2018-02-09: Retracing the Past

• Log: Retracing the Past
• Cast: Xantia, Rosaline Calice, Fei Fong Wong, Seraph Ragnell, Gwen Whitlock, Elhaym van Houten
• Where: Kislev-Aveh Front
• Date: February 9th, 2018
• Summary: Xantia organizes an expedition into the Great Aveh Desert, hoping to identify the exact location where she was found in an attempt to recover her memories. While relating her progress thus far, an unexpected revelation brings the effort to a sudden stop. Though not without a certain amount of success...

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This scene takes place before the events at Hell's Chapel and the preceding Hope Springs scenes.

===========================<* Kislev-Aveh Front *>============================

The frontlines of the Kislev-Aveh War have shifted many times in the last few hundred years, but they have left their scars on the land. One can, of course, find fighting between their infantry and Gears here. Such places are dangerous, and most Drifters know to steer away from them. However, sometimes there is no choice; even the rail lines thought to be away from the front can get caught unawares by a patrol, and skirmishes have resulted in delays and death for those trying to get to the Badlands.

The areas not currently being fought in are also dangerous. Deserters and monsters alike can wander them, and the dry, dusty land leaves little succor for those in need. To make matters worse, abandoned fortifications and trenches make an excellent hiding place for the bandits seeking to profit here. Drifters are sometimes drawn here, though, to either fight for one side or to excavate abandoned ARMs and Gears left behind in a battle. This sort of salvage work is risky, but the rewards can be great.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxynM-xwLUs

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

An expedition organized by Xantia, of all people? This is new. For the majority of those involved, Xantia's invitation probably came right out of nowhere. Fei, of course, was on board since the very beginning. Elly, due to easy proximity, was asked to come along in person. Rosaline and Gwen received a message via Memory Cube, a double surprise since this is the first time Xantia displayed any understanding of how those even worked. Ragnell could not be invited directly because of that little snag of Xantia being unable to actually see her, so instead, she asked Gwen to bring Ragnell along. She's pretty sure Ragnell will appear whenever Gwen wants, that's how that works, right?

Good thing Xantia was only in charge of gathering the team. Leaving the logistics for the expedition up to her would have been a bad idea, as anyone who knows her could guess. Thank Lily for making certain the supplies were actually sensible, instead of 'massive bag filled with food and nothing else'.

Xantia being Xantia, she wasn't the most detailed in regards to what was going on, but she at least made the objective clear: to find the exact location where she was found over a year ago, passed out in the middle of the Great Aveh Desert. If this feels like looking for a needle in a haystack, well, that would probably be easier given this massive scale. Thankfully, there's a map that narrows down the general area, and it's not too far out from Dazil, making said city the ideal point to meet up in and set out from. Still, this leaves a LOT of desert to cover, in an area that, as far as anyone knows, just has a whole lot of nothing in it.

It's completely fair to consider this a long shot. Especially when there's no guarantee there is anything of note to find out there. Would Xantia even recognize anything when she sees it? She couldn't say what the odds of that happening are. But she's very determined to find out. Why exactly she invited the people she did to come along, though, that she didn't specify. Some may have a better idea than others.


The journey so far has been free from anything but the most minor incidents, unless you count the fact that ever-enthusiastic Xantia has been talking nearly incessantly. Though much of it trivial, Xantia does end up providing more details about the background of this trip, as well as her own, what little she knows of it. When inevitably the subject of the map came up, she explained she got it from Grandpa. One obvious question later, she clarified she was talking about Jolen Crann, a Baskar Shaman who undertakes frequent pilgrimages throughout the Badlands. It was he who found Xantia on such a journey, and brought her back to his home in the Baskar Colony, where he and his wife Martha nursed her back to health. She didn't stay there long, quick to start her journey to recover her lost memories, though obviously without having had much of a clue of how to go about it at all.

How one girl without any memories managed to get from the Baskar Colony all the way to Adelhyde is a mystery that's only partially cleared up by what information Xantia volunteers. It's not much of a story, just an incohesive collection of travellers she met, bandits and monsters she fought, and of course especially the food she ate. The latter two kind of intertwine - in the case of monsters, most of the ones she killed, she also ate. She seems to especially enjoy reminiscing about a giant sandworm that sustained her for quite a while as she carried part of its carcass around.

Once she skips ahead to Adelhyde - possibly by request, because talking about Xantia's lunches may well cause others to feel like they might lose theirs - things arrive in more familiar territory, since, as she immediately notes, "That's where I met all of you!" Once again just sort of assuming Ragnell must have been there whenever she ran into Gwen.

Xantia directs her never-waning smile towards Fei as she nods to him, continuing, "Fei was one of the first to really help me with my memory. And later on... around when the tournament was going on in Lacour, that's when I realized how similar we really are. Not just because we both have amnesia, but our fighting styles are similar enough that it's like we had the same teacher! I'm sure our pasts have to be related somehow!" Which may be correctly assumed to be the sole reason why she joined the Yggdrasil Alliance, it allowed her to stick close to Fei more easily. Her motivations are practical like that, if not always the most sensible.

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline is here to help her friend! Why wouldn't she be? ...Don't tell her about the events of Hope Springs-- Those haven't happened yet! She's been preparing for the expedition, of course, and some of those present will even be part of it, but Xantia's search for her origins takes priority.

"I've had sandworm before, though I wouldn't recommend it outside of a survival scenario," she contributes to the conversation, at one point. She is well used to desert travel by now. She's otherwise rather quiet, as she usually is, in part because she's heard most of this story before.

She's mainly just wondering how Xantia will even know where she was found. If it really was a random spot in the desert, it's not as if the dunes from last year would still be standing. There are very few landmarks to speak of! But still... it's worth a shot.

"If your two past are really related... then perhaps finding the spot will jog something for Fei too?" she then proposes, optimistically.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

LAST TIME ON YOU PUNCHED LOREN IN THE GUT FEI FONG WONG

Fei punched Loren in the gut and felt a little bad about it.

NOW

Fei got over it.

He did notice the similar fighting styles and that got him curious whereas before he was kind of secretly hoping Xantia wouldn't recover her memories because odds are they're probably pretty awful. Nevertheless, he can understand not knowing being torture and so he has agreed to help. He's an amnesiac himself after all. Three years memory loss free!

He has gathered food, yes, but mostly a whole bunch of water. This is the desert and that's really the most important thing. Food's nice, water's better. He's heard most of Xantia's tale already and busies himself with making sure they have enough supplies. Periodically, he checks on Elly whom he brought along because she also has mysterious visions of the past.

"Oh uh...yeah, well--" Fei laughs awkwardly. "This excursion's for your sake, so if you aren't comfortable at any point, we can back off. 'Ssuming we find anything."

Course if they don't find anything then the lead is dead and he worries about what that'd do to Xantia.

Rosaline supplies some hopes for HIS sake and he rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Maybe..." This seems to be less of a factor of him coming along here. He wonders what Lily would say to that? Some memories best left buried maybe?

He looks to Elly after and says, "You okay on water?" He probably asked this before.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        If Ragnell knew that Xantia thinks she's at Gwen's beck and call, she'd probably snub the invitation just to show that she's no one's tethered Seraph. As it is, when she hears from Gwen that Xantia's aiming to jog her memory by finding the place where she woke up a year ago, her response is essentially, "Sounds interesting; count me in," and here she arrives.
        
        How she found Gwen in the first place is a mystery that she aims to keep shrouded. It's more fun to keep humans guessing.
        
        And so she's here, arms folded behind her back, chilling out with Gwen and everyone. When she catches sight of Elly, she gives her a Friendly Smile(TM) and a wiggle of her gloved fingers in greeting. She looks back towards Xantia as she explains her connection with Fei. "Hmmmm," she murmurs. "Is that so..." She half-smiles Rosaline's way at her suggestion. "Wouldn't that be nice an' convenient?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        What does an adventuring party do when they're venturing into the great unknown? They bring a ranger.

        A courier will work too. The mail has to get there *somehow*.

        As for Ragnell, well. Gwen wasn't sure how exactly she was going to get ahold of the Seraph, until, somehow, she was there, at some point. Which leads Gwen to wonder, exactly, _how long Ragnell had been there in the first place._

        "... Sandworms can be good eating if you managed to net a smaller one. The larger ones just go bad before you can finish them, and they don't preserve well. N' on top of it, they taste all tough n' bland. But I guess that's just nature's way of sayin' 'don't go after the big animals that can kill you'. N' if you see a small sandworm by itself, it's probably been abandoned, so you're probably doin' it a grand serv-" She clears her throat. "Sorry. Got carried away."

        And that there is probably where Gwen and Xantia's appetites vary. Gwen, at a certain point, will get picky. It's just set long after the point where most would simply stop.

        "So yeah. It'll be two birds with one stone! How nice is that? If Fei remembers something, it's good. If he doesn't, well, it'll just get to be crossed off th' map." Gwen cranes her neck. "Lemme see the map. Judgin' by the sun's position in the sky n' the placement of that plateau over yonder, I think we're just about..." She counts down on her fingers, then quotes a number. "That much from Drazil? Could be off. Not as many landmarks to judge from." She sips from her canteen, holding it up in silent offer for anyone to take a sip from as well.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly thinks to herself: Wait, if I do this I don't have to sit here and worry that the Major is going to come back in and scare me half to death even if in the end I wasn't in that much trouble and everything was fine! Also I can't get a new computer for like a week anyway.

She had smiled at Xantia. "Of course I'll help," she had said, or words approximating to it.

NOW

Elly's usual denim-dress-and-leggings outfit has been joined by a broad straw hat that's been threaded through with a ribbon to keep it from blowing away. It was probably kind of cute when she got it, now it is mostly serving its purpose of keeping her from sprouting a rich crop of melanomas from Filgaia's primary star's lethal radiations. (She's a redhead, okay)

"Mm hmm," she tells Fei with a nod. Her usual purse of war has a leather skin (with a rubber lining, since they aren't primitives) and she pats it with a reassuring slosh at Fei's question. Pat, pat...

pat. That interval came from Elly seeing SPRING BREEZE, or "Ragnell" if you know her actual name.

Elly sighs. To Fei, she says with a lowering of the eyes, "Can you see that?" Indicating, with a tilt of the head, Ragnell and/or the patch of air that contains Ragnell.

To Rosaline, she says, "I hope it will help, come what may."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei looks towards Ragnell. "Wait, you can see her?" He says, looking back to Elly. "I saw her a few times during the tournament but I don't know her too well--" He glances back to look at Ragnell's finger waggling and he smiles. "I guess you're friends too, huh?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        "*Best* friends!" Ragnell chirps, grinning toothily at Elly.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly's eyes are shaded by her hat, concealing the look of death in them.

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia doesn't argue Rosaline and Gwen's tastes, having learned long ago that her finding just about anything tasty is one of the many things that's true for her but isn't for most people. It's always nice when others chime in on her favorite topic of food, though!

She nods in eager agreement to the suggestions that this might work for Fei, as well. "That's what I'm hoping! Even if I don't find out anything about myself, but end up learning something about Fei's past instead, it'll be worth it!" She means it, too. That outcome would make her perfectly happy.

What wouldn't is the outcome where she turns tail before making sure of anything, so Fei's comment there prompts a resolute headshake. "I'm not backing off. I feel like I may have been doing that without realizing... but not anymore."

Ragnell, of course, she can't see, but she sure can see Elly's reaction, which quickly allows her to put two and two together. "Oh yes, that's Ragnell, she's an--" She has to stop herself from using the term 'Imaginary Friend' she'd been going by, correcting while looking in the direction others are making it obvious Ragnell is, "I mean, a Seraph, right?" Looks like somebody's learned a few things since last time. But she can't manage to look too pleased, wondering aloud, "...I still can't see her, am I the only one? I think I'm getting closer to figuring this out, but..." She'll have to work harder at it.

Xantia readily shares the map with Gwen when asked, though she's not about to hand it off entirely - even if she isn't the best navigator, she's possessive of anything that might be a valuable clue to her past. Since she doesn't have much to contribute there, she instead brings up a different topic. "By the way Gwen, I did what you suggested and talked to Morgan about my ARM. He said that he doesn't think it's from Filgaia. I wonder where I got it, then..." Obviously no one here would have any suspicions about that, right Elly?

Directing a smile to Elly (does she know??) and then Rosaline (maybe it was coincidence...), she continues, "I really owe you all a lot... Elly helped me to figure out my bracer was an ARM in the first place, Rosaline helped me to get it repaired, and Gwen helped me understand how it works. Even if I haven't figured out where it comes from yet, if it's that special, it's probably only a matter of time somebody recognizes it, right?" Always the optimist.

Though this may help to explain why she picked the people she did to come along. They're all people she feels thankful to. Presumably, that includes Ragnell too - it's not a stretch to assume she's thankful for helping - directly or not - with seeing things that she can't right now.

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

"I-It's only a maybe," Rosaline tells Ragnell. Unlike Xantia, she can see her-- and it may in fact have taken her a moment to realize she wasn't supposed to. But it seems the woman is friends with Elly? That's nice, then.

"Opening your spiritual eye can be difficult," she says, trying to comfort Xantia. "I likely was already halfway there myself, thanks to my Crest Sorcery training." And then going through a few Malevolence hellscapes sent her skidding uncontrollably along that road and past the point of no returning to blissful ignorance.

"I only directed you towards someone who knew what they were doing," Rosaline tells Xantia with a blush, looking down but smiling nonetheless. "In hindsight I'm glad it turned out as well as it did... Since it's so unusual, he might have taken it away if I hadn't talked him out of it. We're not... we're not supposed to let just anyone run around with powerful ARMs, but I was confident you'd use it responsibly."

She remembers that day, then the fact that Adlehyde was attacked only a few days later, and decides that MAYBE she doesn't want this to be a clip episode after all. "A-Anyway..."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Seraph ... Hellion ... Fei rubs at his forehead with an index finger.

Still, hearing Xantia recount everybody who helped Xantia makes him feel like they're about to head into some really dangerous territory. Something about dramatic speeches recounting what everybody has managed to go through to reach this point makes him a little uneasy, but it makes Xantia happy so he lets it slide. "Well, whatever we find, we can at least make this a good memory."

Maybe he's uneasy about clip shows too. Nevertheless, he does give Elly a small smile. She helped Xantia that far back, huh? Xantia can't see Ragnell though. That's pretty surprising. Why can he see her but she can't? Is it just luck? He takes a drink of water while he thinks about it.

"So Rosaline. What's been going on with you? I haven't seen you in forever." Fei says.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly blushes a little and answers Xantia, "You're very welcome, I'm sure." Her eyes return to Ragnell for a moment, as if in defense. (Elly, in her case, has little idea that people exist elsewhere, even if her advanced education and awareness that apes evolved from Man &c means that she may be better disposed to understand the terrible secret of Space than most.)

(Maybe.)

Fei wants to catch up a little with Rosaline. Elly ends up stepping a little closer to Xantia, probably because she wants to ignore Ragnell - Ragnell would certainly get the impression. "That's right," she says. "Don't feel bad, though. It's not a... moral thing, it's like... You know that herb, coriander? And some people taste soap when they taste it? I think it's more like that, than anything."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        There's no point in Ragnell correcting or affirming Xantia, so she doesn't bother; she lets chumps--or rather, Gwen, do that for her. Well, assuming she does, anyway. She half-smiles at Rosaline, then shrugs. "A good memory, eh?" she says to Fei, grinning. "Heh, that's the spirit~."
        
        But then Xantia mentions something a little unusual. "An ARM that's not from Filgaia, huh...?" Ragnell murmurs. Lunar is not exactly known for its ARMs, so she slides a look over Elly's way. The murderous intent that roils off her only makes Ragnell smile that much wider. "Golly! That sure is a dickens of a stumper! What d'you think 'bout that, Elly?"
        
        Elly ignores her. C'est la vie. Regardless, whenever the group gets going to where they're going to go, Ragnell will be there too.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        "I wouldn't say you're the only one. You've collected an eccentric group here, filled with people who got some pretty unusual abilities, includin' yourself. Besides, there's the matter of you kinda not havin' that sight, and havin' the sight, but at the same time. Which, man, if I could turn off my sight, that'd be real nice." She laughs, then raises a hand. "But if I could, maybe I'd be missin' out on being able to chat with Ragnell over here!" She wave sher hand, indicating the Seraph, but is reminded yet again of just how skilled Ragnell is in regards to lurking around people unawares. Oh Guardians, has Ragnell seen her *legs* and *shoulders* without Gwen being aware? Or maybe even her _shoulderblades_.

        Scandalous.

        Gwen shakes her head. "Dunno if I did that much. Judgin' by how you've been in the last few times I've been on digs with you, I'd say a lot of your progress has been all you. But, Morgan said your ARM's not from Filgaia?" The courier tilts her head as she peers over the map from behind Xantia. "Did he mean Lunar? There aren't any ARMs on Lunar, though..." And it may or may not exist. It probably does. Maybe it's a continent. "But if there was an ARM that wasn't from Filgaia, how'd any of us know? There's been a lotta ARMs that are downright strange."

        The courier says this, while itching the space between her hat and the side of her head with the fingers of her right hand- the same that she's blasted people with.

        Gwen nods to Elly. "Yeah, I could never understand why people say coriander n' cilantro taste like soap. Maybe they've just had a bad crop of it?"

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
"A... a what?" Elly is driven to ask thin air/Ragnell.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak slang very well," she continues, although she tells Gwen, "It's a... heritable thing, like your eye color. You know how some people have very dark skin? It's just not something that ever comes up if you don't eat things with coriander in them."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Ragnell rolls her eyes at Elly. "A 'good question,'" she replies dryly. "As in, isn't it a good question, askin' where an ARM that's not from Filgaia might be from instead, Elly!"

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Fei addresses Rosaline, who isn't used to being a center of attention in large groups. She has an uneasy smile.

"There's... been a lot to worry about, to tell you the truth. All those stautues, the Reapers, Malevolence..." And there are some things (Garmia Tower) it would be best if she didn't tell the others, so she doesn't. "But I'm planning a trip to my hometown soon, what with... my childhood friend being a wanted murderer and bandit leader and all. You might have seen the posters..."

Well, everything is likely going to turn out fine.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

It would probably make sense for Fei to make a guess as to where the ARM is from, or possibly ask questions about it but Fei...

Is learning about Rosaline. "Oh I figure they just put everybody on those posters they feel like," Fei says, his opinion ever he's pretty sure the bounty you have is inversely proportional to how nice you are. "Well I can't really judge murderers or anything, but I hope it's not too tough on you...and doesn't get out of hand. You only got one hometown."

WELLPPPPPPPPPP.

Fei eventually glances over between Seraph Ragnell and Elly, and says, "Well my first guess'd be Lunar but I don't know how she'd have gotten ahold of something like that."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia's initial understanding of any situation has a decent chance of being... unique. Case in point, her completely serious reaction to Rosaline: "Spiritual eye? You mean... you all have an extra eye to see invisible things? Is the eye invisible too, I can't see that, either!" Thankfully Gwen makes it sound a little better, even if it gets little more than a non-committal, "I guess..." Because she too would like to know what Ragnell might be saying right now.

All things considered, it shouldn't be a big surprise that she latches onto Elly's analogy the strongest, even if she's never heard of that particular example before. "Huh, really, it's like taste? I guess my taste is different from most other people..." That effectively took her mind off things, because now all she's thinking about is food, how she has to try this 'coriander' stuff now in particular.

She's not letting Rosaline off just yet though, not about to let her important contribution be downplayed. "It helped a LOT," she assures, "I mean, if he tried to take my bracer away I'd have just beaten him up, but that wouldn't have helped me get it fixed, so it's good that you were there!" Indeed, someone this punch-happy is sure to be nothing but responsible in matters of violence.

Returning to Gwen on the matter of ARMs, she feels like arguing that attempt at downplaying her importance too, but is headed off by the matter being brought back to Morgan, causing her to shake her head. "He said that, too. So if it's not from Filgaia, and it's probably not from Lunar, where IS it from, I asked him. But he couldn't tell me that. So I guess I just have to keep looking for someone who can! They're bound to know something about where I'm from!"

Even so, despite her general optimism... Xantia, too, is perfectly aware of this expedition being a long shot. She doesn't even have any kind of plan beyond 'cover the entire area marked on the map and hope something sticks out'. So far, absolutely nothing does. It's just... sand. Cacti. The occasional small desert critter, not even anything exciting like monsters or bandits. Nobody ever comes here, there's no reason to. Still, she has to do this. If she doesn't follow through with this, the possibility would never leave her alone.

Though, now that she thinks about it... she did learn of one possibility, didn't she? A strange one, from a very unexpected source. It felt like something that she shouldn't share readily. But everyone here right now is obviously trustworthy. Perhaps it would be good if they were aware. She shouldn't say anything without checking first, however... so she turns to Fei.

"...hey, Fei. Do you think it's okay to tell them about what Id said? About... where he thought we might be from?" That was actually only about her, but of course Xantia has already extended it to include Fei. And she did ask him not to tell anyone else about this, it'd be pretty hypocritical if she just went and said something just like that.

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Silly Fei, that rule only applies to PCs! "Yes," Rosaline tells Fei sadly. Yes, hopefully things will turn out fine!

"I-It's good that you didn't end up beating up an Ethos representative," Rosaline tells Xantia, with a very nervous laugh. "That would have been a lot of trouble for a lot of people." And she leaves it at that.

Xantia has a theory to share, or maybe not. It seems like a sensitive topic. Rosaline blinks, not pressing one way or the other. But she does have one thing to ask about: "Who's Id?"

She's SEEN Id, of course, but she never did stop to ask his name while he was beating up everything that exists. And even then, this didn't seem like someone with incredible wisdom to share.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei says, "Who?" to Xantia though it might get missed with Rosaline ALSO asking. "Why are you asking me?" on the matter of what Id said. "I don't even know him..." He rubs the back of his neck. "Sure, tell them if you want." He honestly doesn't remember what Id had said about it offhand so he might just need a refresher himself. "Any friends of yours are friends I trust." Fei adds to Xantia. Plus Ragnell is Elly's best friend, so that means she's double Fei's friend.

He doesn't comment on the matter of beating up the Ethos, though. So far it's nothin' but sand. Well, he thinks, it's a desert and you ain't even there yet. What'd you expect?"

He drinks more water, edging closer to Elly now. "After this," He tells her. "I'm thinking Gellato." He fans himself, so far mostly grateful a sandworm hasn't eaten them yet forcing them to recruit a mimic.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly huffs as Ragnell presses things. She folds her arms and doesn't answer. Maybe she doesn't want to have that conversation this moment, but from that glare from beneath the brim of her hat, she understands what Ragnell is saying. She is, at least, not being a gelatinous, elly-shaped lump of Tear Jello today.

SO FAR.

"It's possible that it's from a culture that didn't leave many artifacts," Elly says. "They might have predated the Zeboim period... I'm sure the Zeboim people used the artifacts and materials they found, and if they'd used most of them, it makes sense that very few had survived to the modern day," RAGNELL.

Elly blinks when Id comes up, and she glances to Fei, but he seems to wave it off. Her attention returns to Xantia. To Fei she says quietly, "Do you think so...? I suppose it'd be nice to cool off with it. It's so tasty, but it can be a little heavy..."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        "Hmm, I see, I see!" Ragnell says almost jovially as Elly glares back at her and presents her 'theory' on what kind of ARM that might be. "That's a possibility! If the ARMs're rare enough, then someone who never saw 'em before might think they weren't from good ol' Filgaia at all, huh?"
        
        A beat.
        
        "But, y'knoooowwww," she drawls, smiling sweetly, "I've heard these craaaaaaazy ol' rumors... Mighty strange stories 'bout a city what floats in the sky!" Another beat. Then she cackles, grins toothily, and winks at Elly. "As if, right? Some crazy ol' tall tale, I'm sure! Haha, but if y'wanted t' find an ARM that ain't from Filgaia, that'd be the perfect place to look first, huh, Elly?"
        
        Fei chimes in, suggesting that maybe the ARM came from Lunar. Ragnell grins at him. "That might well be, too," she says congenially. "It's hard to know for sure what might be the truth when there's so much we don't know about, huh?"
        
        The Lightning Seraph chuckles at Gwen's suggestiong that, while not seeing ghosts and spirits and Seraphim might be a relief, she wouldn't be able to talk to Ragnell anymore and what a tragedy *that* would be. Ragnell tousles Gwen's short hair, assuming Gwen lets her. "Y'oughtta work on your lies, Gwen," she drawls winking. "That one wasn't even a *little* convincin'."
        
        Id, though... That name makes the smile fade from Ragnell's lips as she side-glances at Xantia and Fei. Hmmm... Rosaline then helpfully chimes in to ask, and Ragnell smiles. She'd join in, buuuuut as just established, Xantia can't hear her, so she's not going to speak up.
        
        "Gelato sounds *amazin'* right now, hot damn."
        
        Except for that. But other than that...

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        "Nnn.... Healberry gelato... With a dollop of whipped cream on top..." Gwen feels dry just thinking about it. Slipping her hat off briefly to run her hand through it, she sighs, wistfully."Or lemon gelato, all sweet n' sour, just enough bite, n'-...." WAY TO GO FEI. Even if it's not Gwen that Fei was talking to.

        Gelato will do that to a person.

        'Do you think it's okay to tell them about what Id said?' "Oh, yeah, strawberry gelato. Can't forget that one. Just a little bit tart, really sweet, n'- wait, Id? THAT Id?" Gwen gives Xantia a bewildered look, itching the side of her cheek. "Well, I guess, everyone has their days when they're just chatty."

        Now it's Ragnell's turn to get a bewildered look, though the expression slowly turns sober. "A city... in the sky." The blue-eyed serial killer 'fell from the sky', didn't he? That is, according to Cassidy.

        Her sedate moment is soon interrupted by Ragnell ruffling her short curls, which likely looks strange from Xantia's viewpoint. "Er, well- yeah, it could be possible! Your ARM comin' from Zeboim period n' all. That'd make it rarer than even the ones that come from the Metal Demon War era, n' it'd be from different materials, too, so it'd kinda look different too, to someone who knows their ARMs."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Well of course beating people up causes trouble for them, that's the whole point! But Xantia only beats people up who caused trouble first, so you know, that's all on them. She's not given a particularly hard time over her penchant for direct solutions however, so there's no reason for anyone to get beat up over it.

Naturally the talk about gelato distracts her a moment also, though she's actually not too keen on discussing flavors. Just hearing all the various flavors makes her grimace, because she can't have any of them right now, but now she really wants to. That doesn't make being on a trek where you're not sure if there's even going to be any results waiting at the end any easier. Her protest comes in the form of a pitiful whining noise, then biting her nails as she desperately tries to think of something, anything else.

Elly's suggestion thus comes at a welcome time, prompting her to add more details from the conversation she had about her ARM previously. "Morgan thought it looked pretty new... too new to be something that was dug up. That's why he thought it couldn't be from Filgaia. He doesn't know of any place that could make something like this right now." She looks over the bracer, briefly activating its red energy blade, as if studying it would provide her with any more answers. She sighs as she lets the blade dissipate. "I guess it's possible it just never stops looking new, but..."

Oh, if only she could hear Ragnell's crazy theories on the subject. Gwen mentioning a city in the sky just prompts an almost visible question mark. Though we'll come back to that, very soon, even if Xantia won't realize it when she does.

Firstly, the matter of Id. The fact that Rosaline doesn't know who she's talking about isn't a big surprise, but Fei... Fei's reaction makes her furrow her brow. Why is he acting so weird about this? She'd gotten the distinct impression that he doesn't like Id very much, which makes sense since she's pretty sure Id's knocked Fei out at least once, but something about it doesn't feel right. Does talking about Id make him that mad?

She doesn't press the matter, deciding to instead clarify for the others, first adding to Gwen's sentiment, "I only know one person named Id, so probably! He's not that different from me, red hair, wears a lot of red, likes to fight and he's really, really strong!" That's close enough to count as 'not that different', right? Though why anyone would want to compare themselves to Id... "I haven't been able to even knock him down yet, but every time I feel like I'm getting closer! I've gotten a lot stronger already, one day I'll manage it!" Or sound so enthused about that, rather than describing him as someone to be feared...

"Anyway!" Back to what she was actually going to say, since Fei seems okay with it. "He actually recognized my fighting style. Shevat Open-Handed, he called it. So he thought I might be from the place that style is from, Shevat. Wherever that is. I've never heard of it before." She nods to Fei. "Since our styles are so similar, I figure maybe Fei and I might both be from there. But... Id said they're bad people," and Xantia is just going to take his word for it apparently, "So I think it's best not to tell anybody else about it. So... could you keep that a secret, but let me know if you hear anything?"

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Gelato would be good, but Rosaline doesn't comment. She tries not to overindulge with sweets, or indulge at all, really, and especially wouldn't want to ruin Fei and Elly's gelato moment.

"It's true," Rosaline says, liking the sound of Elly's theory. "Our knowledge of Filgaia's technology can only go so far, even if you ask the experts." She then realizes what she's saying. "B-But who knows, right? New discoveries are being made every day, after all..."

DESPITE the Ethos' best efforts!!

Ragnell speaks of a city in the sky. Rosaline has heard the stories too, of course... She could even swear she saw something that matched the description once or twice, but... She's been told her entire life not to entertain these absurd stories (some clergy members were in fact very insistent on that point!) and so she isn't going to start doing that now. That would be very silly.

Xantia explains who Id is. Her description is vague enough at first, but if he's someone that Xantia would consider 'really strong'... that narrows it down considerably. "Y-You mean that man who was tearing through Wehaca?" she asks, also looking in Gwen's direction, since she seems to know about him too.

But Xantia explains what she heard. "Shevat..." she says, trying to remember if she's ever heard that name. She... doesn't think so, at least. "I see... Well, I'll be sure to keep my ears open." They are very big ears, so that should be helpful. "I'll be sure to tell you if I hear anything about that name, then. It could be worth looking into."

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
"I know the place that you're talking about," Elly answers Ragnell. And then, with some gravity and no apparent mendacity, she says, "I thought of it as part of Filgaia. It's not a place that you should go to."

????

Elly doesn't clarify because she's distracted by glancing at Gwen, first at the prospect of heal berry gelato (mmmm) and the elaboration on some weirdo. She purses her lips. Then she says to Xantia, rather slowly, "... That's the place that I was... thinking of."

Her head tilts forwards, and Elly takes a deep breath.

"Shevat is an ancient nation's remnants," she says. "They sealed themselves behind an invincible barrier. They support themselves by scavenging from the surface, like raiders... there isn't much that could possibly challenge that defense system of theirs, and so, all they have to worry about is possibly angering Kislev or some other power enough to... To take drastic measures."

Elly's lips purse. She looks at Fei, then at Xantia. "I'm sorry that that isn't a more hopeful sort of answer. You probably don't... want to talk about it very much, where people can hear you."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Which one?" Fei asks as Ragnell goes into cities from the sky, but he seems to leave it at that. These conversations are making Fei fele awkward and unpleasant.

"Well I figure while it doesn't seem like it now, we have to...walk back eventually. And by then, we've earned something heavy, don't you think?" He thinks it over. "But if you still think that way when we're back, we could try yogurt instead. That's lighter."

Judging from what Fei hears about Id, he's pretty sure he doesn't care for him either. Throwing doom blasts everywhere is something an asshole would do.

He cups his chin thoughtfully before adding, "Just...just be careful."

Shevat, he thinks, it's such a familiar name to him. He presses his hand to his forehead like Ethius for a few moments as Elly shares more information.

Hiding behind a barrier to keep out the troublees of the world...Sound familiar, coward?

He looks to Elly and adds, "It's alright." He smiles at her. "They don't have anything to do with me. It's not as if there isn't plenty of ways we could've learned a style like that. I doubt everybody held up inside that barrier you mentioned, and even if they did--I doubt they always have--the style probably perpetuated out into Filgaia ages ago."

Still, it's hard information to listen to. He looks towards Gwen all of a sudden since she was checking the map. "Are we almost there?"

And more to the point he has to think--Elly thinks there isn't much that can challenge their barrier. Considering what Gebler has at its disposal, it's a frightening thought.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        "I admit, I don't know much 'bout him. Just what people told me. N' that time in Wehaca, though I didn't really get a chance to really, just, uh... well, I *noticed* him, but everythin' was goin' on all at once, and then I almost died, so. Uh. Yeah. But like, I suppose if anyone could get a guy like that to chat, it'd be someone like you, Xantia. You're tough, n' you got heart on top of it!" ... Gwen really doesn't much know jack about Id.

        "Ooooh, so that's why." Because it looks new. Gwen looks over the ARM again. "'Nother person you could maybe snag if this place doesn't throw up any answers is Emma Hetfield. Can't remember if I suggested her before, but she's studied under the likes of Gepetto Roughnight himself, who is this big deal? Auntie seemed to think so."

        Topics swing to cities in the sky and mysterious civilizations, making the courier's blue-grey eyes glint with curiosity. "Shevat, eh? Sounds like a breed of sheep. Like, the kind with real thick wool." She pops her hat back on, settling it against her head. "Maybe it's some sort of monastery in the mountains? Maybe that's why it's called a city in the mountains. If there's clouds 'round a mountain, it'd look like it'd be in the sky, right? I read a gella novel 'bout somethin' like that! A lone monastery in the mountains, where people make alcohol and pass on ancient hand-to-hand combat techniques!"

        Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, as they say. Whoever they are.

        It'd be tempting to just ask Elly, during this moment of plain-spoken honesty, whether the same went for Marcus Rider. She looks to the fellow redhead with pursed, thoughtful lips, beginning to piece things together. Xantia thinks she and Fei may be from, or somehow associated with Shevat. The first time Gwen even met Fei, as well as people like Elly and Marcus, was then the latter was after the former, admittedly for very understandable reasons. And for that Gear that Fei was able to climb into and somehow wipe out an entire village by accident. There was Marcus, with his almost military-level grasp of tactics, his command of magic and swordsmanship. Then there was Elly, with her strange balance of knowledge and, one could admit, unawareness, but certainly not to the point that someone'd instantly mark her as being anything other than a possible foreigner, or someone from a high class. And, well, there was Seraphita, or 'Incognito', as she told Gwen to call her. Who is with Gebler. And.... and....

        "I was beginnin' to wonder." Gwen chances a glance towards the sky. "I don't plan on tellin' anyone anythin' that'd risk me gettin' more noticed than I already am. Just got one more job to do for your friend, anyways." If she thinks about it too much, her brain'll threaten to explode.

        So. Are they almost there? She coughs, and looks at the map over Xantia's shoulder. "I think so. What'ca think, Xantia?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        'Which one?' Fei asks, and Ragnell raises an eyebrow at him without answering. It's just as well that he leaves it at that.
        
        "There's lots o' places out there that people shouldn't go, but they go anyway 'cuz o' the boundless spirit of curiosity and adventure," she drawls at Elly. "Funny thing, though--the way you talk, you make it sound like it's an actual real place!" Xantia pitches in then, talking about a city of Shevat--and then Elly says that that's the place she means. Ragnell raises both eyebrows now, not having anticipated Elly *admitting* it, and so she listens keenly to the following explanation. "Hmmmm..." she murmurs, watching her closely. Then she smiles. "Well, whaddaya know." A beat. "That sounds like an *incredible* adventure jus' waitin' t' happen!"
        
        She considers Xantia, who seems *awfully familiar* with the Demon of Elru. "By the way, Xan, this Id guy... is he a friend o' yours? You talk like he is, anyway." Another beat. Ragnell elbows Gwen. "Gwen, tell Xanty I asked 'er that." It's such a pain, traveling with a group of people who can all see and hear her except for one...
        
        Fei points out that knowing a Shevat combat style doesn't necessarily mean they're from Shevat. "Maybe, but it's worth checkin' out all the same, don't'cha think?" she points out. "If nothin' else, maybe checkin' out this place that fightin' style came from might give y'all some clues. After all, if their people scavenge from the surface, that means they must leave that 'invincible, impregnable' barrier from time t' time. Track down th' people an' follow 'em, an' you might jus' find this barrier ain't so invincible after all. Or maybe it is! Won't know 'til ya try, will ya?" She grins again at Elly, wide and white. "What d'*you* think, 'Ell's Bells?"
        
        And what does Gwen think, perhaps. Ragnell glances at her sidelong as she looks up at the sky. One more job, huh. Well, she'll leave *that* one alone... for now.

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline's ears swivel towards Elly as she speaks up about the flying city. What an odd thing to say.

But she soon goes on with something much more concrete, and puzzling in a completely different way. Well, at least Rosaline didn't have to keep her ears open for very long. But how does she know that? Just who is Elhaym van Houten anyway?

Rosaline stares for a long moment, silent and wide-eyed. Her tail swishes as she considers. An invincible barrier. A defense system little could challenge. Their existence sounds... pathetic, in a way Rosaline struggles to define, but if true, this is very troubling. If they have access to ancient technology of that caliber, wouldn't the Ethos be interested in knowing? (Answer: Haha!)

She can't help but ask the obvious question:

"Where did you hear this...?" One great thing is that, this being Rosaline, she's asking quietly enough that Elly can just feign having not heard her if she wants to. And then Gwen says something puzzling too. Rosaline just tilts her head.

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

"Yes!" is Xantia's over-enthusiastic reply to Rosaline when she asks if Id is the man who was in Weheca. "I got a really good punch in on him that time!" Because that's what was important about that battle, right? She directs a beaming smile to Gwen, taking the compliment in stride with a simple, "Thanks! Oh, no, we're not friends, but maybe we could be!"

Woooow, she has to be the most optimistic person ever to think that and did she just answer Ragnell before Gwen passed anything on to her?? It's not actually the first time that's happened, though it sure doesn't seem consistent... nor does Xantia seem to realize that's what happened just now.

Not that she really gets an opportunity to think about it too deeply, because needless to say, everything grinds to a halt for Xantia when Elly starts speaking of Shevat. Physically too, stopping dead in her tracks as she stares in disbelief. "You... you know it?" She expected a great many things might happen today, but her expectations certainly didn't include the discovery that one of the people she invited along just happened to know more about a key piece of information she'd obtained.

She falls silent then, listening closely to the details. Sure enough, they sound terrible, just like Id said. But in the end, she can't even really decide how hopeful of an answer this is. Like Fei said, even if her style is originally from there, that doesn't have to mean anything. It doesn't have to mean she's actually from there. The word 'Shevat' did keep nagging at her, feeling very much like something she should know about... but it somehow also feels very natural to believe the claim that they're a bad people.

"So... so then... why was I running...?" That's the question she was here to try and find an answer to. She was running through this area of the desert before she collapsed, she's certain of that much. But what was she running from? Her hope was going back to this area would somehow answer that question. She wasn't expecting to consider things from this angle.

She lowers her head, trying to put the pieces together. Her gaze lands on her ARM. If she goes by the assumption that it's from Shevat, but she isn't... why would she have it? If they're bad guys, then they probably wouldn't have just given it to her. Did she take it from them, somehow? She probably wouldn't be able to get through that barrier, but if they scavenge from the surface, it might be possible... "Was I... running from Shevat...?"

Her head hurts. Try as she might, she can't manage to confirm that to be accurate, but... the effort to try and remember may be paying off all the same. So close... it feels like she's so close to something important. Gwen speaks to her, but now Xantia isn't hearing anybody anymore. She's fully focused on that sensation, pushing back what she's recognized is a fear of the truth, instead trying to reach out and mentally grab hold of this precious fragment that feels like it might slip away at any moment.

Until she suddenly raises her head, eyes wide open. She's got it. "I was running because... I was afraid. And I was afraid because... because..." Her head lowers slightly, finding this particularly difficult to acknowledge. "...because I didn't know anything... who I was, what was happening... so that means..." She trails off there, failing to finish the sentence.

Though it might not feel like much of a realization, that it was fear caused by her memory loss that caused her to end up running out here, this reveals a major flaw in her assumptions all this time. She always believed that whatever happened to her out here in the desert was what caused her memory loss. But if that had already happened earlier, that means there's a second gap in her memory, covering the time between whenever she originally lost her memory and her collapsing in the desert. Needless to say, Xantia is feeling more than a little distressed at the possibility of having lost her memories multiple times. If that's the case, just how many times has this happened to her? Does this mean it could happen again at any time?

Xantia remains silent a moment afterwards, still looking deep in thought. Trying to dig for more details. Slowly, she raises her right hand. She stares at it, perplexed and transfixed as she turns it over several times, as if it were completely alien to her. Until her gaze suddenly shifts, in a seemingly random direction. There's nothing visibly or audibly over there that could've attracted her attention, but nevertheless, she seems to find something terribly interesting about it.

Abruptly, without explanation, she breaks into a run. Off as fast as her legs can carry her, a considerable speed. Catching up to her might have been a challenge... except that she doesn't go very far. Only about two dozen feet before she just as abruptly freezes in place again. Her eyes unfocus, and she wobbles unsteadily for a moment, before falling face-down into the sand.

When checked on, there doesn't appear to be anything particularly wrong with her. It's as if she just instantly fell into a deep sleep. Xantia may be known to sleep anywhere at any time, but this is a little extreme, even for her. So what just happened? Is this the same thing that happened to her before? And if so, are her memories okay...?

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly looks to Fei with obscure guilt... and then.. he says it's alright.

Elly smiles at him then, with some relief.

"I don't know very much about how they work inside of their barrier," Elly says. "But even in a place like Shevat, not everyone would be wicked... someone could have left and shared his secrets, or been exiled, perhaps?"

They keep going. Elly looks towards Gwen as she paints a picture, but she doesn't move to get in the way or to clarify harder or deeper; let Gwen explain things to herself. She may never have to hear of or visit that place. Then Gwen looks towards the sky.

"Mm," Elly says - before she looks to Ragnell with a sudden flash of her eyes. "I think that's an excellent way to get yourself killed," she says with an abrupt heated tone in her voice. "Even YOU would probably be easy for them to detect, you know. They haven't lived this long for nothing. What little I know suggests they're formidable on an individual basis, and if you wanted to hang around until they opened a portal, or however it works, you could be waiting weeks to be struck by an escaping craft or a Gear."

How specific. Elly's eyes turn to Rosaline, but... ...she doesn't get an answer. Not right now.

Xantia raises a question. Elly looks at her, but doesn't interject now. Does she not know? Is she hiding something? There may be a little of both there, but from the look on her face she seems to be worrying about Xantia. Some questions aren't there to be answered with the dry recitation of facts from a briefing document.

Then she seems to be coming to a realization. Elly watches... hope dawns...

Xantia suddenly runs. "!! Ah! Xantia!" Elly says, reaching out, but Xantia makes it perhaps ten meters before she freezes up, stares, and collapses. Elly rushes forwards, crouching near her, saying with anxiety, "Ah - Sister, please -" Elly's hands grip her knees.

THEN! Then back to Ragnell. "This is the sort of thing that they do in Shevat," she says to her. "... It's not funny. I don't want it to happen to anybody at all..."

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Xantia confirms Rosaline's guess, which only makes things more confusing and a little alarming, too. Is Xantia... going to be all right? (A question Rosaline frequently asks herself, really.)

Elly goes on, telling them how dangerous that Shevat place is, but doesn't explain where that information is coming from. Rosaline... at least seems fine with this. What she's telling is already a lot to digest... if it's true. But then, when have people ever lied to Rosaline? (Don't answer that.)

Xantia seems as if she's finally finding a memory. Rosaline stares in anticipation, holding her breath so that the sound of it won't possibly disturb Xantia as she grasps for what was lost. And then...

Lost memories of amnesia. That's... ironic. Tragically so, even, considering how hard Xantia has been working for this. But then the girl breaks into a run... and collapses.

"Y-Yes!" Rosaline answers Elly, not needing to be told twice. She kneels down next to her friend, already grasping her Crests and issuing a golden light from her hand. "She's only asleep," she then notes out loud, not sure whether this should be a relief or something else to worry about.

But she casts a healing spell anyway, because the energy would go to waste otherwise.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

If Elly's right, Fei doubts he'd like Shevat much either. It certainly doesn't give him a 'good feeling' when he thinks about it but he doesn't want to dwell on his gut feeling when it comes to a place he's never been to as far as he recalls.

"I don't know." Fei admits. "Is it worth checking out?" to Ragnell. "They don't seem to be invading Filgaia just yet so if they want to be left alone, why not let em? Especially if they're as dangerous as Elly says. I'm not the kind of guy who needs to find more trouble to deal with, plenty of it already mucking about with three outbreaks of an actual hate-plague about."

He glances over to Rosaline for a moment. He heard it, but he doesn't answer it. It's Elly's life, she should get to say or not say if she wants, or doesn't want.

He glances over to Gwen too. "See?" He adds. "Getting noticed," by senpai. "Isn't always a good thing." He thinks about Shevat. To him it actually sounds...

Fei pushes his hand to his forehead again. The origin doesn't come to him immediately and he lets his hand drop rather than dwell on it.

He can't help but smile at Xantia's enthusiasm. It's hard to blame her for it, really. He sure doesn't. It actually tends to perk him up, quite frankly.

But Fei frowns as Xantia seems to recall a few things and it is, as he expected, nothing good.

Because what she's recalling... is that she doesn't actually have that much to recall. Double amnesia. It's a helluva thing.

"Xantia?" He asks. She runs off.

Fei is also speedy on his feet, but Xantia has the benefit of a head start.

Fei has the benefit of Xantia falling over before she's even out of sight.

"...Xantia?" He rushes over and crouches down by her. "Xantia!"

Only asleep?

Did...did Xantia just not sleep enough? No, something happened.

"Xantia..." Fei frowns. "...What did they do to you? No--" He thinks, cupping his chin. "...She said that she was always afraid there wasn't anything to find out. That she had no memories to remember. Was that...her instinct? But if she has no memories that means she's..."

She's what, Fei? What?

Fei doesn't actually get to that point. Instead he worries. "...I should've stopped her."

...

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Elly talks about Shevat with distinct knowledge, but the knowledge of an outsider, someone who knows them as a distinct Them. She gets sharp with Ragnell, and Ragnell tilts her head. There's a lot of things she could comment on--the aforementioned, the very specific ways in which Shevat could smoosh her. Instead, she observes, "You're really nice, aren't you." She reaches out and, if Elly lets her... pats her on the head. "'Course, I knew that 'bout you already.
        
        "'Cuz we're best friends~."
        
        Fei wonders if Shevat really needs to be investigated. She shrugs. "I don't know. Is it? I'm not the one who's got missin' memories here," she points out. "That's what I *thought* this was all about." Though it's certainly not like she isn't curious for her own reasons, but that's beside the point.
        
        Ragnell glances over at Xantia then. And there *she* goes, answering her question without it needing to be translated again. Just as interesting is the answer, that she could well become friends with Id in the future. Yet she'd been acting like she couldn't see or hear her before now... This might be worth experimenting with--except right now isn't the time to do it, because Xantia's starting to... realize *something*. Ragnell tilts her head at her, watching and listening until suddenly the young woman breaks into a run, then collapses some two dozen steps later. She jogs along with the others to catch up, then glances at Fei when he remarks on the matter. She's what, indeed. And... he should've stopped her? Why is that? After all, her goal was to retrieve her memories, and she was hoping Fei would be able to get his memories back too. But between Shevat and now this, he doesn't really seem too keen on that idea. Could it be... he doesn't *want* to remember? Or is he simply not willing to do what it takes to restore them? Or else, like he appears to be guessing is the case with Xantia, does he...
        
        However, she leaves that possibility unvoiced... for now. There are much more dramatic things going on. For now, for a while at least, she remains silent, mulling on the things she's seen and heard up 'til now, as Rosaline focuses on healing Xantia.

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia receives healing, to which she responds in neither a good, nor a bad way. She's not actually injured in any way, there simply isn't anything to heal. She really does just seem to have very abruptly fallen asleep. Though it's more fair to call it fallen unconscious, given the lack of response to attempts at waking her up. It seems that will simply have to come with time...

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

        Xantia runs. Gwen looks up, lost in her own thoughts, and tries to take off after the gauntleted redhead, but by the time she gets going, most have already joined Xantia where she's fallen. The courier slows to a spot, craning her neck over those gathered. Maybe it's heat stroke? Let it be something ordinary. Should they have let her come here?

        Then again, if Xantia didn't trust them, would she have bothered to invite them along. They were invited, even if it meant possibly seeing her at her weakest. Or what she may perceive as such. Facing your past, or the possible void the lack of one presents, isn't easy.

        When Xantia's condition is confirmed, Gwen breathes a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't be quick t'say that, Fei." Gwen throws Fei a small half-smile over her shoulder. "I don't think it's our choice t'make for her. I think th'fact that you understand what she's goin' through is what's makin' this easier for her, no matter what. And the rest of us... well, we all got a part to play here."

        Once Rosaline is done with her healing spell, Gwen moves over, kneeling down to situate her arms carefully under Xantia's fallen body. "Let's get her out of the sun. My wagon's over at the nearest oasis. She can rest up there. No gelato, but there'll be water." With a intake of breath, Gwen lifts Xantia gently, almost afraid to see her wake up. "We're still all going for somethin' to eat, right? That'd be somethin' that'd hit the spot with Xantia when she wakes up, no matter what state she's in."

        Fei maaay have meant just him and Elly, but at this point, Gwen's not above inviting herself, Xantia, Rosaline, and Ragnell.

        And they'll all have their choice of gelato.