping her shoulder comfortingly. Does, at least, until...

Hey, did that man just take Reize's pendant?! And now everyone's--

Lots of events unfold before Lily's bewildered eyes, and she starts arm-windmilling not unlike SHiki did earlier. "But... but... wait, you're... wait!" She calls out to Scarmiglione even as an urge to plug her nose strikes. "... If you're an old man like the ones around here, why do you look that way? .... covered completely.. in a miasma of foul power...?!"

... it's less frustrated at the theft or panicked, and more just confusion, but she looks about ready to go and block him or SOMETHING, from the way she's gotten all tense!

Faruja Senra has posed:
Sigh. Faruja steps over to the fallen bum, reaching out to get a grab on the pendant if he's fast enough. He'll try to yank it away. "A trade, Ser, if only a trade when both parties agree to it. Ser Seatlan has done no such thing. Now let go."

His eye narrows, however, upon Lily's statement. Riku doesn't even get an admonishment this time!

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Yeah, you know what, Riku, let's just, let's just do it, OK?"

Shiki snaps. "Look, don't. Don't even go there."

Mr Mew catches the ailing finger, because that's what he's there for. Well, he's there for slashing evil things to bits, but also for deflecting fingers. He's got the slashing claws on the other arm.

"What the heck do you think you're talking about? You! Are part of the problem!" Shiki snaps, smouldering and SQUEEZING her pin. She palms Sexy + now, because really.

"What's your problem? We were trying to have a talk. We were trying to organise something. Heck, someone /gave you money/. What the heck's your deal? You just walk up to someone and take their wallet and go 'ohhh, this is fair to me because you're jerks!? No?! Oh, you got mad because I flat-out robbed you! You're clearly terrible people! No?! Look, just shove off, alright? I don't know what your deal is, but we were trying, to have, a meeting, between, friends! Now give back my friend's precious thing and go away and leave us /alone/!"

She refines and intensifies her psychokinetic power, her speciality, to help Faruja clasp that pendant rather than the hand holding it.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo Galvan is a man willing to interject himself into the most improbable scenarios in the name of new friends, new allies, new information, and most importantly of all, an interesting time.

But as the others cluster around Scarmiglione, whose dark emanations have begun to trouble even Ivo -- hairs rising on the back of his neck just as they did when Riku first displayed a flash of anger in Costa Del Sol -- the knight-errant, rather than assist his friends, stands still, features flat, eyes ambiguous.

"Our true selves, huh..."

When Reize had proclaimed them the Shard Seekers from his ludicrous heap on the ground, he had felt such indescribable joy, a sense of belonging he would be far too gentlemanly -- and too proud -- to admit to.

But Ivo can't help thinking that Priel is right about all of them. The blushing, the anger, all the intense emotions-- they're just kids, aren't they? And Ivo, though he plays the big brother, though he pulls the strings and laughs not unkindly-- is he any better, running off on this adventure, running from his past?

Don't they hate Priel just because she /says/ what she thinks?

Even as Reize is on the verge of losing his pendant, Ivo is glancing away, looking up at another airship soaring overhead, this time feeling nothing.

"...yeah..."

The words are soft, and likely inaudible.

"...maybe so."

Silent, in the background, Ivo slowly closes his eyes.

Riku has posed:
"I said." Riku grits out his final warning through the roar of flames tearing his thoughts to bits. "Leave. Now." The two words slam down like iron slabs. A very unpleasant smile begins to work up the side of his face. "I won't warn you again. Whatever you are, it's not a helpless, sickly old man."

He raises the tip of the blade slightly, ghostly flames beginning to play across the surface of the red blade. True selves? Hah. The pain and the headache start to ease as he takes a few calming breaths.

Maybe he should be more watchful when it starts getting easier, but Riku is distracted right now with menacing a hobo, and so doesn't realize the flames are spreading up his arm as if they were following the path of an imbedded wick.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize is just flat out bewildered.
He isn't certain as to what to say. The guy ran off with his pendant. A lot of chaos is going on. Guh, the boy frowns, "Guh." The important thing is that he needs to get his pendant back. "Grr, that's my father's pendant!"
The boy turns towards Lily, who questions about the man's foul power.
His eyes widen.
"...Was that why the pendant was reacting so much...?"
He looks over towards everything, and everyone.
Finally, he offers a faint smile. His eyes lock towards Riku, thent owards Shiki. He can hear all of the negative energy. He can hear the NOISE, in a way. Even Ivo, who is normally the calm one, is starting to lose it. His mind is starting to wander. It hurts, in a way, to see his friends that way. Priel is right, in the end. Even Ivo is coming to agreement with it. Everything is of a bad start with the group's formation.
Reize needs to act as the leader of the Shard Seekers. He takes a deep breath. There has to be a Voice in this.

"Everyone, enough... "

There is no shout. No loudness from the boy. There is a calm air about him. He is moving towards Riku, the one who had face the brunt of it all. A hand is resting over towards the teenager's shoulders, as if trying to calm his rage.
"Riku... thank you."
Reize moves past Riku, now approaching close to Faruja. A hand moves to the burmecian's shoulder, patting it lightly. He knows his friends' struggles, his eyes moving towards Shiki.
A smile is given towards her and then Faruja, "Thank you, you two..."
The main person, who earns his focus, is the ragged man.
"Who are you?" Reize directly ask the man. "...No." He shuts is eyes, realizing that he should had listened to his pendant.
"What are you?"

Dr. Facilier has posed:
When Ivo closes his eyes, it gives him the chance to better focus on and appreciate the sudden breeze that whips across the area, just as the shadow from one of the airships overhead drifts across him.

It also gives him the chance to be totally caught by surprise when a scrap of paper, kicked up by the wind, smacks him right in the face, over one eye.

The 'scrap of paper', as it turns out, is a business card, which I refuse to describe because in my perfect world I would never have to write anything, just link YouTube clips.

http://www.tinyurl.com/thecardthecard

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta knew there was something that bothered her about that man, and now that he swiped Reize's pendant. Of course he's vanished before she's had a chance to do anything about it. "Stealing is wrong! Give that back!" Of course she's not sure where he went, she can still smell him though so it couldn't have been far right?

Scarmiglione has posed:
Even as Shiki intensifies her sassy TK powaah and Faruja starts to get physical, the hobo smiles. Not that...not that anybody can even really see his mouth. He brings his other hand around to support his grasp on the pendant, fighting stubbornly against the forces arranged against him.

"Well. I suppose you're not all completely blind, are you? Brats." It's maybe a bit less menacing than intended, as he continues to struggle with the pendant. "Certainly...ergh...took you long enough. Ragh! Let go! Or..." He trails off, eyes visibly narrowing within the depths of his hood. "Hang on, by all means."

The meaning of his threat (?) quickly becomes apparent as he begins to sink into the ground, dust kicking up lightly around him. "I'll welcome you to hell!"

"But you, boy..." He turns his head, ever so slightly, toward Reize. "You're ssso...good. So /pure/. I want you to consider this your just reward." As he continues to vanish into the ground, his voice continues to speak, only slightly distorted. "And, of course, a punishment for your...heh. Your friendsss."

The sensitive may have a moment of warning before the earth shifts around Reize's feet, streaming upward to engulf his legs up to the hip in a stream of swirling, ever-moving sand. A bony hand erupts out of the ground behind him, open and stiffly twitching. It jerks into a fist, and the sand abruptly collapses inward with agonizing, bone-shattering force.

Faruja Senra has posed:
/That/ is no smelly old man. Sure, he's smelly. But he's not an old man! As Scarmiglione starts to sink into the ground, the Burmecian switches his grip on his weapon. Holy light starts emanate from the spear, and he raises it high! "VILE DEMON BE PURGED!" Comes his scream, with all the passion and conviction only a tried and true zealot can muster. Unfortunately, he's a touch too slow, and his strike never falls. All it hits is dirt as his grip slips from the contested pendant! So too does the ratling away from sinking ground, leaping into the air like a proper Dragoon. He hangs in the air, surveying and planning on just where to land. At least Shiki seems to have Reize well in hand, or so things look.

Riku has posed:
Riku watches Reize pass him. A sickly green has glazed over his eyes that vanishes slowly in time with the sword slowly descending. A brief look of confusion passes over his face and when the tip of the sword rests against the ground, the ghostly fire goes out.

Riku blinks hard several times as if the fire took a lot of his strength with it, but stays on his feet. The hobo of malice takes to sink into the ground, threads of that dark chill snaking across the ground. Riku teeters back and forth, everything suddenly too bright and blinding. %r Afterimages ripple and distort as he moves his head, making everything waver and spin. Still he can feel the tendrils of malice underneath the sand.

Underneath. "Reize. Watch out!" he barks, sand exploding upwards and the trap sprung a split second afterwards. Not again. Not. Ever. Again.

Riku pushes off from the sand, sword forgotten. It vanishes in a curl of vapor as Riku rushes forwards without heed to anyone else. He dives towards Reize, hoping to knock him out and away from the sand trap before the skeletal hand closes and the trap bears down on them, possibly putting himself into it's maw in his stead.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
This is just really, really wrong.

Shiki's mind swirls. Sexy D, Sexy +, Sexy B. Ok, got them all.

She takes in a deep breath. Nothing really matters except what's right in front of you. Always living on borrowed time. Never going to change. No time to think about the future.

She swipes a thumbprint across the three pins. You need Imagination to use pins, and Shiki...

Shiki is talking.

As things levitate and sand swirls around her, Shiki is saying things from her heart.

"I honestly wanted to come here and meet you all. I'm scared and alone without the people I know. I lost my world, and everything I knew, and my new chance at life. But you all gave me hope."

"I was so surprised by what I've seen, the good things and the bad things. When Reize and I were captured by some slave traders, I said to him, I don't regret any of the things that have happened to us. And I almost died getting here, and I had nightmares, and I faced monsters and things that scared me so so much."

"But now we're here. And I've finally met all of you. And you're a strange bunch of people, and some of you seem a little scary, but I want to get to know all of you. I've only been journeying for a few days, but I've realised something."

"I've never seen the world outside of Shibuya. I know about huge skyscrapers and little cafes and fashion stores and roads and asphalt, but I never saw a forest or an oasis or a waterfall before now. And I've only had two close friends, but now I have the chance to make so many more."

Psychokinesis will pull at the fiend's attack, aiding Reize and Riku. But Shiki won't stop here. She just keeps talking, bones and objects surrounding her, her with her hat covering her eyes, Shiki Misaki who is lost and confused and in pain.

"We didn't do this right the first time, and I should have contributed rather than just leaving it up to Reize. So let's do this differently. I'll start. Hello everyone. My name is Shiki Misaki. I'm fifteen years old, I like to sew and I like fashion. It's really nice to meet you all."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo cuts a dashing figure, his hair swaying and cloak rippling in the slight breeze as he gazes mournfully toward the desert horizon, manfully expressionless.

So it's only appropriate that a card then slaps right into his face, directly over those gazing eyes.

"..."

He peels the business card off his face with the care of one preserving wounded dignity and regards it, his features stirring only then, eyebrows lifting ever so slightly.

"Dreams Made Real...?"

Normally, Ivo would grin with playful interest, or maybe have a Priel moment and smirk while cracking a joke, but this time he stares it wordlessly before slowly slipping it into the inner pocket of his cloak. Dreams made real--

'Everyone, enough...'

Ivo blinks.

"Reize?"

Like one emerging from a dream he turns, lips parting and eyes widening as he sees their boy leader calmly addressing them all, soothing them, assuring them. That same boy who stumbles from a hangover, who gets tackled to the ground by little girls, who gets lost and ends up on the other half of the world, is telling them it's going to be alright. He's holding them together, keeping hope alive, while Ivo is over here, lost on his own.

~ You see, Priel? ~
When Ivo smiles, that warmth from before has returned.

~ Sometimes they surprise you. ~

"...Reize."

But not all surprises are pleasant.

"Reize!!"

At once, that smile is gone, Ivo's eyes flashing with shock and concern as Scarmiglione, whose figure had partially been blocked by those standing around him, sinks into the ground with Reize's pendant. But that is irrelevant in comparison to Reize's own plight. Lunging in with a swiftness unlike him, the knight reaches the group just as Reize is knocked away by Riku's valiant efforts, which genuinely surprise Ivo. "Riku--!?"

He doesn't trust the kid. It's not just that Riku, like Lily, can't control his emotions -- it's that his emotions seem darker, much darker. Dark enough to hurt those Ivo has decided to protect. Dark enough to stab Ivo in the back.

"Grab on!"

Without hesitation, he unbuckles his still-sheathed sword and, flipping it around, reaching out, offering Riku something to hold onto, even as Shiki's powers combine to help pull Riku out of the deadly mire.

It all happens in a flash, but as soon as it is over--

"Reize, are you hurt?"

Kneeling down over Reize, who thanks to Shiki no doubt escaped great harm but whose legs may have taken a beating from that dirt vortex, Ivo's expression is calm despite the concern in his voice. As the chaos begins to subside, he glances up. "I've secured housing for us in the merchant quarter from a group of smiths and inventors studying the Fire Crystal," he says apropos of nothing, as though it's something anyone would have done. "It's close by. Let's take him there to rest and recover. We all should talk."

In fact, Shiki is talking, and Ivo is now listening, all the way through, regarding her silently. Despite the situation, he smiles slightly.

"Nice to meet you, too, Shiki," he says simply, even as the dirt settles around them. "Looks like the Shard Seekers already have a job to do."

Reize was calm when everyone else was distraught and shaken. Reize brought them together when their joyous meeting began to seem dark. When Reize is in trouble--

"But then, never a dull moment with this one."

Ivo will be there.

"Right?"

Which is why, right now, he can still smile up at them all.

Nagetta has posed:
Nagetta watches as both Reize and Riku nearly get dragged underground and then are pulled out. "What was that all about, do you have any idea who that was?" She's curious to what just happened here. It looks like someone was against what they were trying to do, but he didn't leave much to work with.

Lily has posed:
And a LOT of things happen at once. Lily lets out a squeak of surprise. Not only is her speech going completely unanswered but--

"*cough cough!*"

But she doubles over the moment Scarmiglione lets loose with his magic, apparently affected a lot more by it than the others nearby. She drops to her knees, gagging and spitting and loking rather nauseous - very, VERY much ready to simply vomit...

And shakes. Shivers. Trembles. "R-R-Reize?" She stumbles forward, up to her feet... then trips again with a 'gack!'

Thump. Face first into the dirt just about the time Riku's getting yanked.

So much for her helping.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
His eyes widen.
--What?!
The man is sinking into the ground with dust kicking off. However,w ht was the most fearful was the voice that directs itself to him.
Even worse, the earth shifts around his feet, streaming to engulf his legs by to the hip. However, before the situation becomes completely grim for him, Riku manages to knock him aside. The real worry was that Riku was going to end up in the situation.
But Shiki aids Riku in shifting him from the fiend's grasp.
Reize lost his pendant. He lost the one pendant that his father gave him and he was supposed to protect. ...He especially lost something that was likely a key to something great.
However, while that is important.
He is happy to see that the Shard Seekers came together.
"The Shard Seekers, despite the differences... have a common goal." He looks at Ivo, cheerfully smiling, "I am alright..." He leans up, getting to his feet, "...We have a goal of returning the worlds together. Many of us are different worlds and backgrounds." He brightens.
"But."
"Even despite of situations, even the most dire situations bring us together. We're more than just members of a group." He brightens to a smile, "We're friends."
He tilts his head over, "...So, let's go somewhere and we can all have a nice conversation."
He looks over towards Riku, "Hey, Riku... why don't you join us?"
Despite the fact that Ivo doesn't trust Riku as much.
Reize extends a hand towards Riku, "I would like for you to join us for lunch."
He even turns towards Lily, a bit of a sweatdrop forming. Hooo boy.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Tip-tip. Claws strike ground as the group helps pull up a certain scarf-wearing boy. That yellow cloth must need a wash by now! When Reize comes free, Faruja lets out a sigh of relief. Nagetta's question gets a nod from the ratling. "A question, M'Lady Nagetta, that is in dire need of an answer." A red-eyed gaze sweeps to the spot where Scarm was. Frown. What manner of demon was that? "Lady Adrastia will want to know of this." he mutters to himself.

Walking over to the fallen Reize, as well as the rest of the shard seekers, his attention goes to Shiki even as he sets about splashing both a cure and an esuna upon Reize. Who /knows/ what he may have picked up from that dirty creature!

Crossing both arms about his chest, the ratling bows to Shiki. "Quite. 'Twas not exactly well timed for introductions. An honor, M'Lady. Temple Knight Faruja Senra of Burmecia, former aerial assault corpman of the burmecian army, 3rd squad. My hobbies, well...precious little time for such, these days. But let us all regale each other of our lives and these events in a local watering hole, hmm? Drinks on me."

A pause, and he smiles toward Ivo. "Surely, with such people Lady Misaki, you shall see so many of the Lord's wonders yet! Few see such a breadth of beauty as you have these past few days."

Ack! Lily! He turns his esuna and curing attentions to her...as well as a hand to help her up. "Up we go, M'Lady."

Reize gets a nod from the Burmecian. "Well said. Friends are a gift. Cherish them. All of have done well." The knight seems rather impressed, as well as curious. Particularly thanks to the mention of 'returning worlds together'.

Riku has posed:
Riku keeps his eyes tightly closed, not breathing as he takes a battering from the scouring sandtrap. Probably not one of the best days to wear anything without sleeves, although this wouldn't help matters much anyways.

If he survived this, a good deal of chafing awaited. He almost doesn't hear Ivo but when he puts the words together he blindly grabs onto the proferred sword after a few missed swipes and with Shiki's help is wrenched from the trap.

He coughs and spits out sand, skin rubbed raw and bleeding in more than a dozen places. "Why.." he mutters, half delirously. "Why do you do these stupid things?" It's not clear whom he is addressing. It was said so quietly, it may be to himself.

Riku coughs out some more sand as he slowly starts to make a somewhat wobbly way back onto his feet, gingerly brushing off his clothes with a few stinging swipes.

He teeters as his eyes scan the immediate area. He pauses briefly at Lily, then he looks at Reize. He looks at Reize extending a hand to him with an extremely powerful surge of Deja Vu. "I-- " And it's too much. "Sure Reize. I'd like that." he raises a finger in a 'just a moment' gesture.

He presses the palms of his hands to his eyes, growling faintly as he stumbles over to the wall of a building where he can shut his eyes, press an arm to a wall gingerly and block out all the light for just a few seconds. "Just give me a minute."