2018-03-19: A Matter of a Name

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<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Some of the Black Wolves have spent time in Vane. Others, however, were further out.

Leon has spent time in Vane on a hunt: a mission to locate a headquarters for the newly formed mercenary company. The captain of the Wolves talked to Riesenlied and Noeline a little about it, but he thinks that he found a place. He sent word out, through both the Goddess Statues and word of mouth, with instructions: to meet him in front of a building in Vane. He provided an address, which helps with the rather grid-like layout of Vane.

Many of Vane's buildings are abandoned. Yesterday, Leon told Noeline that he was leaning against using an abandoned building. And yet...

He stands in front of a nearly dilapidated L-shaped building. The walls are in poor repair; a few holes are smashed through the wood, and the steeped roof looks like it has seen better days. The paint has chipped away, such that 'old wood' seems to be the primary color scheme for the building. A faded sign swings by rusted chain.

Leon folds his arms, and waits for the others to arrive. He is dressed to match Lunar: a dark blue tunic, with shoulder armor, and a scabbard over his back. Argent Divider is strapped there. He has vambraces and shin armor on, as well. It makes him look like any number of sellswords found in Meribia.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied probably didn't even need informing with the Goddess Statue, given she doesn't stray too far away from the statue given her needs for recuperation. Unlike the others, she's chosen something other than a Lunarian outfit for a disguise, though it doesn't look too out of place -- a white and blue gown with a Baskar tradition, with large, flowing sleeves that resemble the feathers of a big, blue bird.

    "The Premiere said we were free to use this building..." she advises--

    "AWOOOO!"

    Her eyes widen as she looks around, and then-- down.

    Janey's suddenly arrived next to her, dressed in a faux fur cape with an eyepatch and a pair of fuzzy wolf ears glued haphazardly on a headband, along with what appears to be a pirate's tunic and rubber gloves and boots.

    "Black Wolf Janey, ready for duty, Cap'n!!"

    Whatever happened to the Lord of Calamity--

    "But I'm still the Lord of Calamity, don't forget!"

    Ah. My apologies. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily Keil has spent time in Vane. ...She broke off on her own earlier, citing something she needed to investigate--and that, in the end, took her to this town. She's been here since.

She received the instructions all right, though part of that was simply reuniting with Leon. She hasn't been sure about using abandoned buildings, either, frankly; she was content just to camp for a while. However...

Lily, too, stands in front of the building, one black eyebrow raised. She is dressed somewhat differently than the average sellsword; in full armor, she perhaps resembles a knight more than anything, though she wears no insignias, bears no crest. Regardless she too blends into Lunar in this way, looking up to the sign. ...Her eyes are a little glassy, though. Leon knows why.

Mostly because she's already been drinking today.

"...This place?" Lily asks, and then pauses. She turns. She looks not at Riesenlied exactly, but at--

...

"...All right, soldier." Lily's voice turns a little crisper as she analyzes Janey. "Form up beside the Captain." She is the Lieutenant, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Janey grins and salutes again and scurries beside Leon. Which looks patently ridiculous because imagine a waist-length shot of Leon with Janey nearly getting smooshed by the bottom frame of the camera with mostly her ears popping up. "Aye aye ma'am!"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Hammer isn't present right now since he has been sent on an investigation mission ever since he came back from his last one. He is looking into the matter of the Fereshte. At least he's being helpful, right?

LAST TIME ON YOU WENT TO VOLGRAN FOREST ON--no, maybe not doing that this time.

Instead there's a pair of horses trotting towards Vane. At first, it might be seen as a surprising amount of activity for a dying city nobody really visits beyond the recent influx of Filgaians and the occassional surprise Borgan, but the two horses have familiar riders: Fei Fong Wong and Elhaym van Houten! And that's the size of it really. Fei slides off his horse and ties it to a hitching post. He moves around to Elly's horse and helps her if she needs it. He's not wholly sure how much experience she has and even then it may have been a while. Fei's used to it working in a farming village as long as he has.

But after giving whatever aid to Elly she needs (if any), he turns towards the gathered Black Wolves and Lords of Calamity and throws a wave, "Hey guys!" in a friendly manner. "I found Elly and punched an elephant in the nose!"

He's grinning widely. He seems to be in a good mood. "It was a real lucky thing!" Probably the finding Elly rather than the elephant nose punching. He does not mention that Elly nearly shot him again.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly van Houten's exciting disguise is 'her Gebler uniform battle minidress' but she has a cloth shawl wrapped around the waist and a secondhand leather sachel over one shoulder. Also she took off the sleeves. Her hair has been streaming in the breeze. It's been pretty fun.

No; it's been wonderful.

She takes Fei's hand and steps down, turning her attention forwards - raising a hand to wave - and then faltering a little at the sight of Riesenlied, although this might just be, you know, she's tired. "It's true," she confirms, about the elephant punching.

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    Josephine had, surprisingly, been taking it relatively easy since their path took them here; perhaps her injuries -- coupled with the exhaustion of their flight through the city and the travel from there to here -- had conspired to form a perfect storm of actual compliance from the wayward archaeologist.

    Though the key word is 'had'.

    Josie has found that certain key objects are missing from her pack -- left, it seems, on the now-missing Fereshte.

    Josie has also discovered one very important thing about Lunar during the travel out towards Vane:
    It's a dry moon, so to speak.

    So. The first had seen her -- once she was recovered and up and able to start attempting to ask around -- poking around for any news of 'unusual sightings'.
    (She's been quite vocal about exactly how upset she is about those tiles going missing, too.)
    The second, well...

    Chapapanga smiles on the bold, it's said, or something like that.
    Or maybe sometimes, you just get lucky.

    "Had a little to drink, Tiger?" Josie drawls, slipping a flask into her own pocket on the sly as she strides on up, right as rain. Much like the others, she's exchanged her clothing for something more approaching local garb (shirt, gloves, pants, long vest, boots) but this was largely not so much out of the need for a disguise as sheer pragmatics: she'd arrived with little on but the nightshirt Lily had put her to bed in.

    From overtop the edge of the roof above, a familiar black-capped pigeon head peeks down. There's no escape from Penelope.

    Which is also just about the moment that Fei and Elly make their appearance.

    "--Hey! You're not dead!" Josie gives them a thumbs up and a quick flash of a smile. "Maybe there's something to be said for Chapapanga's blessings after all, eh?" 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    "... it's a bit of a fixer-upper, wouldn't you say?" Noeline comments lightly and with amusement; of course, given she's presently living in Vane, she's come to nose around as well, not taking long to meet up with the others. A careful nudge of a fallen piece of wood with the toe of her boot reveals half of the fallen and rotted sign.

    She isn't presently armored up, but only because she hasn't needed to actually travel to get here - when necessary, she's been making herself out to be some sort of dark knight, though a lot more lightly armored than Lily's example.

    The rest of the time, the black dress that constitutes most of her new look seems to do well enough for day-to-day tasks, with long boots and gloves edged in red. It's less a disguise and more just a style change, not least because she still enjoys looking as larger-than-life as possible.

    For a brief moment, she nods her head at Lily - and then looks down to regard the new soldier with a rather flat look. "... where did you even get half of that?" she huffs after a moment, but can't quite snag the girl in time to lift her up before Janey has darted behind the Captain.

    There's a call from one side that tugs at her attention first, however, and the demon turns a little to raise her eyebrows at the sight of the incoming pair. For a moment, her gaze is almost visibly wary - her anger at Gebler still fresh in her mind - but she pulls it back, letting out a sigh as she runs a hand through a long tail of hair to flick it out. In the end, she more or less considers Fei a good judge of character, not to mention extremely paranoid, and that counts for a lot.

    "--good grief, is it so hard to be on a dry planet?" the demon finishes as Josie intercepts them; one hand goes to her hip, another to her head. "Really, that was one thing I never quite managed to figure out. If it's something that tastes pleasant, all well and good, but so many treat the stuff like water." At least her grumbling is clearly good-natured. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"It's certainly a fixer upper," Leon replies to Noeline. "I can see why the premier gave us permission. This place will need some work. I--"

Janey happens. Leon stares at her for a moment, wondering (in no particular order) how he ended up with this life, where she found the ears, and especially how she found rubber gloves and boots. Did she bring those with her? This mystery, he realizes, may have no answer that he can make sense of. He looks sideways at Lily, and then down at Janey.

He nods, with a slightly wide-eyed look. "Er. Yes," he says. "I'm happy to have you with us. Uh, soldier."

The sound of horses approaching makes Leon turn to look. His eyes narrow a moment -- and then light up with recognition. "Fei! Elly!" he calls out. "You punched an elephant? I'll need to hear all about it. Your timing is impeccable. We've located our headquarters."

He glances briefly at Josie, and then he looks at their new headquarters. "I should hope so," he says, as he steps to the door, and pushes it open. The hinges creak when it does. A little dust stirs. The inside of the building has a small, welcoming foyer -- with emptied racks for coats and other clothes. A stairwell leads upstairs and downstairs, likely to a basement and rooms. The place looks to have been a tavern once.

That is evident in how tables are arranged across the long room, with chairs at them. All of them have some dust on them. There is a bar, too, and racks of bottles behind it -- and glasses, hanging upside down and in arms reach.

But, there is also a bartender. A middle-aged man, with a drooping mustache and brown hair that is peppered with grey. He blinks at them, his hand paused in the middle of polishing a glass.

His voice is calm to the point of sounding disengaged. "Oh," he says. "Huh. Customers. Uh, have a seat. You're the first ones in about two years, so..."

He doesn't seem to be aware that his tavern is considered condemned.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Given the enormous size of the rubber boots and gloves, they may belong to a certain unnamed mechanic whose name starts with 'A' that Janey's worked under, but this narrator is certainly not about to sell them out. "Yes! I'm a soldier!" she sounds -so- excited abou that.

    Riesenlied turns to the sounds of horse hooves, and smiles warmly at Fei and Elly. She doesn't share the reticience Noeline has, though the remark of Gebler is fresh on her mind... it doesn't seem to change a thing for her, though. Delicate and welcoming, as always. "An elephant...? I wonder if it's..." A pause, and she shakes her head. "I'm so glad to see you're all right, Miss Elly, Fei."

    She looks in and-- coughs a little, the dust rather bothersome as Janey bobbles in with a giant broom to say, "I'm all ready to help us get this place in tip-top shape--"

    She pauses, as does Riesenlied, as they stare with Leon to the middle-aged man.

    You're the first ones in about two years, so...

    Janey takes this line to the natural conclusion:

    "GHOOOOOST~!!" 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily nods crisply in approval of Janey's salute and action, and otherwise leaves her be for the moment--she finds herself looking to the arrivals, examining Elly and Fei from a distance and considering the punching of an elephant. ...Sure, why not? "Good to see you," she remarks.

But Josie drawls her question and Lily inclines her head. "A little," she allows. ...Not actually that little. But of course Penelope is here. Of course. "Had to find something like civilization."

Her attentions goes to the other dark knight in the area, to Noeline, considering her attire--truthfully Lily doesn't need her armor today, but she wears it regardless. She doesn't look that wary at Elly... for some reason. Her gaze doesn't linger on the uniform, though. Instead she answers Noeline darkly.

"Very," Lily says. "Alcohol is what us functioning. Besides... Pleasant's overrated. What you need is something that burns on the way down."

She actually smiles lightly at Leon, though. His reaction to Janey...

Lily shakes her head, and follows him inside. She looks around, seeing... the dust, the tables, the bar...

"Headquarters, huh?" she asks, tilting her head to look over at the bartender and watching him and his... calm. Customers, he says. Golden eyes stay on him for long moments. ...At which point Lily steps over to the bar. "That so? Then you wouldn't be out of whiskey. Neat."

She shakes her head at Janey's proclamation, looks back at Leon again with something like a little more life. ...Still waiting on that glass though. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei's expression goes briefly deadpan as Josie suggests that he has Chapapanga's blessing (lets be real, considering what he's like it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility). "Yeah, second favorite Guardian." He jokes in a straight man kinda way. "Right under Dan Dairam." But then he seems to reconsider it as he looks back to Elly for a few moments, a bright and easy and frankly rare smile on his lips. Did something happne? Did something CUTE happen?? Nevertheless he does admit to Josie after, "But you know, you might be right. To be honest, I didn't think you'd be in any trouble you couldn't handle...but I'm glad that my eyes can confirm my suspicions." He usually assumes he's cursed, but today he thinks he's one lucky guy all things told. He's seen enough painful stories to give his own some context, some balance.

"I've had a long time to think about how to tell it. Don't worry, Leon." Fei looks towards Riesenlied and adds, "It wasn't a normal elephant." But he seems content to share this story later.

He gives Janey a small smile because there's just something about wild kids that just puts him at ease. He was Dan's friend for a while you know. "You're full of energy." He says. He does look towards Lily for a moment but it seems like everything's chill still. He doesn't make comment.

In two years?? This will be a good hideout, then.

"So where's Hammer?" Fei asks. "Gotta thank him for the tip." 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly returns that little smile of Fei's with a rather generous interest rate.

Josie addresses her first. It's an obscure relief to Elly. "I had a close encounter with a snake... but, it's true. As far as I can -- Oh! Penelope too!"

Riesenlied looks at her - and -

Elly had feared something here. No; she had expected it. She had expected a cold reaction, some bitter words, like the ones that came from Loren. She knew in a bleak interior way that whatever she may have done, she held responsibility. Riesenlied would have every right to turn a cold shoulder. Even now, Elly thinks, she might just be putting on a brave face for the children.

But how Riesenlied actually acts...

Elly sags in more authentic, visible relief. "I suppose I owe you an explanation," she says to Leon, even as she troops in and - ghoooooost!!!

Elly looks at the man. If he's a ghost, he's a good one.

"Yes," Elly says, even as she walks towards the bar without great haste. "Without Hammer, Fei might not have found me."

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Don't I know it," she murmurs, to Lily's reply.

    Her smile grows only slightly brittle when Noeline calls her out. "Look, Sugar, gotta do something to kill the time, right? Might as well make it something entertaining." As if mortally affronted, she punctuates the statement with a shake of her head.

    "A snake, huh?" There's a pause there, while she weights Elly's appearance alongside her words. Her lips curve into a slight grin. "Hope you kicked that snake's ass. Glad to see you kids caught up with us." She lifts her chin. "See? Right as rain over here -- whatever you were thinking, kid, you got it right. Maybe Chapapanga's smiling on all of us."
    Her gaze lingers on Fei for a moment or three, as if she's considering something very important while glancing between their collected number. Lily, Leon, Riesenlied, Noeline, even Elly, but not...
    Hm. Maybe it's because 'kid' suits him well for some reason?

    That's a problem the archaeologist is left to chew on, her expression cheerfully pensive for now.

    And Leon pushes the door open slowlllly to what is, apparently, to be their new headquarters here on the Old Moon and--

    Josie tilts her head to one side, considering the bartender within. Then, Josie being Josie, she shrugs. "You know, you're figure that everyone'd be hot to trot for an open bar on a moon like this..." she sighs, advancing then on the bar. "Well, on the bright side, that means you should be stocked, right?"

    Shouldn't... this situation seem more suspicious?

    "Got any whisky?" 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"There are worse places, at least. For instance, anywhere at all in Meribia, right at this moment," Noeline comments back to Leon with another of those amused hums; she watches Janey briefly run physical and mental circles around the Captain, deciding to let out a more content sigh as she briefly leans into Riesenlied's side, and as the group start to file into the abandoned(?) tavern. At least her reticence towards Fei and Elly's arrival doesn't last long; it takes her a moment, but then she's lightly bowed her head in greeting with a companionable sort of smile.

    "Honestly... what a dour line of reasoning!" she puffs her cheeks out first at Lily's answer when she straightens back up, and then in Josephine's direction. "You're doing the equivalent of surviving on gruel and claiming that you have to. Treating oneself to a bit of consistent luxury is part of a healthy lifestyle, you realize, and I doubt anything truly runs on rotgut except the odd piece of Guild Galad tech," she chides - and somehow it's almost nostalgic, a call back to those days in Adlehyde where she lounged around the Starfall Tavern being low-key annoying.

    It lifts her own spirits as she helps Riesenlied inside, maneuvering the pair of them through the doorway. Janey's call brings her to attention - and makes her shoot her eyebrows up all over again at the sight of the man behind the bar. "--ah-- please excuse us," she bows with a bright grin, quick to recover from the mild surprise.

    Somehow, she's starting to get the measure of Vane as a place, and the sheer number of buried secrets the city has just makes The Hidden Barkeep all the more plausible. "Lady Miria mentioned this group might find some lodging here. ... did you know your sign broke, by the by?" she adds lightly as she scoops Janey up under one arm to dangle her there.

    She tilts her head to Elly's comment with a chuckle. "We've heard some of your situation, at least, and I wouldn't mind catching up on the rest. To be honest, I'm personally more interested in just how much Gebler is panicking without a chain of command around, but that-- probably counts as prideful gloating, and best I not tempt fate, I suppose," she huffs. "As for Hammer, he is out looking for the Fereshte. I've been doing what I can to turn up leads myself, but--" --but she hasn't wanted to go far from Riese's side, still affected by the other demon's head wound. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

The bartender looks between them all for a moment, especially Lily and Janey. His head moves from one to the other and then back again, before he settles on Janey. "Well..." he says, with the same pleasant, unshakable calm, "...I reckon I deserved that."

Lily, it seems, is easier. He pulls out a bottle of whiskey -- and then pours her a shot in the glass that he was polishing. He slides it over to her. "Here you are, miss."

His eyes turn to Josie. He nods, and then fetches a second glass. "Yup. Plenty of whiskey. Bourbon, rum, and other stuff too." He pours in a generous portion, then slides that glass to Josie.

Leon stands there, staring, open-mouthed. Then, he looks sideways at Elly, and nods dimly. "I won't argue," he says. "Fei told me. And truth be told, at the moment--" His eyes drift from the bartender, to Elly, and then back again. "--I feel that my life is short on sensible explanations."

Then, the Captain glances at Fei. He nods after Noeline's explanation. Leon frowns, then looks to the bartender. "Who are you?"

"Name's Argus," the bartender says. "Yup. Argus. I used to be a priest, but the Church got all no drinky, no dance-y, so then I wasn't a priest. I opened a bar." He looks at Noeline. "She did, huh? I guess the sign being broken confused people... maybe I should fix it sometime."

He pauses, then shrugs. "I guess you can stay here. We have rooms upstairs and I keep the sheets clean. Not too many people stay here." Argus pauses, then adds: "Not since about two years ago."

Leon sighs. "Sure," he says to fate and the gods thereof. "Why not."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied cups her hand to her cheek as she expresses, "I have known of such people before, but it is rather surprising to me still how it keeps you all functioning..." of alcohol, blinking a few times as Argus starts rattling off the names of beverages. "Bour... bon? Rum--"

    "Arr! Rum, like a real pirate's drink!" maybe Janey would prefer to be part of the Yggdrasil crew... She grins at Fei to go, "Gotta be! If mum's always sick, then someone's got to take up the slack for her!"

    She looks towards Fei as she remarks, "I might have had to flee from something scary like that when I got lost..." but leaves that as a bit of an aside in turn. Elly says that she owes them an explanation, tilting her head supportively as she says, "Of course..."

    She does sigh at the news of Hammer, though, furrowing her brow. "He has... not returned, I wasn't certain which direction he'd moved -- westward, back towards Meribia, I last thought. Though, he is away for days at a time, thus..."

    She does smile towards Josie as well, glad to see her well. "I suppose we found a treasure of our own, in a way... oh-- where are my manners? My name is Riesenlied," she bows towards Argus, softly. She kind of casts a look at Noeline, perhaps thinking it's best to not gloat about Gebler, but Noeline is Noeline. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Kid does seem to suit Fei. Sometimes he seems very old yet it still suits him. Perhaps one can be The Fool and The World at once. Noeline tells them what's up with Hammer and Fei nods slowly with understanding. In a weird way, that guy is quickly becoming invaluable on Lunar. He can investigate what the team doesn't have the resources for and frankly, its an information network that shouldn't be underestimated even if it is an information network of one right now.

He is sympathetic to Elly's hesitation and squeezes her hand to reassure her. He was frightened too and while he wouldn't have born the brunt of any hateful gazes, he would have felt them as well. Still, it's harder on her, he reasons,but he can share in the relief.

Not that he felt it would be that bad. The Black Wolves' capacity for compassion has always surprised him. Even Lily's. And Jude is of course an upstanding gentleman with a fine fashion sense.

And hey, nobody's perfect. But some folks can feel that way in these small moments.

"Huh." He says. "I thought Elly knew you knew." He frowns thoughtfully. "Ah well."

He seems ok with that much.

"Two years... only been banned that long...but fairly effectively, all told."

He gives Janey the headpat. "Keep up the good work." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"It's the sign of a more sophisticated palate," Lily answers almost lightly to Noeline. "I did grow up in Kislev." ...She doesn't finish the thought though; thinking of home gets a shake of her head. "But don't you expect dour from me by now?"

She glances over Josie again--Josie seems to have had a rough time of it. But she seems... fine enough, anyway. Good enough. "That's my favorite Guardian too," Lily pipes up to Fei, glancing between the two. "...Sounds like you had some fun together."

She totally leaves it as that. That's all she meant, right?

"I'm interested in the explanation," Lily answers Elly after, "Especially if it involves dead members of Gebler." But Noeline--well, Noeline is doing good things for Lily right now too. The bartender, though--Lily, armored, looks him over and takes the shot, picking up the glass carefully enough in her gauntlet, rolls it around to smell the alcohol. She pauses, as if weighing something, glances at Leon, and then--

"So what happened two years ago?" she asks, before there's a hint of Ether in the air and Lily's glass freezes over. ...She takes a sip of the now-cold whiskey.

"...Hammer being gone concerns me. Hope he gets out of whatever it is." She considers about introductions for a moment and then adds, "Name's Lily." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Don't knock it until you've tried it, Sugar. On a cold night after a hard day's work excavating this tomb or that lost city, nothing's as good. Heh heh... maybe it's just comfort food at this point." Her shoulders roll in a lazy shrug. "Though," she appends, a twinkle in her eyes, "If you're offering some of the good stuff, I won't say no."

    This comes before they head on in to the building and do a little looking around, though.

    Perhaps Noeline won't have to make good on anything at this rate. "Now we're talking." Josie claims the glass, lifts it as if to inspect the contents in the light, gives it a brief wiff, and...

    "So you couldn't have with the traditions around here, either, huh. Well, that's good enough for me. Cheers!" She takes a sip.

    "Argus, huh. Just call me Josie, that's the only name that'll matter around here. Two years ago... Is that when the proclamations came down, or did something else happen about then? ...We've been a little bit, hmm, out of touch ourselves, I guess you could say?"

    She glances over at Riesenlied, on that note.

    "Any luck with the ship, Sunshine?" 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

"Oh," Elly exhales to Josie, "it was horrible, it bit me on the chest. I froze it but - ah, someone had to give me an antivenom and even then, it's still all bruised."

She squeezes Fei's hand one last time before their hands part. Her fingers trail a little. "I'm Elly," she says to Argus. "I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you, in the Church," she continues to say, immediately feeling like a titanic idiot afterwards.

Then she falters, before laughing weakly, at what Lily said. "The ah... well, for right now, all that I can say is that you don't have anything to worry about regarding them. Most of the crew of that ship survived. Um," she continues, before looking to Argus, who will, hopefully, not inform them that a foolish hound bares its teeth at the master.

Josie mentioning the ship makes Elly wince faintly internally. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Noeline catches the glimpse from Riesenlied, and immediately offers a quietly apologetic smile in return; she closes her eyes for just a moment, nodding out an 'I know' as she rather drops the point, raising her hands in placation instead. "In either case-- what's done on the Gebler front is done, and hopefully we can simply leave them to their own devices rather than prodding them any further. My own rather wounded pride aside, I'm rather certain that's the better plan overall," she admits. "When it comes to forgiving and forgetting, we have all been on both ends of the equation, I'm quite sure."

    Ultimately, Noeline is a creature of curiosity, especially when it comes to people and the ways in which they work; the mention and re-mention of the bartender's 'two years' makes her eyes light up eagerly with different possibilities, and she sneaks forward a step or two to try leaning on a less dusty part of the bar, weighing up for a moment whether it would be polite to ask or not.

    "I dare say we could do a little to spruce the place up as part of payment?" she suggests lightly. "If you haven't heard, we're all a little new to Vane, but we've been doing what we can to fix up a couple of the buildings on the outskirts in exchange for Lady Miria's thoughtfulness. Nothing major, of course, but we can at least help make things a little more livable. A sign shouldn't be too much work for our intrepid soldier?" she wonders of Janey with an amused huff.

    The thought of getting Riesenlied tipsy is also an amusing one, but the demon is obviously certain she's pushed her luck already as of late; she huffs gently at her partner's words instead, leaning her chin on her arm as she props up the bar and looks towards Josephine. "Really, if we'd had a working means for Hammer to communicate with us, that would have been a much better idea, but-- I suppose no news is good news, in this case. At the very least, no-one is clamouring that they've found the rest of our crew just yet."

    "--ah, my apologies," she adds with a bright smile as she looks towards the bartender. She doesn't mention their names just yet, though - after all, the two of them do have something of a bounty even here on Lunar. "You're quite progressive, by the local standards." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I don't think you can have rum," Argus tells Janey, before he looks to Riesenlied. "Oh, you're new to drinking, huh? Maybe we should start you with something a little easier."

Leon looks sideways at Riesenlied, and listens to her explanation of Hammer. His eyebrows knit, then he nods. "I think we should look for Hammer, if he's not back soon," he says. "He's resourceful, but he isn't so strong. I don't want to risk him getting in trouble out there. Lily has the right of it," he says, with a brief glance at her.

He nods, once, though.

Argus watches all of this and, somehow, takes everything in stride. The bartender rubs at an end of his mustache with his fingers while he considers the questions. He looks to Fei, first. "Oh, the Goddess came back. She made some pronouncements, and outlawed drinking. And dancing. I didn't really like that, so I quit."

He says it with a good-natured shrug, instead of like it was a life-shattering change.

"It's nothing to apologize for, miss," he says to Elly. "I guess sometimes goddesses and priests just see things differently."

Leon's eyebrows lift, and he glances sideways to Josie, and mouths: 'I think I see why he hasn't lured any customers in.'

This is when a board from the ceiling comes crashing down a little behind Argus. It slams into the ground with a shudder, rattling all of the glasses and bottles. The priest-turned-bartender looks down at it, then shrugs his shoulders, and picks up a third glass. He starts polishing it.

"I think that'd be nice, miss," he says to Noeline. "We haven't had a lot of money to do repairs. We haven't really had a customer in two years, if I forgot to mention."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied looks very mildly hesitant as she says, "I--I am okay, I just drink tea..." as she senses danger coming from Noeline's amused expression at getting her tipsy. She looks towards Lily warmly to say, "Maybe we expect dour, but... you have your kind and sensitive times too."

    Janey pouts and goes, "Aww shucks, maybe if I do enough cleanin'..." She puts her hands to her waist.

    Josie asks her about the ship, and she sighs softly. "Ah, that's what Hammer is helping us with right now... we haven't heard hair or hide of the Fereshte since we came here. You would think it would stand out somewhere, but..."

    A pause.

    "I truly hope it didn't crash in the ocean..." She shakes her head, looking to Leon and Noeline. "If we'd had access, we could have used the shortwave communicators... hopefully we'll have the ability to do so after we get more things running."

    She looks towards Elly again, and then says, "Mikaia will be really happy to see you again, she's been asking about you. She--"

    She yelps just a little as the board crashes down, holding her head for a moment and looking particularly perplexed. "Goodness... yes, let's get this a bit more liveable, I think..."

    Argus' description does make her a bit curious, though. "If I may... how long was the goddess Althena gone before she came back two years ago?" 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

The ship. Of course it's still missing. Lily lifts an eyebrow at Elly though at her explanation. "...Let me look you over later," she says to her. "There can be lingering complications from that sort of thing." The concern in her voice is clinical, but it does exist. As for what she said--well, it wasn't very nice of Lily to say that, no. "At least there's that much. The last thing we need is them to start trying to spread their influence here."

Forgiving and forgetting? Lily shakes her head. "...No," she says, "Not really."

She does consider sprucing up the place--but then, there's the matter of, "Yes, I imagine sometimes there's that conflict. You have to be able to question some."

But Riesenlied hesitates--Riesenlied speaks warmly to her, and Lily actually looks away, almost pained for a few moments. "...Mm," she answers, and drinks more of her whiskey, a longer sip this time. She doesn't seem all that shocked by the sudden drop either. "...Well, fixing the place up would give us something to do. We can hardly use it if it falls apart." 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Noeline isn't pressing the case.

Will I just be able to ignore it? Elly thinks.

But then she is distracted by Argus, who more or less reiterates himself. "Um," she says. "You don't sell beer, do you...?" In other words, she wants one.

Then Riesenlied speaks to her again. "Oh," she says: "Really? I... Is she doing alright? I was so afraid for everyone... I'd thought that the intensity of the transit would have been so severe that nobody could have come through, but I suppose that hasn't turned out to be the case."

Back then to Lily if more cautiously. "Alright," she says: "But later, if that's okay. I haven't had any symptoms other than soreness, at least. Unfortunately I don't have the snake with me..." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    To Elly, Josie ducks her head in a short nod, appending the motion with a simple, "Good."

    Riesenlied's comment on the other hand results in a frown. "Damn, I was hoping you'd have some special connection with it, Sunshine. So no word yet. Same with me, though it's hard asking after it." It'd be a problem if she tipped her hand -- even on Filgaia this would be a problem.
    She grimaces as Riesenlied makes a faint hope aloud. "Sure hope not, or we're going to have to learn how to swim really fast. I'm not leaving this place," meaning the entire Old Moon, "without my things."

    'That obvious, huh' is what Josie mouths back, her gaze meeting Leon's for a moment before she lopsidedly smiles.
    But on the other hand... less competition for a drink. On the subject of which:

    "Not bad. Where do you get this stuff from? Can't imagine there's a lot of distilleries, what with the current climate."

    Josie, despite a few professed devotions to the Guardians, is perhaps not the most... traditionally religious-minded of folk. So the first thing that comes out of Josie's mouth when that little revelation is dropped is:

    "Came back from where?"

    In her experience major religious figures don't just up and out the door for a smoke.
    It's different with the Guardians.

    This is the moment a loose board drops with a crash, prompting even Josie to startle.
    From outside there's a pigeon cry followed by the whirring of wings.

    "...You can say that again," Josie sighs, shaking her head. Still, surprise or not, she didn't spill a drop. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    The ceiling cracks and falls apart, and through it all Argus remains unflappable, only reiterating his calm and collected point. "Quite so," agrees Noeline; she hasn't moved either, playing along by swallowing any reaction to the falling board to nod in something like sympathy. "Well, rest assured that in these two--" Lily and Josephine, of course. "--I dare say you've found a few new regulars. And some entertainers, besides. You wouldn't believe Leon's dancing," she adds placidly, but with an upbeat grin.

    That said, she does at least sober up as the talk around her moves to other things; Hammer and the matter of the Fereshte in specific. "... well... I could certainly imagine that the forces that brought us here would have ensured that nothing like that could happen to the Fereshte," she points out. "It is rather difficult to imagine something sending us that far and yet not having the ability to discern between land and water, after all. Besides, we certainly haven't heard of anything making a splash."

    There's a pause, and then she grimaces. Perhaps she really didn't intend to make that joke.

    "As for Hammer... I suppose you're right," the spy admits as she tugs lightly at some of her hair, letting out a quiet sigh. "But without a particularly easy way to contact each other, there's just as much chance that whoever finds him will run into trouble in turn. Then someone else will try to find us, and so on, and so on. Not to mention we haven't much in the way of clues - but I suppose if he was trying to forge connections, that at least means cities and not ruins."

    A pause as Lily looks away, and Noeline kind of stares across in a bemused and half-lidded expression, even settling for prodding the other woman in the-- in the-- pauldron. That doesn't work nearly as well. "Really, now. You're long past the point of fooling anyone in this room, you realize. You've as much a soft streak as the rest of us."

    Elly gets a chuckle, and a shake of her head. "To be quite honest, I'm reasonably certain that Janey and Mikaia came off the best out of all of us. I was certainly rather beaten up for a long while, and Riese suffered a distinctly bad head wound. ... fortunately, the Statues certainly live up to their name at least as far as convalesence is concerned," she adds, without a great deal of humour to her voice this time. "I can certainly thank her for that, I suppose." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei spaced out for a moment he does that sometime. Did he have a flashback where he met a ghost bartender? It's not the weirdest thing he's done so it's entirely possible that this is what happened. You can't prove it didn't.

Maybe he's just feeling a little overwhelmed. Everybody's together. Well okay Jude's not here, but...he's sure Jude will show up at the weirdest possible opportunity. Fei looks briefly confused when Elly winces at the mention of the ship. Some part of him knows, sure, but some part of him doesn't know. He rubs at his forehead and sets aside the thought.

"Well," Fei says. "I don't think they'll go around picking fights for no reason. They're likely more out of our element than we are." He smirks a little faintly. "I mean, this is their first time really 'Drifting' right?" Sure, they had their adventures, and their investigations, but this is probably the first time where they've been truly cut off for a period that may be FOREVER. Hey, that wouldn't be the worst thing. They might eventually grow past some of their darker aspects.

Fei frowns as Argus explains what happened with Althena. Surprisingly, it's not what she outlawed that he doesn't quite understand. "Came back? She was...gone?" Pause. "Is that normal? Her coming and going like that?" He seems to be PRESSing for more information. For some reason this seems to draw his attention.

But he does laugh a little at his latter comment. "Well, s'why they have priests, right?" Pause. "But it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He already misses Elly's hand when it removes itself, but he knows that's the mania of the situation talking. It's not like she's leaving, after all, but it was fun. It'll be fun the next time they hold hands too. He smiles. It's goofy as hell out.

"Well.... if it crashed in the ocean." Fei adds. "At least it's...part boat, right?"

INGENIOUS DESIGN!!!!

Josie seems to have the same question. It's understandable. The priest makes it sound notable, but hardly unheard of. "Where we're from." Fei says. "We don't often get to see the Gods." The Guardians of course came back, he thinks, or at least made themselves known--much like the Goddess. Not two years ago, though, so it's probably not connected. Right? 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I've got beer," Argus says. He turns, and starts to fill up a mug.

Leon looks briefly at Elly as she speaks. He considers for a moment -- he makes a note that he should talk to her, later -- and then he nods. "I'm glad you're back with us. And that you got here, safely."

He looks down and considers -- both the fallen board behind the ceiling, and the rest -- and then his expression screws up, and he gives Noeline a look. "I'm not--I don't think my dancing is something meant to be shared, Noeline. Even if it is quite remarkable." He sighs, and then he takes a seat at the bar, on one of the stools. He looks at Argus. "A whiskey, too, please."

The bartender nods. He slides a filled mug over to Elly -- and then he fills up a third glass with whiskey. Leon takes it and drinks the shot down in a gulp, while Argus looks back at them. "She was, uh, in seclusion. Althena did that sometimes. I guess it was easier to work for her when she wasn't here."

He shrugs his shoulders. "Welcome to my bar, then. You can use the rooms upstairs, don'tcha know! And there's a basement downstairs. Uh, can you fix the place, too? We need a sign. Maybe a name, too."

He starts polishing a new glass. "I never got around to naming it." 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "We-- um--" Riesenlied does sound somewhat contrite, "We were the ones who activated it, and I'm not sure we activated it...... correctly..." She hangs her head. "It was somewhat a rushed effort in the middle of not dying to the Lord of Calamity--"

    Janey gives her a look.

    "The-- lion-maned man." Riese why are you encouraging her?! She looks at Josephine and blushes softly. "Um, you would think so, but the hull of the Hyadean craft is not actually made of... Dragon Fossil as you know it."

    There's only a limited amount of it, and best it be created for soldiers, rather than fixed form aircraft, after all.

    She smiles at Elly. "Yes... she's enthusiastically joining in with the Vane soup kitchen. I've been helping out too where I can."

    Fei mentions that at least, it's part boat. Riese thinks that while that's true, she wasn't sure if the boat part was seaworthy last they checked given the damage, yet still--

    IN THE TIMELINE WHERE IT DID FALL INTO THE OCEAN

    "EVERYONE," Cetiri barks. "We are currently slowly sinking at a rate of one centisharl per minute."

    Dva wrinkles her nose and says, "I can swim, but I don't know the rest of you. Looks like you're gonna have to sw--"

    "Hold my beer."

    A Tainted steps boldly from the back. All his life, he'd trained for his moment. His body... is a bilge pump.

    BACK TO THIS TIMELINE

    Riesenlied does cup her mouth and say, "W-wow, you dance, Mister Leon? You are quite acrobatic in battle..." Oh dear, is Riesenlied getting the wrong idea again?

    Janey barks out the moment the name happens, "A name... the 'Wolf it Down'! Or... 'Never Cry Wolf'!" 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily doesn't say anything about Leon's dancing. She just looks up his way for a moment, meeting his eyes before she looks back to her whiskey, answering Elly easily enough. "Later isn't a problem. I don't do my best medical work while I'm encased in a suit of armor regardless."

"I don't think our leaving this place is something we need to worry about all that much right now," Lily says to Josie.

Lily glances to Fei for a moment, shakes her hea. "Maybe they are," she admits. "But I doubt they will. Darker aspects... That's all of them, as far as I'm concerned. They exist to try to be better than everyone else. To go after people they think might be useful. The only decent thing I've ever seen come out of them is her," Lily says, gesturing to Elly.

But Althena? Gone, coming back? Well, whatever. "That's what she does," Lily answers. Thoughtfully. "Well..." She looks over to Riesenlied. She considers Riesenlied at the soup kitchen. That seems likely.

"...I don't do names."

Her dog's name is Dog. This seems somewhat self-evident.

She downs more of her whiskey. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong frowns faintly, cupping his chin. In seclusion. Comes back. Makes new rules. What happened? Is it truly to stop malevolence as the Guard have claimed? And if that's the case, why is there so dang much of it? Is the amount he's seeing now actually less than what it was before? He wishes he had answers. "Guess that makes sense." He says. Sort of like it's easier to be part of a bordertown before a border tussle happens. Like going from being your own boss to the manager suddenly looking right over your shoulder.

"Huh." Fei says. "You haven't named it?" He looks up at the ceiling. "...I guess maybe we could name it for you."

CAREFUL, naming the bar requires a Wits Challenge to avoid just arguing with each other over which name is best! It's not a challenge one should go into lightly.

"Well, whatever we decide..." Fei grins. "I'm gonna paint it."

He considers Janey's offerings. He thinks she's getting somewhere with the 'Wolf' theme. He taps at his chin before making his own offer.

"The Sheep's Clothing." He considers.

He winces faintly as Lily seems to discern what he's getting at. He didn't mention his thoughts aloud but maybe his face was projecting. "Well," He says. "Just 'cause we don't see it, doesn't mean it's not there."

He's not a guy who enjoys war or violence. There's a part of him that gives in, but that's not the Fei on display right now.

"Or....heh... 'Luceid's', if we wanna get real cheeky with the theme." 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly blanches at the news of Riesenlied having a head injury. The beer, when it comes, is taken and drunk with vigor, indeed almost heedlessly so.

"... How much?" she asks Argus.

She didn't kill the entire thing, but she made pretty good headway.

agggghhhh more guilttttttttttt, but Elly smiles at Riese even so. She threads things together from what Fei says, pursing her lips, before saying, perhaps in a more general sense, "It's very likely that it survived, if with a lot of damage." Elly has to hope that's the case. The Tzadkiel went down; the Fereshte, hopes and dreams as it may bear, was... less...
... good, at... being... a solid object.

Elly chooses to move her attention over to Lily. Her cheeks flush, and her eyes turn back down to the bar, and at this point she does kill the beer. It, too, is a relief.

She is alone with her thoughts for a moment. When she looks up, she offers, "I've read that there's a plant with poison flowers that they call 'wolfsbane'." After a beat, she says, "It would throw off suspicion, wouldn't it?"

Then her attention rests towards Leon, to whom she nods once. As a parenthetical aside, she tells him, "I'm sure your dancing's alright. It's not just about formal techniques..."

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    Josie snorts, as Noeline indicates her and Lily's way. "Let me run up a tab, and I'm yours for life," she promises Argus, in what perhaps is a red flag of a statement if there ever was one.
    Noeline then rounds towards a particular favored target and, well. Josie follows. "Besides, Leon," she says, opting for the man's real name rather than the nickname perhaps for impact factor, "--Come on, let's see you dance. I bet you can really cut up a rug." Her gaze, dangerously amused, glints in the light.

    Before the talk shifts to other matters. "Mm... so it's like that with you guys." Something flits across her expression. Her lips press thin, but this -- perhaps -- is not a topic she raises not.

    At Lily, she shakes her head. "...Probably not, but if it comes down to that... that's my line in the sand, Tiger. This might be a rock that doesn't know a good drink from Justine, but I'm not leaving without all of my things in hand."
    The look in her eyes shifts, akin to something as hard as obsidian and just as cuttingly sharp. She means it.

    Seclusion. Hm.
    Maybe it's similar to the Guardians' retreat from the world, though at least they still spoke to Shamans, it was said.

    "Well, enough about religion. I think we've got more practical things to take care of, Argus?"

    Such as the matter of a name.

    Names. Names, names...

    Josie is briefly lost in thought, as if giving the question all the due grave concern it requires.

    Which is possibly the reason why she turns towards Fei and gestures at him with her glass. "Junior. Of course! The answer was in front of me the whole time."

    ...What?

    "Your nickname," she adds, in the strange event this wasn't already self-evident.

    With a job (?) well-done (??) she downs more of her drink. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Noeline nods at Fei's estimation, and then glances at Lily's brief rant - if only because both of them more or less sum up her own thoughts on the topic. After Riesenlied's previous uncertainty on the topic she's happier leaving it well enough alone for the moment, but she lets her thoughts slowly crystallize in her head regardless. Hopefully they'll be scattered, but at the very least, Gebler did seem-- capable, and it's a toss up as to whether they'll really be adrift on an unknown planet or whether they'll start making as many inroads into Lunar as they did Filgaia. One more thing to watch out for, perhaps, and be wary of.

    You know, alongside 'stray Metal Demons who also got thrown through the gate' or 'every single Drifter who decides to shoot off a dragon fossil ARM or technological device in public' or 'basically just Shalune'.

    But she sets that aside, and breaks into a truly glittering grin. Perhaps this is her own personal vice, rather than alcohol - but she pats Leon's shoulder in understanding. "There, there. I'm told it's alright to be shy," she notes in a tone of voice that suggests wholesome understanding, and then snickers gently as others begin to pick up the thread of the topic she's set in motion. "Still, if we're all in this together, you know, it could be a matter of pitching in..."

    "I feel both of those names might be a little too obvious, if you're looking for stealth," she notes glumly towards Fei's suggestions. "Or, at the very least, a great big 'hello we are from Filgaia' sign. To be quite honest, I'm rather fond of 'Wolfsbane' myself, I must say. Still not terribly stealthy, I suppose, but certainly rather more poetic."

    She tilts a little as Josephine sidesteps one discussion for an entirely different one, and then heaves out a slow breath as she looks to Argus with-- rather more than a grin on her face. "... please don't mind us. We've-- come rather a long way, and have a thousand stories on top of that. Suffice it to say our local knowledge is still a little lacking, when it comes to pretty much every topic. That said, we do have coin. And perhaps don't allow her a tab until you're caught up on those two years," she adds, a rare instance of no-fun Noeline. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Everyone dances," Leon tells Riesenlied and Elly. But then, he gives Josie a miningful look, and concludes, "But it doesn't mean everyone dances well. I include myself in that company."

Even if, at times, he has danced well -- but that may have more to do with who he danced with. He glances at Lily for a moment, and then his brow furrows. He looks back to the others, as they make their suggestions. Wolfsbane, he thinks. And the Sheep's Clothing, which has its charm. And...

"The Guardian of Desires?" he asks Fei. "I've read a little about that one. He is supposed to be some sort of wolf..." Nevermind that, once, they fought Luceid -- if briefly.

"Junior? Oh," Leon says.

Argus blinks, trying to follow all of this -- and then he looks to Noeline. He shrugs his shoulders. "I'm happy to help," he says. "I'm just glad you people are here. It's been two years since I've had a customer." The former priest thinks for a moment, and his expression is briefly concerned. Then, he announces:

"I like Wolfsbane too. Think you can make a sign?" he asks. Then, he turns, and looks right at Elly. "Oh, uh. I never made a menu. So I guess it's on the house."

Leon stares, then announces, apropros of nothing: "We need to find Hammer immediately. This man could use his assistance."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei says, "Well I said cheeky," in his defense, but he is not protesting strongly. "Wolfsbane is definitely the quieter option." Of course you could probably name the bar Butts Butts Butts and nobody would be the wiser, that's the power of JRPG Naming after all!

He sits himself down near Elly because he is still feeling a little clingy and he did, after all, say that he wouldn't apologize. He wonders what it must be like for the rank and file. What it must be like for other Solarians like Elly who aren't really suited to that kind of life. Do they go through the motions? Are they pushed into it eventually? Even societal conditioning can only go so far. Yes, he thinks, he would hardly relish the opportunity to take the fight to Solaris but what if that was the only path forward? Frankly, he doesn't really relish taking the fight to anyone. The only exception, he felt, was when they were 'taking the fight' to Kislev because it was on Leon and Lily's behalf. On whose behalf would he start a fight with Solaris for? His friends? The people of Filgaia?? General princip--

Josephine interrupts Fei's thoughts (thankfully). Fei looks over to her for a long moment. "...What?" He asks.

And then Josephine explains. Fei stares at Josephine. His face is blank. Utterly.

PFFFH!! JUNIOR IT IS! GONNA CALL YOU JUNIOR FROM NOW ON INSTEAD OF FAKE! YOU GOT THAT?? JUNIOR????

Fei sinks in his chair, his shoulders slouching as if he had just been shot and hasn't quite fallen off the chair to die yet.

"Junior...huh..."

JUNIOR JUNIOR JUNIOR

Fei chuckles briefly.

FEI PSYCHO UP

MEANWHILE...on TABEN PEAK!

Hammer hangs upside down in a net. A pair of surly orphans named Sue and Marvin stand guard.

"H...hey..." Hammer says. "I can give you a great deal...on merchandise...if you let me down? Ten percent? Twenty percent off?" They don't respond. "Half off?" Still nothing. "F...free samples?"

"Quiet maggot!" Sue shouts. "No talking until your interrogation! One more peep outta you and we'll throw pinecones at you!"

"W...." Hammer cries out. "UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

*pinecone pinecone pinecone pinecone* 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "Wolfsbane..." Riesenlied whispers to herself. "It reminds me of the herbs I'd harvest in hidden boughs in Arctica, where the snow does not reach." She smiles very quietly, before Janey exclaims, "Wolfsbane it is! I'll make a sign you'll be proud of, Cap'n Leon! Trust this soldier, hahaha!"

    Riesenlied shies a little from Janey's enthusiasm, but she does find it endearing, really. She does look to Elly and bashfully say, "I'm-- I'm better now, thanks to the Goddess Statue. But Berserk really did do a number on me..."

    There's a lowered head with a nod at Leon, perhaps just a bit disappointed. "I'd be happy to learn too... I still stumble and step on Noeline's foot when she tries to get me to dance."

    MEANWHILE... on TABEN PEAK!

    Someone else is hanging next to Hammer.

    Her refrigerator door hangs open, stuffed full of pinecones.

    "... the horror..." Val whimpers. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily could argue Leon's dancing... but she doesn't. The fact that Leon knows she could is good enough for her for the moment, as she meets eyes with him for a moment. ...Then Elly, as her cheeks flush. "Wolfsbane..." She doesn't apologize for what she said at all. But--

"...Good to have a line," Lily says. "You've got things best not left. Let me know." She sees that hard look in Josie's eyes, all right. ...She isn't going to question it.

She watches Noeline too, but doen't comment on tabs. She just says, "You and your nicknames," to Josie. She does not say that she doesn't dance, but she doesn't say she does either.

"Agreed, using a Guardian's name isn't very subtle. It--" Sounds like they've got a decision. And--"On the house?" she asks. She, too, thinks of Hammer, but more to the point...

"I think we'll get along fine, Argus."

She pauses, looking over Riesenlied again. "..." It's the doctor look. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly breathes deep, breathes out.

To Fei, she looks, but doesn't speak, after Josie's name comes up. Her brow furrows. Then she does speak. "Wait," she says, "Isn't that the title when you share a name with your father...?"

Elly considers the words of the former priest, and then she reaches into her satchel and draws out a small stack of silver coins. (Very small. It's like 'four'.) As she puts them on the table, she asks Argus, experimentally, "You don't happen to have any brothers, do you?" Something about him is familiar.

It's a familiar kind of mystery.

"... I hope Berserk didn't come here, too," Elly says, wanly.

Past that she worries for Hammer, but is also feeling that beer, possibly due to fatigue. Alternately it was more like barleywine. Elly doesn't know from beers and mostly knew she liked the pale stuff they had at the hotel in November.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei glances to the side. "...Yeah." He tells Elly. "It is."

*even more mockery*

He'll be getting a drink for himself now. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Mm... like that?" Leon asks Riesenlied, though he looks sideways at Janey when she speaks up. He cracks a smile, and then nods once to her. "I'm confident in you, Janey. Maybe Fei can help?"

Please help, Leon thinks.

Granted, since Fei is going to paint the bar, maybe he is being overworked. He looks back at Riesenlied and shakes his head once. "I don't think dancing is something I can teach."

He looks down for a moment, then shakes his head once. "I don't think that Berserk did," he says. "I don't think Berserk is alive."

Argus glances to Elly and shakes his head. "Nope," he says. "No brothers. You all just make yourselves at home, though. I'll keep getting these glasses cleaned."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei will totally help Janey with painting the sign. Unlike Leon, he seems to be pretty chill with children. Even the hyperactive sort.

"Sounds like a plan, Janey." Fei grins. "I'll see if I can show you some of the ropes." Fei's artistry is high level.

Nevertheless, despite the mostly ups and some downs of the day, Fei remains oblivious to the plight of Hammer and Val. When will they return? Will they return? Or is this...

THE END of Hammer. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "I--I'm better now, honest!" Riesenlied knows she's in trouble as Lily gives her the doctor's look. "I only wandered off in trail of the voices... once..."

    "Halfway across the world," Janey digs the knife in and twists.

    She does nod at Leon to confirm: "Berserk is... no longer with us." Just... say 'dead', Riese. "The princess sealed the statue... but Berserk shattered it with a corrupted sealing rod. I... we..."

    She hesitates. "Cecilia and I were able to both summon and materialise Odoryuk... and we weakened him to the point where the Drifters were able to take him down..."

    She gets a little quiet afterwards. It's awkward, still. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"...Wandered off. Halfway across the world. With a head injury."

Lily's doctor look becomes an even flatter stare. ...It isn't even abated by the talk of dead Berserk, though the sealing rod... Lily frowns at that. But--

She blinks, and stares in a wholly different way, and the silence gets even more awkward. "...I wouldn't know," Lily says. "I was unconscious. But..."

"You summoned Odoryuk. That's--incredible." 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    After a pause, Noeline places her hand in Riesenlied's hair, careful to not disrupt the other woman's horns or wings as she strokes down through it. "... he was defiant to the last. It took everything we, and many others, had," she quietly tells the gathered Wolves. "I am not proud of the tools I used to defeat him - to be quite honest, it feels rather like I was bowing to the Photosphere's old designs for me - but I could not let him take Riese."

    She pauses, and then lets out a breath, and is all smiles once more, or near enough. "... true enough. I'm not certain that Riese remembers, but I certainly do," she adds with growing pride. "And-- I am certainly doing my best to pin Riese down to recover further, rest assured." 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly listens to the conversation with the others and the summoning of Odoryuk. As she does, she puts her hand on top of Fei's, but quietly.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei looks over to Riese. It's hard to imagine someone feeling down over Berserk passing. It would be one thing if it was any of the others (discounting Alhazred), but Berserk seemed to hate the Tainted most of all. Elly would tell him to listen, wouldn't he? He closes his eyes for a moment, wanting to offer kindness but sensing that it could be a tumultous offering considering the macabre subject matter.

Elly places her hand on his own. His eyes open slowly. He blinks a few times before looking over to Riese.

"...Do...you blame yourself for failing to reach him?" Fei asks. "Do you regret that he died as he lived and did not reach beyond his nature?"

He is quiet for a moment. "It could have been better... but it could have been much worse." 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied does cringe softly, lowering her head further as she places her hands to her chest. She seems a bit nervous. "I... I don't remember clearly, no," she confirms Noeline's comment. "Berserk nearly crushed my head, and even now--" she shifts a little to where the bandages are over her head. "--it's only mostly healed."

    She sighs softly, and says, "... I do, but I'm trying hard to not," with honesty to Fei. "Berserk lived the way he did because of the past that he grew up in. That's why... more than ever, I want to show our young that you don't have to live like that. That we can live together, cooperate, and co-exist."

    She looks doubly bashful as Lily comments on her, though. "... it was Odoryuk who lifted me from the brink, just as I thought I couldn't hold on any longer against the darkness. That I apparently Materialised him is..."

    A pause.

    "Well, it should be impossible, but... I don't know anymore. But what I do remember is what he told me..."

    She sucks a breath. "That we can eventually overcome such boundaries." 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

    Riese gives a reasoned, careful, gentle answer. In comparison, Noeline's silence is terribly telling, as is the way she glances off to one side with a furrowed brow and protectively curls her fingers around one of the folds of the demon's robe.

    For her part, there is no love lost for the dead Quarter Knight - but that said, she's obviously willing to put her faith in Riesenlied's viewpoint, and support that in her own way.

    With a laugh, Noeline shakes her head. "Well. I have been doing impossible things for a while, I suppose," she notes as she lets Duras Drum's flame coalesce in one of her hands for a moment. It seems-- easier here, that much closer to where the Guardian is sealed away. "But that does beg the mention of whether you have a Medium and do not know it." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily still has Lucadia's Medium in her bag, still carries it with her but she has never summoned a Guardian.

She watches Noeline at her quiet explanation, shakes her head. "...You do what you need to do," Lily says. "The tools we wield... Sometimes we do it because we are the only ones that we can." She lets that hang a moment.

"It's natural not to remember well in those circumstances. But Fei has a point. ...I wouldn't change you, and your habit of blaming yourself stems from who you are... But still. I only wish I could have helped, instead of..."

She trails off. That woman. The Pyre Witch.

"I see. It should be impossible, but if the Guardian says you can overcome that limit, why not? How many of your kind have tried?" A pause, "...Would she need a Medium, with the Statue so close? I imagine it... counts. Not that I'm an expert."

Lily lifts her drink again, sips further. "We make a habit of the impossible," Lily agrees with Noeline. "It's just... the way it is." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei says, "Then you'll be sure to," Though whether the 'you' here is Riesenlied herself or someone else among her followers is unclear. He looks down for a moment, remembering screams of rage. He places his hand on his forehead for a moment but adds, "And I think you are. The joy I've seen in them. It's a rare thing. I'm proud of you." And perhaps even humbled.

Fei's leg aches. He reaches down to rub at it. It's been tender for a while, he thinks, perhaps he scraped it at some point.

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