2018-04-06: In Wolves' Clothing

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  • Log: In Wolves' Clothing
  • Cast: Leon Albus, Lily Keil, Xantia
  • Where: Vane - Residential District
  • Date: April 6th, 2018
  • Summary: Xantia finally manages to find some familiar faces in Vane, or rather, they find her. She immediately seeks to join Leon and Lily's merry band of mercenaries, because it's the only thing that makes sense.

======================<* Vane - Residential District *>=======================

According to the histories, the Magic City of Vane once floated above the surface of Lunar, providing magicians with a vantage point like none other to study the mysteries of their art and world.

Those days are gone.

The Vane of today is a battered, ramshackle ruin, with all but a few houses crumbled into rubble and disrepair. The outskirts of the city would be a looter's paradise if there was anything left to loot; most residents are either scraping out a bare existence with the Magic Guild or simply taking advantage of free real estate to squat in the less-toppled buildings.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Vntv83fb8
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

It isn't too hard to find Leon Albus or the Black Wolves. On Filgaia, they had a level of infamy that made people work to learn where they were. On Lunar, they were virtually unknown, and that meant they could exist out in the open. It wasn't like they had a large sign advertising that the Black Wolves were operating out of Vane; they were, however, not lying low. Word had gotten around.

Today, Leon isn't in the bar that the Wolves have set up shop in. Instead, he is walking down the streets of Vane, looking around. His silver eyes scan across the area, discerning; then, he looks sideways, and peers back to the person with him.

His second in command -- a lieutenant, perhaps, but really, a name more than that: Lily Keil.

"Pleasant city, isn't it?" he asks.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily has spent some time outside of Vane... but primarily the city has kept her close, for its various attributes and for its library. With few leads on a way back to Filgaia, research is one of the most useful ways to spend her time. ...Bt with Leon here...

A walk isn't a problem. Dressed in black and gray, blending in more or less with the staff she uses as a walking stick, she glances back to Leon Albus, captain and indeed more than that.

"...It's not so bad," she allows. "Pleasant, sure. I'm still surprised it functions as well as it does, frankly, with how loosely it's governed." Her golden eyes stay on him for a few moments.

"...But I can't fault the company."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

A bar, on a planet where alcohol is taboo. If you think about it, it makes sense that people who don't belong here would end up in a place that doesn't belong. Of course, Xantia never thought about it, nor did she hear anything about it. But she does know what to look for, because she was literally pointed at it. She's thus been around a few times already, only to leave in disappointment when she didn't find anybody she knew around at the time. Being a little on edge about this whole being on a different planet thing, she figured it wasn't a good idea to stay in one place at a time for very long. Which she isn't usually very good at anyway.

Well, that hasn't been working out. So in true Xantia fashion, she went from one extreme to another. If barely sticking around for a minute and coming back later doesn't work, she'd just have to hang about the city and wait for however long it takes! A few hours of aimlessly wandering the streets of Vane later...

Just as Leon comments on the pleasantness of the city, something potentially unpleasant is on his and Lily's path. A cloaked and hooded figure, semi-hidden in the shadows, leaning against the side of a building. Exactly the kind of hoodlum you'd expect to jump out at random passers-by, someone to keep one's eye on... perhaps for long enough to ascertain that this is, in fact, Xantia.

Yes, that is the worn brown travelling cloak she's always wearing, but it's plain enough to not be an immediate identifier. Especially since she usually has it tied around her neck, this would be the first time seeing her actually wearing it properly, let alone with the hood covering her features. Still, getting closer would make it more obvious, with the white-starred red boots visible underneath the cloak, and some of that messy red hair sticking out from under the hood.

As well as the fact that the figure is snoring. Loudly. Xantia certainly is the kind who could and would sleep anywhere, anytime, even standing up, if she's tired enough. Evidently, that is the case right now.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I've wondered about that," Leon says. "The city does seem... well, it's not like Nortune. In all of the good ways and the bad ways."

He is saying that when he spots the cloaked, semi-hooded figure. His eyebrows knit for a moment. A hand comes down to his side, towards the hilt of Argent Divider -- which isn't there. He has an over-the-shoulder scabbard, now. This causes him to pause, and then looking a moment longer. Recognition strikes him, then.

"Xantia," he says, for himself as much as Lily. He shares a look with her for a moment. Then, he steps towards the snoring figure. The mercenary looks her over for a moment.

Then, he reaches a hand out, and jostles her shoulder once. "Xantia," he says. "Wake up."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"The younger Ausa really drives it home," Lily answers. ...hey cold alk more, of course. ...But they don't get the chance without being interrupted. The cloaked figure ahead of them gets a look from Lily, whose hand at her side immediately shifts into the claw-like posture awaiting casting as she starts to evaluate the figure ahead of her and the threat level that they represent. The plain cloak...

A closer look gets them both closer, and then--Leon mentions the name.

She still doesn't unclaw her hand until a moment after, rolling her eyes. "This girl..."

She sighs, and takes up a spot beside the building with her, glancing to and from before...

"...Not a good place to be sleeping."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

With a start, and a "Huh!", Xantia awakens, immediately brushing Leon's hand off of her shoulder. "Get off, get off, shoo, unless you're something tasty, in which case..."

This is when she realizes there are people in front of her, causing the uncharacteristic reaction of a flight instinct, flattening her back against the wall. Her shocked expression lasts only for the second or two it takes for her to realize that the people she was looking for have found her, instead. "Lily, Leon, you're here, you're really here!"

Seeing familiar faces lifts a heavy weight off her shoulders, causing her to quickly return to her usual self. Considering the circumstances, you know what that means. Whether they like it or not, Leon and Lily are getting hugged. At the same time. Even if that means she has to grab Leon and slam him into the wall beside Lily first. Not intending to hurt anybody, of course... but not exactly gentle.

The other thing this means is words. Lots and lots of words. "I've been looking all over for all of you! I was all by myself, and it was awful, people kept attacking me, but then Metal Digger Locus came, and I found the Carakin, and then I found Jude, and he said you were here!"

The moment of pure elation already over, she backs away, quickly switching gears to important matters. "Do you know how to get back to Filgaia? Have you seen Fei around? What's this about the 'New Black Wolves'?" As should be known, Xantia doesn't believe in 'one thing at a time'.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"It isn't the worst place to sleep," Leon opines to Lily. "But it lacks a certain comfort that a lady of her refinement might expect."

This is absolutely meant to be a joke.

When she hugs him, though, his eyes screw up. He pats her on the back carefully -- and then, equally carefully, extracts himself. A graceful sidestep out of a hug is easy; a graceful tug of Lily out of a hug is impossible. In this, they must fend for themselves.

He opens his mouth to say something. Before he gets it out, Xantia bombards him with a laundry list of questions. Leon stares through each -- and the smile he had, if a small one, fades. Even though it was nice to hear that she was looking for them. He hesitates.

Because Leon is, at times, a bit of an ass, he answers: "No, yes, it's a long story that I'd be happy to share momentarily, and maybe, but it depends on the weather."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily sighs, applying her gloved face to her hand at Leon's 'joke'. "Of course," she answers, and it's half a groan. ...She is aware of this sense of humor. Such as it is.

But Xantia is awake and talking.... and abrubtly moving forward. As Xantia hugs her, Lily's eyes widen immediately and her entire body stiffens. "Gh--" They are both being hugged. At the same time. And Leon, finally, for once in his life, runs away first. Lily does not pat Xantia on the back. She sort of... stands there, very awkwardly.

"...Have you." She pauses. "Jude said." Lily lets that hang for a moment.

"It's... nice to see you," she manages after a moment, speaking warily, "Are we done... touching?"

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia, of course, appears to be completely oblivious to any discomfort she might be causing. She's happy to see her friends, obviously they're just as happy to see her, and hugs are how you show this! Leon escaping and Lily inquiring if the touching is done yet don't seem to clue her in at all, she just happily replies, "Sure~!" At least she does release Lily afterwards.

Still in sky-high spirits, Xantia could actually follow Leon's equally rapid-fire answers of her questions well enough, but the extra addition at the end causes her intended response to stall, opening her mouth only to slowly close it again while she looks confused. "The weather? What depends on the weather?" What is she missing this time? It's because she has amnesia, isn't it, it always causes her to miss things that are probably obvious to everyone else. Ugh!

She shakes her head, quickly deciding, "Never mind, never mind, we should find Fei and everyone else and then find a way to get back! We can't stay here, right? We need to be on Filgaia! Who knows what's going on back there right now, I think there were still statues left, and... and..." She looks down for a moment, adding in a softer tone. "...I'm not going to find any answers here." That's a more selfish concern, she realizes, but still a very real one.

It's also a bit uncomfortable, so she quickly switches topics to something that she can add a smile to again. "You two look good though! I'm glad you're not hurt or anything!" She looks directly at Lily when she says that. For reasons that are probably obvious to Lily.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Oh, nothing to worry about," Leon says. He shakes his head once, with a wave of his hand. He takes a step backward, and then he looks around for a moment. No one has really stopped to listen to their conversation; perhaps Vane's residents are used to strange displays. He turns, looking back to Xantia, and he hesitates for a moment, and looks at her for a moment.

"Fei has been with us," he says. "But traveling, at times--for instance, I believe he is in Pendrago at the moment, unless he came back. A way back... I won't rule it out, but I don't know a way back. I'm not in a great hurry -- eventually, of course. Though..."

He looks at Xantia, and tilts his head. "Answers?" Then, he glances to the side at Lily. "We've been well enough. I'd say we stayed out of trouble, but I don't want to lie to you."

Leon laughs a little, at that.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

As long as it's done. Lily is finally released and she remains stiff for a few moments after, shaking her head and taking a quiet breath. She lets the other two talk for a few moments while she recovers herself, considering where Xantia might have been by now. ...She doesn't have much trouble with the people of Vane, as a rule. They're at least less noisy than people from other cities, to her particular set of senses.

"There might be statues," Lily admits. "...I'm on the lookout for a way back... but I'm not especially hurrying either, I suppose. Sure, we've seen our share of trouble."

She pasues. "...Thanks." Lily does look fairly good--makeup covers over most of the signs of fatigue, and she seems particularly alert today. "...Rushing is only going to tire us out, though. We need to take a methodical approach. There are things I need to do, too, back there..."

"But yes, I'm... fine. What happened seems to have evened out."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

The news regarding Fei is heartening, seeming to imply that if she stays in this area, she's bound to meet up with him again. All things considered, she's less than eager to try travelling to yet another unknown city through unfamiliar territory. As hard as it is for her to sit tight and be patient.

That being the case, it also shouldn't be too surprising that Leon and Lily are getting some incredulous looks from Xantia when they mention not being in a hurry to get back. It's not like they don't have unfinished business on Filgaia, she knows they do. It's incomprehensible to her that they would think this way. Incomprehensible, unless...

"Are you... taking a vacation?"

She still sounds pretty incredulous, but after what she's been talking about with Jude, that would... sort of make sense. Of course, this was a conversation with Jude, so not a solid bet if it actually made any sense at all. Lily's claim that rushing would be bad probably makes a lot more sense. Probably. But in Xantia's case...

She is prompted to elaborate by Leon's question, which causes her to hesitate a moment, but she does answer in the end. "...I mean, the answers I'm looking for. About... who I am. I guess it isn't completely impossible that I've been to Lunar before, but..." She shakes her head. "I don't know, at this point I'm pretty sure that I need to be on Filgaia." It felt like she was getting so close to something really important, too. For this to happen now... poor timing would be putting it mildly. Plus her experiences on Lunar so far have been mostly unpleasant. Of course she'd want to get back sooner rather than later.

Not wanting to linger on that topic, she moves on, "Well, while we're here, we should stick together. Jude told me all about the Black Wolves, so... I want to join too!"

Obviously this decision is based on nothing but solid facts and careful consideration. Obviously.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon pauses at the question, then looks sideways at Lily. He asks with a certain amount of genuine surprise: "Are we taking a vacation?"

He would not be surprised to discover that Jude thought they were. Nevermind that he hasn't had a chance to really talk to Jude, yet. He looks back to Xantia, and then his head tilts to the side -- and he shakes his head once. "It might be unlikely," he admits. "Still, there was a saying that we heard, in Kislev."

He pauses for a moment, before he continues: "The best sheath is the enemy's chest cavity. It means, 'Sometimes, you have to take what you can get.'"

It does not, in any way, mean that.

Leon then blinks -- and for the second time, in a few seconds, looks genuinely surprised. "Ah?" he asks. "Well--er. You... know that... we're mercenaries, right? We fight and do things for money. Not entirely terrible things. But a little terrible, sometimes."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

A...a...

Lily blinks, looking to Leon. "A... a vacation?" she asks. "I haven't... I mean, I don't..." It seems to legitimately surprise her that the answer appears to be 'yes', especially considering how much of it she's spent drunk. "I guess..." She considers, looking between the two, and then back to Xantia. Quiet, thoughtful.

"...Yeah. You might find something here... But I can get that being urgent. Take it from me though--you don't want to rush that too hard. Do it as you can. Make sure you're ready for what you find."

Is she? Well...

But uh--joining... Joining, well.

Lily blinks, too, and considers. "...Killing people. A lot of killing people. We aren't very nice about it, either. You take what you can get, sure, but you crush the enemy, too. If you want to join up, we could use you, but..."

She looks Xantia in the eye. "You'll have to be prepared for blood."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Given recent events," Leon appends, "I think it is more like a medium-small amount of killing people. Not that the amount changed, but the scales did."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

It sure sounds to Xantia like the answer is 'yes', even if Leon and Lily seem to be surprised that this might be a vacation. It's okay, Xantia didn't really understand what a vacation was until she talked to Jude about it, this confusion is natural. People just need to talk to Jude more, his explanations are exactly what people need to figure things out.

Still, her only verbal response on the matter is a non-commital, "I suppose..." She just doesn't get why you would ever not rush things. Why wait to get things done that you really want done? She doesn't typically feel that she'd ever get any more or less ready for things by waiting. Still, Leon uses a saying when explaining, and she always appreciates the wisdom of a good saying.

<Xantia will remember this.>

Xantia then tilts her head at Leon's odd reaction to her request to join. "Of course I know what you do. It doesn't sound very different from being a pirate." Not to her, anyway. Not that pirates turned out to out to be as consistent as she'd been led to believe. And if there's many different kinds of pirates, that must mean there's different kinds of mercenaries too, so really, what meaning do these terms even have anymore?

Lily explains the terrible things further. This doesn't appear to change anything for Xantia, her expression not changing from its earlier vague surprise. Not because of what they do. Because she doesn't understand why it matters. She shrugs, offering her simple view on the matter. "Okay? I usually just knock bad guys out, or make them run away, but... sometimes there's no other way. But that's not really important, is it? It doesn't matter to me what we're doing. What's important is that all of you are my friends, and I want to help you."

With a concerned glance to Lily, she adds, "Especially if you're doing dangerous things, that could get you hurt. I mean, what if I'm not around next time?" She doesn't feel that she needs to elaborate, apparently just kind of assuming Leon knows what specifically she's talking about.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"A pirate--well... yes, you have a point," Leon concedes. The Yggdrasil pirates weren't regular pirates, as far as he could tell. Maybe the pirate from Lunar, who he had seen a few times, was more of a 'traditional' pirate. He tilts his head to the side, though, and listens to Xantia.

Then, he nods. "We're not monsters or butchers," he says. "We're not out to kill--but we won't compromise our mission, our safety, or the safety of our allies in the name of preserving the lives that want to end ours. But..."

He considers. She seemed to understand, in a way. It could be hard to tell.

"If you're fine with that, we would be happy to have you," Leon says. "I know Fei is fond of you. And you've shown yourself to have quite a bit of skill." But, he looks at Lily, for her input.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily, of course, is not particularly fazed by the idea of killing people or not killing people. ...But she expects most people tend to be. If Xantia's not... Well, she may want to hurry along, but--not so different from being a pirate...

"The main difference," Lily allows, "Is that mercenaries are less about plunder than pirates, I guess. Not that Bart did a lot of that... Or that I'm unwilling to take what we can get." She shrugs. They're... friends. Friends, and Xantia wants to help, and--

Lily hesitates, at that, glancing to Leon, glancing back to Xantia.

"You don't need... to feel responsible," she says, uncomfortably. "I don't want to burden people, and I don't want other peoples' burdens. ...We can work together, but I'm going to be in danger regardless. Don't.. worry about it so much."

She shakes her head. Leon... Well, his explanation gets a belated nod. "...True. All right. You want in, I'm fine with it," she says, that being her input. "I have a feeling you're more likely to find what you're looking for with us than not, anyway. Even if it isn't here."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia nods eagerly when Leon clarifies a bit further, reiterating, "Of course, you're my friends! I know you're not like the bad guys. Of course you'd do whatever's necessary to stay alive, everyone would do that." That only makes sense. If it didn't, she'd have to consider herself a monster, considering the amount of hunting she's done, on Lunar alone. Perhaps not everyone would consider killing animals to not starve to be on the same level as killing a person who was trying to kill you, but it's pretty clear by now that Xantia doesn't quite think the same way most people do.

Xantia sees no cause to dispute Fei's fondness of her nor her skills, but the matter of feeling responsible... that gets Lily another one of those confused looks. "That's not a burden at all. I just want to help, and that's one of the ways I can help." And why would anybody not want their friends around to help? It's all really very simple, isn't it? It doesn't even really occur to her that she might be particularly worried in this case. That's only obvious to everybody else.

And so, getting the blessing to join of both Leon and Lily, there's no reason not to smile brightly. "Alright, great, then it's settled! That sure makes things a whole lot easier, being able to just go with you instead of having to find out about it later and following you!" ...She probably didn't have to say out loud what she was planning to do if they said no. Not that it would have been difficult to guess. There's been at least two seperate instances where Xantia crashed onto the scene of trouble in progress basically right next to Leon that he might recall. There's just no keeping her from getting involved if she wants to be.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Mm..."

Once, Leon would have argued they were the bad guys -- but facing down the likes of Gebler, the Metal Demons, and the Primarch have forced him to revise his opinion. He simply wasn't one of the good guys, in his book. He shrugs his shoulders once, and then he quiets, while he listens. He glances sideways at Lily for a moment, and takes her take. He nods, before he looks back at Xantia.

"In that case," he says, and extends a hand forward towards her. For a handshake, of course. "Welcome aboard. And yes, you're correct--no need to follow us. That could get complicated. We'll let you come with us, instead. As I mentioned, we do have a bar nearby. We've set-up shop there, as a sort of headquarters. It's... er... rather run down, but it's home. We're working on it."

He looks down the street. "Shall we? We can show you where it is."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

The bad guys. ...Lily glances sideways back to Leon at that, feeling something similar. She would certainly call herself one of the bad guys... But not out to do the same things as those, maybe. "..."

But the matter of responsibility--Lily looks to Xantia and... finds there's little she can say to explain it, really, so she just shakes her head. "I guess. You did help."

It's settled, apparently, and, "...Yes, that is easier than that," she says flatly, sighing again. Oh, Xantia. Lily does not extend a hand, but she does nod. "It's a good place. They'll set you up with a room, easy. Consider it a home base while we wander. ...And a place you can leave word if you find any leads on getting back. Or anything else, for that matter. I've been researching the history of this place, myself."

Show where it is...

"Might as well."

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Of course all friends of Xantia are good guys, there's no question! She is the best judge of character after all, friends with everybody she's interacted with for like fifteen minutes without them having tried to kill her even once. No need to make things more complicated than that!

Thankfully, she at least knows how to give Leon a normal, firm handshake, beaming at Lily's assertion of having helped. "Glad to be aboard! ...That's what you say, right? It sounds a little weird when you're not actually boarding anything." Don't worry, there's sure to be plenty of such reminders of Xantia's unusual thought patterns along the way.

Being informed about the bar, she's quick to interject, "Oh, I know where that is, I've seen it! ...The outside of it, I haven't actually gone in." And yet she's surprised about not having seen anybody she knew during her previous visits. But she's more surprised to hear that there's actual rooms there, too. "Really?! What a relief, I haven't had a room in..." How long has it been? She quickly gives up, having not kept track of time any better than she usually does. "Well, since I got here. Is there food, how's the food?" Of course that would be her prime concern.

There's sure to be less dull moments with Xantia around... in exchange for three people's worth of food. Good deal...?