Wizard Visiting Hours

Wizard Visiting Hours
Date of Scene:	17 March 2014
Location:	Traverse Town - District 2
Synopsis:	Merlin gets visitors. A lot of them. The topics at hand seem to involve the strange blade that Chita holds, as well as Kaydin's new Keyblade.
Thanks to:	Zero-One
Cast of Characters:	Faruja Senra, Kaydin, Aerith, Archimedes, Chita, Arkham Fisher, Merlin

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Zero-One has posed:
The House of Merlin stands as it always does, on a small island in the middle of a pond in Traverse Town. Smoke rises up into the air, signaling that either something's on fire, or someone's home.

Given it's Merlin, people give even odds.

All that remains is to brave the incredibly dangeous stepping stones over the lake of doom- oh wait, wrong script. This lake is about as tame as it gets. All you have to do is get to the door. Some might find that easier than others.

Faruja Senra has posed:
A lake, and a pair of Dragoons. Really, it's almost a sign from the Lord: at least to one Faruja Senra. He's of course had his issues with the whole thing, not the least amongst them being Chita himself! But for once, likely due to the support of one Arkham Fisher, his more altruistic side is winning out. After all, even if Chita's a wanted Heretic, the connection is weak at best.

Faruja was there, after all. Maybe this is penance for the bunny.

The Burmecian, should she let him, will happily leap-carry Arkie over the lake to the other side.

"At least he is home, it seems. Hopefully he shalt be receptive to unannounced social calls." Faruja is privately hoping for tea.

Chita has posed:
The previous day everyone had arrived in Traverse together. Chita, Arkham, Faruja, and another who had joined in Alexandria. Aerith. She was introduced by Chita at that point, and mentioned that she'd be coming along as well. Along the way, though, Chita realized that it'd be best if they didn't all go immediately to Merlin's in case someone was following. There was no telling who was working for Shinra, after all, or anyone else who wanted what he had. Thus, he suggested they split up whenever they arrive and go take care of any business they had.

He'd assumed it would be church related, not that he mentioned that.

The next day rolls around and mid-afternoon as it was, it was getting close to when he'd suggested they all wander towards Merlin's home. He gave them a rough idea where it was, if they didn't know already, and that's all they had. Better luck than a blind person at least. Thankfully Senra, his Chocobo, was relatively good at not running him into things and asking his way there of various people in town, Chita made it to the furthest point where one had to hop across moving, floating rocks. "I really need to find a better way to get ac--oh right. You." He gave his Chocobo a pat before hopping back onto him and letting the Chocobo hop his way across the platforms. "Aerith will not be joining us today, by the way." He didn't quite elaborate WHY that was. He was actually relatively nicely dressed today, which might surprise the two church types. A nice business suit, clean, freshly bathed, the sword wrapped in a cloak and held under his left arm. He had on a black silk blindfold and might actually look like he had a date.

If he wasn't simply getting dressed up for the sake of feeling better. He did that at times. "And yes... he is okay with such. His bird less so, but do not mind the bird, he means well." or so Chita thinks.

Arkham Fisher has posed:
Certainly, it's a new look for the viera, but it does seem more in keeping with Traverse Town's typical fashion. Arkham herself has changed out of her field dress and into a slightly more presentable habit, no less appropriate here than anywhere else.

She has tolerably little business in Traverse, herself; catch up with the three or so people she knows in town, stop in at a cafe perhaps. Her contacts at the agency weren't in, so there was nothing to be gained there. It was worth a try, maybe.

"Do be careful." She follows a few paces behind Chita's chocobo, picking her way across the stones with apparent ease.

Zero-One has posed:
The challenge, if you can call it that, is navigated with ease. Merlin doesn't REALLY dislike company, he just never got around to making an easier way to his house.

Sorcerers.

As they reach the front door, they can hear quite clearly a shrill voice. "... And don't leave those poor people out on the porch waiting!"

A harried voice, Merlin's to those who remember it, responds, "Yes, yes, I'm getting to that! I thought you were an owl, not a nag!"

Archimdes can be heard replying, "Ha. Ha."

A moment later, the door opens, and Merlin stands in all of his old man glory. Which is to say, heavily frizzled, frazzled, and part of his beard is singed. "Well well, who have we here. Guests! Young Chita and friends, do come in and be seated, I have the tea all ready for you."

He leads the way into the house, which is full of books and knick-knacks as always. The area around the table is reasonably clear, however, and a tea set stands at attention. Literally, as the sugar boel has a spoon in a present-arms position.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja can't help but feel a touch dissappointed by the lack of the local Flower Girl. Her manner is usually upbeat, and generally cheerful. With such heavy matters of darkness-blades filled with lost souls afoot, the rat could use some good cheer.

"...Thank the Lord Reize is not along." Truly, the bird would have his ahoge in five seconds flat. Besides, the rat wouldn't want to endanger the boy. Once his companions are across the lake, he'll fall in step near Arkie protectively. Like a proper paladin.

One may note, however, quite a few extra bandages on the rat today. His 'Church business' happened to involve Yevonites, an esper, and lots of ice-spikes to the back for ARkie to take care of. Faruja Senra is good for business, if you're a healer. Always giving them work to do.

And here comes Merlin. Faruja immediately puts on his best smile, and offers a bow to the singed, frazzled mage. He's seen more than a few of these types, and his other visit with Merlin was rather pleasant despite the circumstances. The man even offers tea. The rat's tail sways.

"Ahh, how generous honored Magi! Thank ye for thine time, Ser, may the Lord always give ye His blessings for such kindness to those whom fall upon thine doorstep!" All pleasantries, this rat. He holds open the door for the pair. This is Chita's show, after all.

Faruja will pull out a chair for Arkie once inside, and then sit himself. Already, he's pouring tea, and setting his own with sugar. Sip. He glances to Chita, nodding.

Chita has posed:
Chita landed and slipped off his Chocobo only to hear Merlin approach. "Ah... hello again to you. Sorry for coming back unannounced such notice. A bit of bad news I believe." He followed along quietly while pulling out a large stave to use to walk along with. Senra, his Chocobo, waited outside and minded his own business. Making his way inside and taking a seat carefully in the same place he did last time, Chita quietly listened for teh others to get settled, for things to take place, before bringing out any bad news that was to come.

Plus he got to enjoy the subtle things he liked about this house. Books, and the scent thereof. Old books. Something he got to enjoy as a child was books, and now that he's out in the world... the first thing he did was visit a library. So amazing. This little hut was always fun for him.

Zero-One has posed:
"It's nothing, Ser Senra. It's been too long since I've had such /polite/ guests." Merlin replies with a pointed glance at Archimedes, who does not deign to respond. He instead puffs up and looks moderately indignant.

The tea set reveals that it's animated for those who are not quick on the tea like Faruja. The pot moves, pouring itself into a glass while the sugar bowl taps, apparently trying to ask Chita how many sugars he wants. "Bad news?" Merlin sighs. "I see. All too often that's the only kind of news about these parts. But let's see what an old man can do for you, all right?" The air is redolent with the smell of fresh tea, overlaying the smell of old books, acrid smells from chemistry and alchemy, and of course, bird. Archimedes makes his mark known.

Speaking of Archimedes, he pops his head out, looking over those present and twitching slightly. "So what cosmic horror are you going to beg for help about this time?"

Arkham Fisher has posed:
Arkham will take the offered seat, and hold her peace for the moment. She's only really here for medical monitoring, anyways, and Chita seems to be well-recovered. Ser Senra is... well. He's always like this, it never slows him down.

The great wizard himself is interesting, of course; magic had always seemed sort of common to her-- a product of her upbringing-- and she has only rarely heard of mages of so great standing as this. What's his school? Divination?

She gives the owl a sharp look. She only has the vaguest idea of the shape of Chita's troubles, and comments like that do not put her at her ease. She sips her tea and tries to wait for explanation.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja Senra is likely to run muzzle-first into his own body's limitations sooner or later. For now, he's quite stoically keeping himself together. Knowing lots of White Mages and healers helps.

Two ears wiggle a bit at the compliment. "Remind me to make a proper social call some time when we art not begging upon thine doorstep; swap tea recipies. Why, I know this lovely blend of chamomi...ahem! Yes, later."

Sip. The rat's mostly here to get the full story. He nods at appropriate points towards Chita, though decides to break the ice. "The matter of a blade. Specifically, one that contains imprisoned souls." The rat's tone darkens, his zealous feelings slowly filling him. The blade's mere existance fills him with rage and indignation.

Chita has posed:
Recalling the antics of the tea from the previous time, Chita holds up one finger towards the bowl and waits for what apparently was asked almost immediately. "I apologize, but I know I am not terribly bright. In fact, I would wager I am rather dull in relation to other players in this world. Yet... I have to rely on those who are, and plan as best I can." When Faruja speaks, Chita nods towards him, unsure if he was looking his way. "Souls, no, hearts, yes. I spoke to Merlin before on the matter of that weapon. This is... only partially about that, given something I discovered last night here in Traverse that kept me awake since." They couldn't see the bags under his eyes, but yes, Chita was up all night. The blindfold helps with that.

"The weapon I spoke to you before about, Merlin? The one who made it unleashed it again on a town called Narshe. Thankfully no one was hurt, but an idiot with a keyblade rushed and destroyed it despite my best attempt to stop them and something happened. It... the hearts that were trapped inside, I can only imagine still vengeful since I had not had the chance to help them calm down, to give them some satisfaction that was not blood, came back. Some beast I have yet to see, and cannot fully describe thus. It was angry, spoke, seemed sentient. It... it wanted the death of the one who made it, immediately and at any cost."

Lifting up the cloak-wrapped sword he had under one arm he sat it carefully on the table. "I helped the target of the beast escape. None deserve to die, none... not even her. Justice, yes, death or suffering, no. It... it followed us, and eventually confronted us again at the headquarters of the company Shinra in Goug. It was destroyed there, seemingly, and as chance would have it, it turned into a sword. The same sword I have here in this cloak. It... the sword is sentient, unlike the last. It has been haunting me since I stole it away and have been on the run, trying to convince me to kill the woman, flooding my mind with experiencing the deaths of those that lost their lives in Goug."

He shivered a little at that, shaking his head. Dying over and over in his mind in so many different ways WAS getting to him, even if he was trying to tuck away his fears and panicks in one corner of his mind. He couldn't pretend they weren't there, he just had to deal with it.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin had enough of waiting around for Mercade to find the people and he corridored when the detective wasnt looking, probably while he is off sleeping. He remembered the mage lived on the lake and once he found a boat, he crossed the lake. When his boat made it, he begins to head to the house. He can feel the darkness within him trying to be forced out, a ward he assumed and he just grit his teeth and went on.

Zero-One has posed:
"That would be /most/ delightful, Ser Senra. I know a most wonderful..." He pauses. "Ah yes, to more pressing issues." Faruja might notice the faint sigh of resignation before he straightens up, preparing to face the problem presented to him.

As Chita speaks, the sugar bowl will provide the requested sugar. Merlin, meanwhile, strokes his beard as he listens. "There's no need to be so critical of yourself, young Chita. Being too critical is as damaging to yourself as being too prideful."

"I admit, I wonder... What is a soul, and what is a Heart? Do you know the difference, young Chita? I am most curious as to your opinion." He thinks for a moment. "The great beast was destroyed by a Keyblade? If it was as you say, then the Heartless should be destroyed."

He looks down at the wrapped object. "Then what is..." He pauses, and begins unwrapping the object. "This..." He pauses, his eyes widening at the strange, alien-looking blade. The pommel area looks much like a heart-shape, flared outwards, thinning to a handgrip. A spiked crosspiece crosses it, the blade itself in a wavy pattern much like a flamberge.

"Oh my." Merlin says. Archimedes doesn't even sass. He just stares. Merlin looks up. "I've never seen anything of its like before. You say it is intelligent?"

Archimedes suddenly snaps his head up as Merlin seems engrossed with examining the sword. Notably, he does not touch it directly. "Merlin. Something's coming. Could be trouble."

Merlin looks up, surprised as he looks out the window. "Hmm... He doesn't seem that threatening." Merlin says, cautiously.

Aerith has posed:
She'd made it, somehow.

Following Chita here was no issue. She'd remembered where Merlin's house was in the past, and coming here was their intended goal anyway. For the most part, the conversation passed without her interrupting anything. She just listened, trying to figure everything out.

Part of her wanted to talk to Chita some more, maybe Faruja for a bit, but business came first.

Of course, more important business was coming, as the owl professed to. It probably wasn't long before it got here. Then again, trouble would be an understatement as to what tended to follow this weapon around...

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja will have to keep thoughts of tea for later. For now, there's evil swords about.

When that blade is taken out, Faruja's eye all burn burns into the thing; if looks could kill, the blade would be a smoldering pile of iron right now. The fact that Merlin doesn't know what it is, makes things even worse.

"An intelligent blade composed of soul.../hearts/." The rat /really/ hates that term. "I suppose the question is, /what/ is this blade? I know naught of artifacts that may so easily trap hearts. Know ye of any tomes that may enlighten us upon the calming of those within, Honored Magi?"

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin continued on and then raises a hand to pound on the door. "Wizard, I have come seeking your aid." He says as he waits for the door to open. He waits for the door to be answered, trying to ignore the fact that he felt incredibly sickened and the ward pushing against him didnt make the feeling better.

Zero-One has posed:
Merlin gestures towards the door and it opens. It's easier than answering the door with so many people inside at the moment. "So sorry! I cannot come to the door, please come in, sir knight." Merlin responds to Kaydin's arrival. Aerith can slip in behind him should she choose. The door closes behind them afterwards.

"Well, aren't we a merry group now." Archimedes comments.

Merlin, however, looks back at the strange blade, and taps it with a spoon. It makes a strange 'tak' noise. "The weapon is forged of no metal I know of. It more resembles the chitin of insects if I guess correctly, but far stranger."

He looks uover to Kaydin. "How can I help you, child? Please feel free to ask, It's a busy evening." He chuckles, then hums, muttering some words as he waves a wand over the strange white blade, pausing for a short time.

"Aaaaah." he says. "Do you hear it?" He asks. In the background, you can hear a low cry, a sussurus of voice. "It's crying out... And you said it seeks vengeance? On the one who is responsible for their state, no doubt..." He pauses. "A terrible situation, but..." He shakes his head. "You cannot calm the hearts within this weapon." He looks over at them with a level gaze. "Because there are none within. This weapon is not full of hearts, it is full of memories. And that is what has been tormenting you all of this time, young Chita."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded. So that's what she felt all this time. Rage, pain, anger... but nothing as far as any kind of life or energy. It was quite literally empty. The sound that spoon gave when it tapped the sword proved it. But at the same time, such a weapon was quite strong when it came down to it, wasn't it?

And then, Kaydin came in. No doubt to ask what to do about his own, very similar situation. She didn't respond to his entrance just yet though, simply sat there and observed.

Chita has posed:
Kaydin's voice causes Chita to let out an angry little growl of a sound before saying, "I will save you the trouble of letting him explain, Merlin. That was the other thing I had meant to bring to your attention. This idiot made a deal with someone by the name of Garland in exchange for the product of the very research and weapon I was trying to safely dispose of before... to safely save those within. Now he has another version of the weapon, if my assumption is correct, that is going to eat him alive unless he feeds it hearts. ... or someone breaks it away from him."

By his tone, he didn't seem happy with Kaydin. Perhaps it was the whole 'voluntarily agreed to it' part. Even if he hadn't started feeding it hearts yet. ... that he knew of.

"I shall share my thoughts on hearts later, if you do not mind, Merlin."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin comes in. When asked how he could help him, Kaydin simply holds out a hand. A black blast of energy extends out before solidifying into a blackened key about the size of a sword. The weapon definatly gave off a malevolent air, with a black and yellow keychain. "This keyblade was given to me by the one who calls himself Garland. It is a part of me but demands the hearts of light and the more I deprive it, the weaker I become. Infact simply being in the presence of so many hearts of light is incredibly sickening." Infact the man did look more pale then normal. When Chita speaks, he simply points the weapon. "Keep pushing." He growls out.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith grimaced. Great, here they go again... but the last time she'd tried to break these two up, she'd botched it. Aerith almost wanted to drag them out of the room and tell them to beat each other senseless, but that wouldn't be right. At the very least though, it'd settle things one way or another.

She would speak with Chita again about making assumptions... they had no idea what that weapon was or who gave it to Garland. Mayhap he had it all along, waiting to give it to someone. No one would be able to find out, unless either speaking with the man himself, or digging through a certain mad scientist's notes.

The second was more feasible. But she wouldn't say anything on it yet.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja is suspicously silent as he listens to the exchange between Chita, Kaydin, and Merlin. He lets out a long sigh. Aerith does get a tail-flick in greetings though. Save me, oh flower girl!

"...Put away that foul blade, Kaydin. This is no house for threats. 'Tis one for solutions." No 'Ser' this time. He can all but feel the evil off of both blades.

"Memories. What use would memories be within a blade? Doth it merely steal them?" The rat sounds a touch relieved here. Memory-stealing sword is better than soul stealing. It's still Heresy, though.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith shook her head. She spoke at last. "You ever had a grudge you couldn't let go of, Faruja?" She didn't need an answer. "Someone who took something away from you unfairly, without any sort of explanation or reason why?" She opened her eyes and looked at the sword. "That's another form of power. And this sword contains a lot of bad memories, all because of one person."

Kaydin has posed:
"Forgiveness is something not easily given, and even if something is forgiven, it isnt forgotten. If this blade has no heart, then there is no compassion within it to try and make peace. Without a soul to see beyond the memories, then all it is truely is those bad experiences. Sounds more like a Darkblade if I ever heard one, Dark knights sometimes use blades filled with bad memories and experiences to amplify themselves, since we become stronger the more we suffer." He says as he looks to the weapon. "Half the training a Dark Knight undergoes is to simply not go mad from the darkblades."

Arkham Fisher has posed:
They say that a blade remembers every drop of blood it spills. They drink a lot, though.

Events in Merlin's cottage have escalated far beyond Arkham's reach, and quickly. It would serve her best to listen carefully, now; there are those who would find this very interesting. Her report will have to be detailed.

So, let's see. She recognizes the dark knight from the unpleasantness at the chapel, and she recognizes his darkness readily enough. A kindred spirit, perhaps. Let him explain himself, then. She will listen, and learn.

Zero-One has posed:
And then everyone gets aggressive. Merlin stands up, holding up his hands. "Now now, everyone calm down. We can discuss this like civilized people." Merlin tilts his head slightly as he sees the weapon. "Oh my, a Keyblade?" He says, leaning in towards it and peering. "It does appear to be a true Keyblade, but if what you say is true..." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Poor child. You are in a difficult situation. I cannot condone the path you will take in order to feed this weapon."

He turns and nods towards Aerith. "Indeed. This weapon is full of the memories of those who have fallen, and they want justice... or in this case, what passes for justice to it. What you will do with it, of course, is up to you. Convincing it to relent would be much akin to convincing a great host of ghosts for forgive their murderer."

He looks back to Kaydin. "You have a dire situation, Keyblade Wielder... But I admit I am at a loss on what you would wish me to do. I have no power over the Heart. Dabbling in such things is dangerous and unwise."

Kaydin has posed:
"What I need is for it to not ask for hearts to consume. For that I will need someone who is an expert with keyblades to try and alter this one. If it cannot be done, then I dont know. I know it is about my heart and removal will kill me. Can you aid me wizard, tell me who to seek out?" He says calmly.

Chita has posed:
"..."

So... all of this mess with this sword has been for nothing? There's not even hearts in it, just... memories? Ghosts of the past and not even real ghosts, just... their memories? He thought about it, then said, "I suppose in that case I will simply use the weapon for the time being, to try and help keep any more atrocities like this from happening. They may want vengeance, their own justice, but I will not give it to them. I'm sure I can at least use the power, however, to bring an end to this all if I can try. How does that sound?"

He spoke directly to the weapon before reaching out to grasp the hilt with his bare hand. It was something he hadn't done for some time, not that the cloth made too much of a difference. "It may not be Rhiannons blood, but it's certainly something to satisfy you until then. Doing something to stop others from suffering like you did." Kaydin is ignored for the moment in favor of the weapon.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded. There, that was the question to ask. Not what to do, because there wasn't much he could do by himself, not about this. The question was who to see, because it was apparent no one here had answers.

With that said, she watched as Chita attempted to placate the weapon, something that would certainly be dangerous. She would have tried to reach out for it, but this wasn't something she could deal with effectively. Technically it was in her range of expertise, though. It was why she could answer so easily the question put at hand.

And while questions were being answered...

"Merlin... I hope you don't mind asking something of my own. May I?"

Zero-One has posed:
If the weapon has a response for Chita's words, it is not audible to anyone else. Merlin shakes his head. "Don't underestimate the power of a lingering will, young Chita. But do as you will with it, the sword is your burden."

Merlin looks to Kaydin. "Much like you, child. Your burden is heavy. I would not presume to understand what arrangement you have made to gain this weapon. From your words you cannot have had it long, and to do this... Well, I do not know of any who can solve your problem. Even the great Yen Sid did not forge Keyblades, or alter them. He was a teacher."

Aerith then asks him a question. "Please, child, ask anything you like. Knowledge is meant to be shared." Perhaps a concept that has not spread to his peers.

Kaydin has posed:
"Then tell me how to find this Yen Sid, and I see what he knows. If he is a teacher and knows about these things, perhaps he knows how to remove this thing." Kaydin says before looking about. "I made a deal with one named Garland. I wanted power to protect someone special to me, and I do not care what I sacrifice as long as I can keep them safe. All I have met has given me nothing but suffering and pain. If it would not cause her pain, I could care less if the worlds fell to darkness."

Aerith has posed:
She let Kaydin finish. This was important to him, after all. Then Aerith cleared her throat. "I um... I'm not really too proud of what I'm about to say. It was an accident, really." Wait, that sounded like she'd lost some of her confidence. She lowered her head as she considered her words. "I saw into someone's heart while trying to pull them back from the darkness they'd been cast into. Had no idea what I was doing." She sighed. "Might have done more harm than good, because what I saw, I can't unsee. I don't even know if I helped or not while I was in there." She wouldn't tell anyone about it, though.

She looked up at Merlin. "There might not even be an answer for this, but I'd like to be able to understand this, maybe even do it again. I've been feeling useless lately, with what all's been going on. But with this, maybe I can..." She shrugged. "I dunno, actually help someone."

Because she's certainly done a good job with Chita recently...

Chita has posed:
"No worries, Merlin. I understand that fully, but thank you for telling me any way of it. I do not mean to belittle their memory, only that it seems to be an impression of what they were, not actually them. Similar to my view on killing the undead... those undead who still linger with a purpose I do not think I could kill again, but those that are simply corpses that look like others... I probably could. I am strange, I admit." As Kaydin talks, then Aerith, Chita listens, even if he's paying attention to the sword.

"If that is how you wish to be." he says in response, "I cannot stop it. However, that will never happen by my hand. If you remember all that, you also should remember how much I've gone out of my way to avoid letting any death come of it, or you. It will not start nor or in the future. As much as I hate to say it like this, get over it or do not, either way you will not be used to spill her blood or the blood of others. Help me and make the best of it."

Zero-One has posed:
Merlin gestures. "Go to the train station. There is a special train that goes to a lone tower. He's closer than you might think... But I cannot guarantee that he will meet with or help you, child. He is far more strict than I am."

"You haven't seen the half of what he was like to the King." Archimedes comments from the side of the room.

Merlin shrugs. "Everyone was young once." He says. "I remember a young lad who once told me something similar... And he had a dark fate indeed. Good luck, sir knight. You will need it."

And then to Aerith, Merlin shakes his head. "No one is useless, child. Do not lose faith in yourself. Believe, and know what you are doing. If it is true and what you really wish, all you can do is follow your path."

Merlin simply watches Chita make his declaration. The blade, once again, is silent.

Or is it?

Aerith has posed:
Aerith smiled. "Follow my path, huh...?" Even though that wasn't an answer, or at least a satisfactory one, she could pick up something from it. Maybe there was a way to resolve things with the Viera after all. But never mind that. "Right. I suppose I'll have to find my own way to do it, then. Is that it?"

Kaydin has posed:
"Then I hope luck is with me." Kaydin says as he turns to Aerith. "He is right. The only time you are truely useless is when you acknowledge yourself as such." He says as he bows before leaving now.

Chita has posed:
A small smile comes to Chita's face as something only he can hear is relayed to him. But what? Yet, he acts strange. Chita stops speaking or doing anything and turns his head towards Aerith, a confused expression on his face, then Merlin and the others in the room, Faruja, Arkham and even Kaydin.

"..." Apparently it's screwing with his head again in some way. But what, or how?

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced toward Chita for a moment, a brow quirked at his smile... and then blinked. He was looking around the room with an expression as if he wasn't all there. It was the same way he'd looked before... oh, no.

She wanted to shake him out of it, but there probably wasn't anything she could do... physically, anyways. "Hey, you with us?"

Archimedes has posed:
Archimedes flutters down from his perch. "Well, maybe if you two-legged twits weren't so dag-blasted stubborn, you wouldn't be in this mess!" The owl hoots as he lands on one of the animated dressers. The dresser protests. Archimedes stamps on it for a moment, and the dresser backs down, aware of its position in the great mess.

"Now you listen to me and you listen good. Merlin here isn't a box to reach into and pull solutions out of, he's an advisor. An advisor! As in, one who gives advice, one responsible for advising students on academic matters, or a fortune-teller." Archimedes shakes his foot at the group, his big expressive Owl eyebrows waggling up and down. "And he's done that to the best of his admittedly mediocre abilities, so now I'll be stepping in."

"You there. You, girl. You want to know what lies inside a Heart, hmm? Think that you'll be any different than Morgan Le Faye or Mad Madame Mim just because your dress isn't open and your eyes are nice and pretty? Wellll, you won't!" Archimedes' feathers flutter around him. "Mark my words - no good can come of messing with that sort of malarkey! It leads to one place, and one place only, and no matter how strong in the Light you are, the minute you start thinking you're good enough to handle that sort of dark power, that's how it gets you! Snap! Wham! Just like a trap closed around your pretty little leg!"

"I mean, look at him!" Archimedes waves his leg at Kaydin. "He clearly thought *he* was better. Too good to get your fancy keyblade the right way, eh? Or maybe you were scared that you couldn't make the climb, so you walked over to a terrible, evil thing and shook its hand, and now you want to get out of the consequences la-de-da free as a bird! Well, you won't be. If Yen Sid even can help you, there's no guarantee he will. You want to solve your problems? Maybe you should ask yourself what led you to take such a phoney-balogna deal in the first place, hmmmm?!"

"And as for you!" Archimedes whirls around to stare at Chita, "You! ...well...I don't know what to do about you. All I can say is that a man who's willing to admit his mistakes is a far sight closer to the Light than a man blinded by his righteousness."

Archimedes spreads his wings. "Well! There you go, then! You wanted your free, fancy, solve-it-all advice from the big advisor! Now go on, get! We've more important things to do, and I can already tell that you're testing Merlin's patience something fierce. Any longer and you're likely to see what happened to the Questing Beast firsthand! You got your fortune cookie platitudes and your hard truths - now shoo!"

Aerith has posed:
Well, there it was. If there was no other cue to leave, that was it. However, she wasn't all that pleased with the bird's response. In fact, she felt her ire rising for the thing. But she took in a breath and let it out as slowly as she could. "Right, advice noted." She rose from her seat and stretched out. They still needed to know what to do about Rhiannon. "Chita, whenever you're ready to go."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin simply listens before looking to Aerith. For a brief moment he seemed unsure, actually unsure on his next course of action. Still he strengthens his resolve and begins to head out one more. The ward pushing him internally only made him leave faster by boat.

Chita has posed:
Not seemingly paying attention to anything, when Merlin's pet bird goes on a rant, Chita only half listens to him. He didn't really mind the bird, had to come with the bird if he wanted to deal with Merlin, though his choice of words he didn't much like. But, he couldn't really say much to it due to what the sword had showed him. He... actually grinned a little. "So, that's how it is? That'll work then. Thank you Merlin... and Archimedes." and with that, he stands, takes his stuff(and the sword) and moves to wander out of the place. Incidentally, he doesn't seem to use the stave the same way as when he came in, to avoid bumping into things.