2024-01-07: Crossing the Sea

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<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

A large number of Drifters left from Kattelox and went to Marduk. Some, though, stayed behind. It has been a nervous time. The world did not end. But neither did they return, nor did word of what happened come.

Then word came from Ignas. Some massive light was seen near the Adlehyde, Kislev, and Aveh border. Rumors of strange monsters followed.

A number of Drifters made a decision, then: it was time to return and find out what was happening.

Thus, today, a steamship has arrived in Jolly Roger. It has drawn some attention, because many of the Drifters aboard are now famous. Individuals who left Ignas and Elru only after Vinsfeld made his speech to the world, years ago; individuals who left their mark on Ignas.

They are coming back to it.

The first of them step onto the dock. Jolly Roger is as they left it, in many ways; some new buildings, some old ones that have been repaired. A large metal pier, with a number of ships docked; bars and taverns and hotels, catering to those who come and go by ship.

Leon Albus, with those Drifters, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

It's his first time on his home continent in years. It's a chance to collect himself, to appreciate the moment. And appreciate the murmurs of surprise and recognition -- 'That's the Black Wolf!' -- even if it feels so very strange.

<Pose Tracker> Rille Felis has posed.

Sitting on one of the crates on that dock - one that's to be loaded onto the steamship once passengers depart and some of the cargo on it is removed - is a person.

This would not be remarkable except, one, the person is not a dockworker (or at least, not actually doing work to handle the steamship; her actual employment status is unclear), and two, the person appears to be deliberately waiting not for just the steamship to dock but for people to come out of it.

As soon as the first Drifter steps off the ship, the waiting beastfolk slides off the crate with a thump. She's *big* - over six and a half feet, with even more added to that from curling ram-style horns that her shaggy, messy hair doesn't come close to covering, and built strong. Not like a bodybuilder; rather than being all sculpted bulging muscles, she's just broad-shouldered and solid from long hours of work.

She has a strange mix of beasts in her makeup; furred legs with a tiger-stripe pattern that continues on her arms, mostly revealed because she wears shorts that would be indecently short if the fur didn't make exposing her legs more a theoretical issue than a real one and a sleeveless work shirt, the aforementioned horns, claws on her fingers and toes and a heavy reptilian tail that drags against the crate as she drops off it.

"Hey," she says, before, louder: "Hey! Are you the bunch of Drifters in from Aquvy?" She's loud, and has a Kislevi accent - lower districts, as might be expected for a demihuman. Her stance doesn't read as aggressive, precisely, but it is a bit challenging. Surely nobody is going to start a fight here and now, in Jolly Roger, against a whole bunch of prepared Drifters! 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

There are whispers and murmurs in the crowd as Lily approaches, more than shouts. Most people who know Keil's reputation don't want to draw her attention--or the attention of her father.

But it's strange to be back, all the same. Lily, dressed in dark clothes with sturdy boots, steps forward. She has an ARM at her hip, and a sword on the other side. Her long, black hair hangs loose; her golden eyes look sharply around.

And the attention of Rille strikes her first. Rille, who is looking at them, and who is approaching them.

"Yes," Lily answers her after a moment's sizing-up. A moment's assurance that this isn't an ambush by the looks of the spaces behind her and in the blind spots of the moment. But a Kislevi accent...

"That's us. I'm Lily Keil. Lieutenant of the Black Wolves." She doesn't introduce Leon, or the others.

She instead approaches to conversational distance. "Who's asking?" 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi disembarks, accompanied by two enormous Metal Beasts, an ursine and a raptor. Unlike the bear, who is hairless, the eagle has steel pinions. The Hyadean has made no effort to disguise herself or to shapechange to fit in -- there she stands, a shade over seven feet tall, matte-gold skin reflecting the light, white hair streaming behind her. She is unarmored, has no visible weapons, and is wearing a simple set of black pants with a matching shirt. She holds her hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Don't worry!" she calls to the tall beastwoman. "We won't hurt you if you won't hurt us. We're just looking for answers." She awaits a response, ready to either move closer or manifest her armor and prepare to fight if necessary. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    It's been a horrendous set of days for Riesenlied.

    As one attuned to the Ley -- as one who's been dragged across the world by the Ley in a trance to address whatever problems it reports to her -- Riesenlied couldn't miss the way she sensed the latest wound to open upon the metaphysical layer of the world. Once more, the world was being drained...

    There has been no reports from the Drifters that went to Marduk. A pragmatic part of Riesenlied has to assume the worst, and that the wound to the world is a consequence of the Ten Wise Men's plans coming to fruition.

    A familiar dragon-headed airship pulls up beside the steamship -- it's the Fereshte, finally coming back east from where it departed for foreign lands so long ago. The recognition on her end, too -- 'A-aren't those the Ebony Wings?' -- brings back old wounds. Once, she was fighting against Leon and Lily and Ida here...

    "... we are drawing too much attention here," Riesenlied advises Leon and Lily, as she carefully lowers herself onto the pierside from a ramp on her wheelchair. "It would be best if we resupplied quickly and proceeded--"

    Rille calls out to them. 'The Drifters from Aquvy'? Riesenlied wasn't expecting them to be expected, but she pulls up on her chair a little closer. She's dressed in familiar Baskar clothing to protect her from the harsh sun, with an earthen capelet with a bow around her shoulders.

    "I am Riesenlied, of the Wayside Outreach. May I ask for your name? Do you bring a missive for us?" 

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    Jolly Roger has had a small boon lately, among its few residents. People come and go, but sometimes, those that come have more to offer that makes the time in which they 'go'... well, not as fast as usual, in this harbor.
 
     "Thank you, ma'am," says an elderly woman as she hands a taller, spindlier... Beastfolk? Some gella. "That venom nearly took my husband away. I can't think you enough for helping!"
 
     "It's... it's all right," the spindly Beastfolk(?) speaks with a feminine voice, youthful, as she disengages. She's not far from the port where there's a commotion. Raiders? It falls to her to move about Jolly Roger as fast as possible if that's the case.
 
     The Beastfolk(?) engages in uncanny agility as she deftly leaps, runs, and climbs atop some crates to find a higher vantage point, enlarged hands adapted perfectly for climbing natural and artificial structures alike as she watches a number of people take their leave of the steamship.
 
     ...And a familiar dragon-headed airship, the Fereshte.
 
     "...It can't be...!" The Beastfolk(?)'s eyes lighten up. By their manner of dress, one might not recognize them immediately, but if one were to take stock of the shape of their body and then look up to the shape of the hair and its strange color... an unlikely truth surfaces, no matter how impossible it may seen.
 
     That's Timu Guado, all the way over from Spira, now here in the one natural harbor for all of the Badlands of Ignas. 

<Pose Tracker> Hicalu Wilwisp has posed.

    And then there's Hicalu, who was mostly just here to do the catering.

    Okay, so really, that massive light got reported, and Master Erica looked at Hicalu, and she said, "Hicalu, go find out what's going on," and Hicalu said, "no way! Can't you do it?!", and Master Erica said, "I'd put money on a light like that coming from a rocket," and Hicalu said, "the rocket Lan went up in?! Y-y-you think it crashed?!", and Master Erica went, "go find out, kiddo."

    And then Hicalu whined and cried and hid his face under a blanket but his tail was still RIGHT there and he was NOT hidden and eventually he got on the damn steamship.

    And that's how the ship was able to provide its patrons with muffins!

    He kind of scurries out after Lily and Leon, giving the two of them plenty of room because he is REALLY kind of freaked out by Lily but at least he RECOGNISES her and she did a nice thing for him once so this is what he's got. And then a strange beastwoman asks if they're the drifters, and the Fennec beastman in breezy Baskar clothing looks up and chimes in: "Yeah, they are!"

    Not him, obviously. He's just the cook. 

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Perhaps so," he says to Riesenlied, well attuned to the mood in the room, to say nothing of the attention they appear to be getting. Against the rest of the Black Wolves, their resident doctor fades into the background, but that doesn't mean he would escape the consequences if the mood in here turns sour. Citan Uzuki, of course, had come with Leon and Lily and the rest, not long after the perhaps ominous silence that had followed the Marduk mission.

    To say nothing of the stories of a strange light in Ignas that had followed.

    In this, he had been of like mind with Riesenlied though loathe to express such unless someone had specifically requested his opinion... in which case, he had given it.

    The situation seems grim. And yet, what can they do but investigate the potential aftermath?

    She's an interesting one, this woman. If he had to guess by her accent, Citan would think--

    "...We are, yes," he says, after glancing Leon's way. There is perhaps no sense attempting to hide the matter now.
    And he's already taken stock of where the exits in the room are if they need to stage a retreat.

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

There's another ship approaching Jolly Roger, sailing in formation with the steamship and the Fershte. One with a red hull befitting its name, made in the Lunarian style - in other words, very much the spitting image of a pirate ship. It's one that may be familiar, though.

For the first time in many a year, the Ruby Empress has returned to Jolly Roger.

Layna's crew, happy to finally make port, gather up and prepare to leave. On the deck, Layna converses with a short, stern-faced woman - her Quartermaster, Dahlia, as they go over some details.

...And then, a voice from the port calls out to them. Layna looks that way - then claps Dahlia on the shoulder and offers her a grin before turning and leaping off the ship to join the others on the dock. Dahlia sighs, aggrieved and yet fond at the same time, and gets to organizing everything else at the same time.

Layna, meanwhile, touches down, taking a moment to assess Rille.

"Aye, that's us. Layna Manydays, Captain of the Ruby Empress." Layna greets with a tip of her hat. She notes her stance - not aggressive, but a bit challenging. "What business have you?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    For some of the Drifters, this is a homecoming long overdue. For others, it's a return to business after a long holiday break.

    A young man walks down the gangplank, weighed down by all the luggage he can carry--a big trail pack, and a suitcase in each hand. He's tall and powerfully-built, with long hair and a tastefully unruly beard; his eyes are pale sea-green, and his features are sturdy. He wears dark slacks, a leather trail coat, and a green silk shirt cut in a style reminiscent of old Hyadean uniforms.

    He takes a deep breath, smells the salt air, free of the industrial pollutants of his homeland. At Rille's address, his head snaps up, and he approaches the rest of the group. "Yes?" he says, voice calm and level. "Can we help you, ma'am?" His voice is a little hesitant, especially on that 'we'. These are someone else's comrades, though he's heard so much about them.

    The young man's gaze mostly focuses on Rille, though it's... difficult, given the presence of so many other sights. Riesenlied gets a warm smile and a bow; she'd likely recognize this twentysomething Drifter as Edward Everstead-Rey, Ida's younger brother. "You must be Albus and Keil," he says. "Edward Everstead-Rey. I'm here on business. Drifter business."

    He chances a look at the big woman with the small menagerie. Hyadean? Edward's brow furrows as he watches Timu scurry up to a better vantage point. His gaze softens and saddens a hair. A runaway?

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Susanna Tanner's been in Ignas on an errand for a while now. It's old, familiar grounds that she hasn't been in for far, far, longer than most of the returning Drifters. But of course, what starts as one task is often stymied by many other events and goings on. Such as the disappearance of a large number of Drifters who went to Marduk to deal with the threat of the Ten Wise Men. She hasn't gone back to Aquvy yet--that kind of travel takes time, and she's still determined to find that lab.

Hannah deserves some justice for whatever happened to her in that lab, after all.

But she's kept in the loop thanks to the Memory Cubes, and she'd caught word that a number of the Aquvy drifters were headed back today, so she made the trek back to the Jolly Roger to catch up on things.

She's watching from on top of a tall building, watching the steamboat pull in. She nods to herself as she watches the drifters disembark, and smiles a little when she sees the Feresthe pull up beside it.

The feline beastwoman proceeds to take some frankly absurd leaps down to the street level, then casually strolls up to meet the arriving crowd. She's older, around her 40's, with white hair, and cat ears and tail. She's dressed in a sleeveless duster, with weighted gloves, and otherwise rugged clothing.

"Well howdy, y'all. Glad I didn't miss this little get-together. Nice seein' you two again," she says, nodding to Rille and then Riesenlied. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon glances once at Lily. He doesn't need to look at her to get a sense of what she thinks. But he glances, nonetheless; then he tenses a little, as Malfi disembarks.

Then, Riesenlied speaks up. "Mm," he agrees, after Citan speaks. "We are. But... no helping it, I suppose."

He glances in the direction of Timu -- hearing her -- and raises an eyebrow. He doesn't recognize her; he does recognize a Guado. He recognizes the Ruby Empress, too, in port. Manydays is here, too, then.

His silver eyes turn towards Edward. Leon blinks -- recognizing the last name -- and nods. "That's me," he affirms.

When he sees Rille, Leon blinks. He is well-accustomed to beastfolk -- between living in Kislev and all that entailed, as well as extensive traveling -- but her size does draw a second glance. That second glance lingers when Rille speaks to him.

"Captain Leon Albus," he says, a little after Lily. "Of the Black Wolves. I can't say I expected a welcome committee."

<Pose Tracker> Rille Felis has posed.

Three ships, one of which is very distinctive (the Fereshte looks like nothing else) makes Rille a lot more confident about her guess.

There doesn't seem to be an ambush. Certainly nobody seems to be hiding, ready to jump out - there's not that many places to jump out that wouldn't be at least a little visible. Her ear flicks at Malfi's words, but:

"Small favours," the beastfolk says, relaxing slightly. "A different ship came in about four hours ago and boy did I embarrass myself yelling up to them." She grins, holding up her hands in an open gesture. "And I'm not here to hurt you!"

"My name's Rille," she says. "Rille Felis. I'm, uh..." She trails off a moment. "A Geohound, I guess, I don't have no license. But the only one I'm bringing a missive from is myself. Some shit's going on deeper in the continent and I wanted..."

Rille scratches the back of her neck with those black claws. "I guess I wanted to make sure you didn't walk into it without knowing. Since I figured it's the light that brought you all here. I mean, not literally. Literally the boats did."

...

"Can I start over?" she asks, after a few awkward moments. "We can maybe not yell at each other on the docks, too. There's a park - well, I say a park, it's really just an empty space, a few minutes' walk in. We can use that. But there's some stuff you should know if you're going north from Jolly Roger."

Rille doesn't know what a Guado is - she's been assuming Timu is a beastfolk, like she is - but she does recognize her: "Oh, you're here too, huh? Well, you can hear it too, if you like. Not like it's a secret, everybody saw it." She can't speak for Edward's Drifter business. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

With Citan around, Lily can watch the front instead of her back. She trusts him enough for that. ...She hasn't noticed that she scares Hicalu, as such. But seeing a Guado is notable. Most of the people here, of course, she already saw on the ship. Lily's attention settles on Timu for a long few moments--before she returns her eyes promptly and sharply to Rille.

...And as it happens, Rille makes clear she's not there to hurt them. Lily relaxes visibly to merely 'vigilant', and glances to Leon. She nods, then.

"Sure. Start over as you like." Pause. "...All right. We appreciate any intel you can share with us." Then she glances at Edward. "Hey."

She glances to the others, but prepares to travel along regardless, back into the lands she's been away from so long. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied is distracted by the arrival of a familiar young Guado woman arriving at a higher vantage point. Despite Timu's garb, she can't exactly mistake her.

    Her hand cups to her mouth for a moment, then she more cheerfully exclaims, "Timu! Goodness, to imagine meeting you here. You are quite a ways away from Ignas... I hope everything is all right?"

    Despite her cheer, it's clear her nerves are a bit frayed, that she's jumping to catastrophes rather than just the simple idea that she might be on a journey.

    The presence of Hicalu has her cheered too. Someone in a Baskar garb... and it seemed that his catering was excellent. She does worry for the Wolves' diet, after all.

    There's a gentle nod to Citan as he voices his agreement; she's leaving the concerns of a hasty exit and incidence to him -- not to mention Noeline, who likely is doing just such a thing at this point in time.

    Edward gets the nod from her; it's been good to get the support of the Everstead-Rey family both in terms of tying up any loose ends in Aquvy, and in the journey east, which requires ample supplies. "Your family has been instrumental in helping us move back east, Mister Edward. I cannot thank you enough."

    Timu and Edward aren't the only familiar faces, though -- Susanna is here too. "Susanna...!" she addresses her, nodding quietly as she places her hand to her heart.

    Rille introduces herself, and Riesenlied gently nods in turn. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Felis. And... I see." A pause, as she lowers her head.

    "It is likely related to what I have been able to sense. A tear in the world..." Riesenlied murmurs. But Rille has the right of it. "A park? Very well."

    She starts to move, but finds it difficult in the harsher grounds of Jolly Roger and her weakened form. "I apologise. Could I, ah, please have some assistance...?" 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi notices how Leon tenses up when she disembarks. She's used to that from humans and their ilk. So many years of war could scarcely be forgotten this soon...

            But the war was over now. They had won.

She approaches Rille, relieved that the beastwoman doesn't want to fight. "Thank you! Any information you can give...The park is," she guesses, pointing, "that way?" She heads off in the direction Rille indicates, closely trailed by Bogey the Bear and Orn the Eagle (who is striding instead of flying, the better to keep pace with his companions). 

<Pose Tracker> Hicalu Wilwisp has posed.

    Hicalu knows very few of these people, but there's one thing he does recognise --

    -- someone who isn't a Drifter.

    And so he immediately bustles over to Timu, and says, "hi! I'm Hicalu! Wanna go see what's up with all this with me?" And congratulations, weird beastlady, you've been inducted into the Buddy System.

    He is not buddying up with Lily she's a nice scary lady but she is a REALLY SCARY LADY. Her boyfriend's scary, too. (He does wave to Riesenlied when he notices her attention, though. Little finger-wiggle. His ears perk up!)

    "Sooo," he asks, scratching behind an ear as he ambles along, "uh... that light... wasn't the rocket crashing and burning, right? Like? That's not what happened? I haven't been here for a while but I'm sure that bright lights are totally normal and not rocket-crash-related. Right?"

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    "Riesenlied! Everyone." There's a light that comes to Timu's eyes that hasn't been there for a while, as Rille - someone whose presence you normally would not miss, ever - is for the first time ever in Timu's eyes, right in the periphery as she hops down to meet them all at level with excitement. She navigates the busy port with ease.
 
     "Rille, I... yes, someone was poisoned again, so..." Timu catches her breath from lively excitement, as she's still a child in so many ways. She nods her head to Rille. "It's... it's best to hear it from her."
 
     "Rille's one of the nicest people I've met here," Timu starts as she straightens out, holding her hands up underneath her chin. At the inquiry of what she's doing far out, she looks down. "I left Spira, with some of the Al Bhed over here. The Otherworld is..." Big, full of sand, and a little scary, her eyes might say.
 
     Hicalu hops over to introduce himself, while she's momentarily distracted by the beasts that Malfi has with her.
 
     "I'm Timu. Timu Guado. And... I don't mind," she says, as Riese motions to needing help. "Sure, let me help her first, okay?"
 
     She moves over to Risenlied's side to help her with her wheelchair. It's not her first round with something like this. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna greets the others with a tip of a hat, as well. There's a lot of familiar faces, here. A lot of them made the trip over, it seems. Good. The more, the merrier. Her attention returns to Rille as she introduces herself. A Geohound, hm? ...Well, she certainly isn't one to judge.

She chuckles, just a little, when Rille fumbles over her words - and then nods, as she asks to start over.

"Aye, aye, no one'll begrudge you that." She replies. Things they need to know...

"Aye. The park it is, then - lead the way, lass." Layna replies with a nod. She glances toward Hicalu as he expresses concern about the rocket.

"It's alright, lad - I'm sure it's not that." She says. Not that she has anything to base this on other than sheer confidence in those who went up to Marduk. 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Edward's Drifter business is the anomalous light. With his sister still missing, it's his job to look into it--and he'd do it if she were still here. (Please let her be safe, Edward thinks, as he looks at the pillar of light on the horizon for what feels like the thousandth time.)

    "Good to meet you both," Edward says to Leon and Lily. His eyes gleam as he grins. "Ida told me about you." He's cute. She's cute, too. But they're both an item, alas. He can't have everything.

    "It's the least we can do, ma'am," he adds, to Riesenlied. He sets the suitcases down and dips into a bow again, one arm folded before his broad chest. Sure, his father might still be a little grumbly about the pay cut he took to pay for that rocket engine, but Edward knows when his old man's trying to keep up appearances. Philanthropy is a duty, or so he believes. He smiles at Timu, brotherly-like, as she moves in to help Riesenlied. "...'Otherworld', hm? Are you from up there?" He glances up to the sky, towards the Moons, or where they will be come nightfall. "Good to meet you, Timu."

    Edward keeps that big-brotherly attitude as he glances at Hicalu. "Would've burned out a while back if it was," he says. "But we'll get to the bottom of it, don't you worry." Edward picks up both his suitcases, and falls in behind the others. "Lead the way, Miss Rille!"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Rille seems to be having a difficult time of it, and Susanna flashes her a supportive grin. "Take your time, hun. Ain't no need to rush or be nervous 'bout it."

"Mighty nice to see you again, Riesenlied," says Susanna with a grin for a moment. Anybody who's looked after Hannah is okay people in her book. But the grin falters a moment later. "Just wish it were under better circumstances."

"I'm hopin' not," Susanna says to Hiccalu about the rocket crashing. "Considerin' all the talented people on board..."

Susanna makes a motion to go for the wheelchair, but Timu beats her to it. "Well, that's mighty nice of you, Miss Guado." First time leaving home, huh...? Oughtta keep an eye on her.

Okay, so she totally has a soft spot for youths now.

"Name's Susanna Tanner," she says, by way of introduction to the crowd. "Normally I'm helpinm' out with the Damzen orphanage, but I've been here on an errand, of sorts."

She follows along to the park to hear the skinny. 

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "We shall see what is necessary," he murmurs in reply to Riesenlied and Leon alike. "But first..."

    But first, they should see what it is that Rille wants to speak to them regarding. Even now, Citan continues to surreptitiously take in various points across the room, seeking anything here that could presage a threat.

    As Lily might note, though, Citan, though subtly, has relaxed some of the faint tension he'd been carrying in his shoulders. He's seen it for himself: there's nowhere here that someone could make a handy ambush from, which while this isn't proof positive of anything, it does mean that it's that much less plausible that they've walked into a trap.

    This supposition of his only intensifies as Rille talks.

    "I see," he says, readjusting his spectacles. "Then, yes. Let us go and speak about this at the park. We have not been in these lands in quite some time, as you have noted."

    And there is already much afoot. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon's eyes blink, once, at the mention of the ship that she called out to earlier. She has been waiting here for four hours?

"Kind of you to wait," he settles on.

He nods -- a walk to the park is fine with him. He frowns a little as he considers: what has Riesenlied on edge, and something they must know before they disembark. "Lead on," he says. He happens to glance in Hicalu's direction; it isn't a glower, but it has a way of being intense regardless.

Timu -- someone that Riesenlied knows, which raises her in his estimation -- speaks up in support of Rille. Leon hesitates but a moment, then nods. "Very good, then," he says.

He follows with them,towards the park.

<Pose Tracker> Rille Felis has posed.

"It's important," Rille says to Leon, as to why she waited. "Plus, I helped unload the other one, so I even got paid for it." Well, she sure SOUNDS like a Geohound.

Rille has a tendency to walk fast, and has to intentionally slow down a couple times so that nobody falls behind. She is particularly alert to Riese doing so, and if Timu wasn't handling that, she'd've volunteered.

But she did, so problem solved!

"Aw, you don't gotta put it that way..." Rille sounds slightly embarrassed at Timu's praise, but: "Wait, you never said this was the Otherworld!" Nope: still doesn't know what a Guado is, really.

The walk to the park is relatively easy, detouring around the main building of Jolly Roger - though as Rille said, it isn't really a park, just unoccupied land that is basically scrubland; short grass, especially given the time of year, and scrubby bushes. No trees; the soil isn't good enough to support that.

Which means there's also no benches or anything, just some scattered rocks that nobody has bothered to remove ahead of building something here. Rille remains standing - they're a little low to sit on comfortably and hold a conversation with a standing person, but if you really wanted to, you could.

Rille is relieved nobody is holding her poor choice of words in the first place against her, at least. "Rocket? Nah, there's no rocket," Rille says, having not been especially well-briefed on what was going on on Aquvy. "Or at least, no rocket here. So there's no rocket crash, either," she agrees with Hicalu. "What I wanted to talk about is the... well." She looks directly at Riese.

"Dunno how you knew about it from that far out, but yeah, there's a hole in space. Showed up a few days ago, I guess. I was traveling anyway, so I took a side trip to look at it. Kislev's already there, though it's not that far from Aveh, either... they've got soldiers there. I guess most of you haven't been here in a while, so you wouldn't know, but the war's kind of on again."

"But the hole... It's kinda teardrop-shaped, curved and bigger at the bottom and curving up to a point at the top." Rille tries to gesture to show it. "There's all sorts of Symbological crap around it, but I don't understand it. I would've tried to write it down, but I didn't have any paper, and I don't know anything about Symbology anyway."

"There's people saying there's been monsters coming out of it, and they're right. I fought one," Rille says, miming a punch at thin air. "Something between a bat and a dragon. It was smaller than me so I figured I could take it, but it screamed at me and that threw me halfway down a hill. It took me a whole day to hear anything again." Her ear flicks again, this time in irritation. "I'm gonna get it, eventually. But not now." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Same," Lily says to Edward, without grinning back. She just looks at him for another moment, thoughtfully. At least she acknowledges him?

It's fine that Hicalu doesn't buddy up with Lily. Probably for the best, even.

A tear in the world, though... and indeed, Timu is who Lily thought she was. "Ignas is dangerous," she says. "Glad to see it hasn't claimed you. ...With the Al Bhed, then?" That interests her.

Then Susanna identifies herself, and Lily glances her way. "...Susanna," she says. "I know Hannah." That's a statement, at least. But with Citan and Leon both on board...

Lily follows. Through the scrubland, across a lack of trees... She doesn't move to sit on the rocks.

"Kislev and Aveh," Lily says, scowling. "Of course they're getting involved in something like this."

The war's on. Of course it is.

Symbols, and...

As Rille explains, Lily looks to Leon. "I need to see those Symbols, and that hole." She looks to Riesenlied. "We can probably investigate together."

She's confident that she can identify something about it, at least. She looks back to Rille. "Getting past soldiers won't be a problem. I know how both armies operate." 

<Pose Tracker> Hicalu Wilwisp has posed.

    Leon tosses a not-a-glower Hicalu's way, and the fox-man audibly squeaks.

    It sounds like this: "Eep!"

    Since Timu is heading over to Riesenlied -- and therefore, the very scary Leon and Lily -- he elects to hide behind Layna, instead.

    (He shortly puts the pieces together and realises this is A P I R A T E C A P T A I N and he's no safer here actually.)

    "Haha... yeah! Yeah, 'course it's not that!" He laughs, tugging on his ears. "Woulda burned up, totally! We all know how rockets work!" Rille, helpfully, says there's no rocket crash either, and Hicalu breathes a deep sigh of relief. "Phew..."

    But then she says there's a hole in the world, and all his relief goes poof! Up in smoke.

    "A-- a hole...?" Hicalu whines, his ears wilting. "Man, I shouldna come out here..." He wrings his hands -- both of which, alongside his arms, heavily tattooed with intricate Symbological markings -- and volunteers, nervously: "I-I'm pretty good a-at drawing? And I know, um, stuff about... I can put it on paper for you, maybe? If you can keep the scary bats out of the way?"

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi reaches the park, and seeing no comfortable place to sit, chooses to stand and listen to Rille. "A hole in space..." she murmurs. "If something can come through, something should be able to *go* through. I wonder where it leads?" She, too, knows nothing about Symbology. But the 'hole' sounds suspiciously like a Gate, or Gate-equivalent.... 

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    As meetings and greetings (and reacquaintances!) happen, Timu looks up from where she's helping push Riesenlied's machine as Edward asks about the 'Otherworld.'
 
     "Up there... yes," it's taken time for Timu to really comprehend the differences between 'Spira' and 'everywhere other than Spira is not an indistinct blob of locations mashed into one continent' even with occasional guidance and description from others passing through Spira beforehand, nodding the once. "I come from Spira, on... Lunar." That's the name for it.
 
     "Gaia is really large," that's an understatement. Any time she might have spoken to Rille about Filgaia, she's always left out the 'Fil' part. How it did over on Spira, or whether the name 'Gaia' was a mere coincidence... who knows!
 
     She looks to Rille. "That's what everyone on Spira calls... everywhere not on or from Spira." That explained, she doesn't speak over Rille's description of what's been going on here. She shudders at the idea of something screaming so loudly that it could throw someone like Rille back!
 
     When the opportunity opens as Lily mentions how Ignas hasn't claimed her, she nods. "There's a few hanging out around here, they've decided they wanted to set out further from Sylvaland."
 
     Timu exhales. "I've... I've mostly gotten by on my sorcery." She is a White Mage by Althena's Blessing, and a daughter to one of the foremost experts of it of all of Lunar - even if it's weird how they try to shove every possible elemental expression of White Magic through the exact same spellcasting disciplines.
 
     Such a skill is beyond invaluable on Filgaia - for herself, and for employment. And... maybe helping someone deal with the ringing in their ears, as the case may be. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Rille leads them to a park - of sorts, anywhere. There's nothing really here - so, she elects to remain standing, arms folding in front of her as she considers Rille's words. She does glance back toward Hicalu as he elects to hide behind her and offers him a smile.

This may or may not help matters.

"See? Everything's fine." She assures. ...Except, not quite. Layna frowns pensively as she considers the information Rille presents. A hole in space... That doesn't sound good. And what's worse, monster's are coming through it.

And the Kislev-Aveh war is back on. She doesn't know which is worse.

"...That's a lot to take in." Layna mutters, scratching her head. "So uh, these monsters - have they been attacking people? ...'Sides you, I guess."

She shrugs.

"Still, either way, I guess we oughta look into it... If monsters are coming through we really shouldn't leave it alone, attacking or not." She considers. "So, where is it?" 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied has a little wave back to Hicalu, though she does note that he seems to be quite scared of Leon and Lily. She doesn't exactly blame him, but... they're such nice people when you get to know them! They're also dangerous and violent, but that's just part of the unique package that is the Wolves!

    "I... hope not, Mister Hicalu," Riesenlied answers Hicalu at his comment about the rocket, because the thought of the vehicle exploding and everyone dying for nothing would be truly the worst case scenario.

    Timu moves to assist her, and she explains how Rille has been treating her nicely. "Is that so? My thanks, Miss Felis, for looking after Timu." She listens to the Guado woman's story -- of leaving Spira with some of the Al Bhed.

    "It must be quite the shock, and Ignas is... certainly a bit more rough and tumble, compared to Aquvy. Let me know if you require any assistance, with maps or anything... I have acquaintances here I could guide you towards in your journey."

    Riesenlied nods back towards Edward. "We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of your sister, in turn... whatever we can."

    The Hyadean nods gently towards Susanna. What she just said about Ida also applies to Hannah. "I can only but have faith in all of them..."

    Rille brings them to the park, at a pace that definitely exceeds hers -- but Timu has her covered. It does make her note how weakened her body has become, and at a time when the duress of combat is only heightened...

    Rille looks to her, and explains about the light. A light that emerged, and the hole in space... Kislev has already acted on it, and the war's on again. And it's filled with Symbology...

    "I heard news of the war rekindling... that was part of the reasoning behind Wayside being moved, as it was no longer safe to be in the outskirts of Adelyn closer to Kislev and Aveh."

    But the more pressing topic is the hole in space.

    "I sensed that the Ley was being -- drained, in a manner not unlike when the Prophets activated Yggdrasil. I worried that perhaps they, or the Ten Wise Men, had enacted a plan to drain the world of its vigour. And as such... we had to travel here, from Aquvy, to address it. But I could not have imagined... a tear in space?"

    Lily offers to investigate it together. "Yes... this is quite the urgent matter." 

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    He keeps his pace steady but slow, the better to stay in sync with Timu and Riesenlied.

    "Hmm," he muses, taking a look around the 'park'. 'Park' would be... a kind description for this place. "This should be a good place for us to speak," he concludes, folding his arms across his chest.

    He glances, briefly, in Hicalu's direction before Rille confirms it wasn't the rocket. "No, the light does not appear to match the pattern expected from an explosion like that. Rather, it suggests that something else is producing the effect..."

    But what? Word had been slow and mixed from what they were able to glean through contacts back in Ignas. The one thing they had agreed upon was that there was a light.
    Riesenlied's sensitivity to the Ley and her reaction to whatever was afoot had been the linchpin for their decision to head east.

    There's a tear in reality, Rille tells them. "...What? A hole in space?" Citan looks no less than troubled, dropping his gaze towards the patchy earth at their feet. "Symbology... and it may be connecting to another place altogether... Lily," he says, lifting his head to look her way. "Perhaps this would be your, ah, wheelhouse, as they say? I am afraid I know only some elements of Symbological theory. Still, I will see what I can do." He turns his attention towards Rille. "Now, you were saying, Miss Felis, that Kislev has already made a move towards the region? What does the situation look like? Has there been any outbreak of conflict?" It's only a matter of time before Aveh makes a move.

    Though perhaps... maybe out and out fighting might be avoided for a time if there are monsters coming out of the gate. "Dragonlike, yet batlike creatures..." It doesn't quite sound like anything he's familiar with. "I see. Was there anything else about them that stood out to you?" He pauses. "Ah, where precisely did you say this hole in reality was located again...?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Edward sets his suitcases on the scrubby grass, and takes his backpack off, sitting it in front of him. He rolls his shoulders, and glances back at Hicalu, noting the younger man's nervous disposition (to put it mildly). "I know you're worried," he says. "My big sister was on that same rocket. I'm going to find out what happened, and if someone you love was there, then I'll find them, too. I promise." Edward, is it really wise to make a promise to some random kid you've only just met?

    Ida isn't the only one in the family with a bleeding heart, it seems.

    Edward folds his arms and settles in, nodding occasionally up until... the hole in space. He blinks, once. "Granas," he whispers. "Like... a hole in a piece of paper? A tunnel? And it leads somewhere else?" He's picturing a pit up until Rille mentions the Symbology. More like a gate in a wall, then, maybe, except there is no wall. He looks back at Timu, who is at least proof that people can come and go from strange places, like the moon. "Spira," he says. "Gaia's what you call Filgaia, hm?"

    Then--

    "If there's monsters, then they need seeing-to," Edward says, clapping his right fist into his left palm. "Gunther and Magnus and Fran and I dealt with Reapers; they can't be any tougher than that." But his bravado runs aground as Riesenlied speaks up, giving way to honest relief. Edward swallows, fights back sudden tears. Shit.

    "Dust," he says, as he rubs at his eyes. A breath. "So... wait, you can sense that?" He doesn't know Riesenlied as anything other than a former soldier turned philanthropic leader.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

A tear in space? Susanna raises an eyebrow as she listens. "Well shoot. I know I've been out of the game some time, but I sure do remember when things used to be simple."

The war's back on though. That's a lot more familiar to her, sadly. She's been doing her best to stay well clear of that, at least.

She raises an eyebrow at the mention of monsters, though. "Suppose it couldn't be a normal tear in space, then. You alright otherwise, Rille?"

She blinks as Lily mentions Hannah. "Well now. I'm guessin' you must be... Lily, then?" It took her a moment, but she matches the general description. "She tells me you've been a good friend to her."

Susanna sighs, tail flicking in clear worry, but nods to Riesenlied. "Yeah, she's resourceful. And I know she's got resourceful friends with her. Just..." Is this the worry of a big sister or a mother. Maybe a bit of both. "Still, if there's any assistance I can lend Wayside while you're all in these parts, you can count on me. Includin' goin' to investigate this tear."

Orphanage runners have to stick together!

She looks over to Edward, having picked up on 'Ida' and 'Everstead-Ray' earlier. "If you know an Ida, my Hannah's a friend of hers, too. So nice meetin' ya as well." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Mm." Leon nods, at that; she certainly does sound like a Geohound.

"A hole in space?" he repeats. His eyebrows furrow; Riesenlied had mentioned something like that, and thought it was metaphorical. The Symbology around it sounds concerning, too. Like everything he heard of the Ten Wise Men.

He frowns to hear mention of the war being on. "Indeed," he says after Lily. "I suppose they can't hold back. Still... it's concerning."

His frown deepens when Riesenlied speaks of the Ley being drained.

He folds his arms, looking at Rille -- and his expression turns thoughtful. "I take it you weren't able to go through," he says. "But... the thing you fought. Have you seen anything like it before? Can we be sure it's not a connection to Lunar?"

He doesn't know, really, if Rille is up to date on the real nature of the moon. This occurs to him after he opens his mouth.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "A normal tear in space?" Edward says, glancing at Susanna, wide-eyed. 

<Pose Tracker> Rille Felis has posed.

Rille is learning, too! For instance, she's learning about Timu. "I had no idea..." She thought Timu was just a little weird, maybe a little sheltered. But Rille is in no position to talk about weird, she figures. "I thought you were using Crest Sorcery or something. But - from Lunar! I heard there were people from Lunar, but I never met any..."

Rille doesn't know anything about sorcery, does she? She only knows about Lunar in rough, sketchy, not-entirely-accurate ways, too.

"It looks like there's somewhere else on the other side, yeah," Rille agrees with Malfi, Edward, and Citan. "Like a tunnel. It was really weird, you could go all the way around it and it looked like the same rip from every angle. Gave me a headache. I couldn't get right up to it, though, not without getting seen. I'm not real great at sneaking," she admits, a little sheepishly. "But most of the Kislevi army's busy with Aveh, so it might be easier than I thought."

"But if you people just want to look at it, you'll just have to duck some patrols, and whatever monsters are around. You can see it a ways off. Probably further than I could, if you've got binoculars; there's hills near it so you could look down." She glances from Lily to Hicalu - specifically Hicalu's Symbological markings, since he's showing them off. "You'd be able to figure out more than me, probably. It looks pretty complicated though."

Layna asks a question. "Actually, not really? I've heard a few people talk about seeing them, in the wilderness, but I've never met anyone who got attacked by one. Doesn't mean it's not happening, but... I don't know how many got through, anyway."

Where is it? "It's by a ruined town, up north past Port Timney. Kinda halfway between Adlehyde and Bledavik. I'd never been there before, so I asked around in Timney, and they said it was called Lahan. I could find it again though, no problem."

When asked by Susanna, Rille shakes her head. "Me? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she assures her. "I can hear okay again, and it was just bruises. Bruises heal. It just wanted to get away, not kill me."

She shakes her head. "I've never seen a monster like it before, though. It was a bit shorter than me - " She points at Hicalu. "Closer to his size. Mostly dragon-y but the way it flew looked like a bat. Black and purple, mostly, and some green, with a white ruff." She gestures around her own neck - she doesn't have a furry ruff or mane, but that's where she means. "Kinda went down the back a bit. Really big... uh, I thought they were ears at first, but they shook and glowed when it screamed."

Rille has a good memory for animals, apparently. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Sorcery, is it?" Lily asks Timu. "...If we have time, later, I'd like to discuss that with you." Despite being a SCARY LADY Lily is polite to Timu, a little warmer than her usual flat. But Hicalu mentions his drawing, and, "That would be useful." Lily turns to Hicalu. "I'll protect you if you come with us."

Then she nods to Riesenlied. "Quite." Urgent. But Citan looks to her and she says, "Right. I've been studying spatial manipulation for a while now... it might be useful knowledge for this situation. But the more minds on the problem the better. And we'll need backup in case we're accosted by the soldiers..."

She pauses, though, as Edward speaks of what couldn't be tougher. "They can and may be," she says to Ida's brother, firmly and seriously. "You're welcome to help--you have a right to help--but don't underestimate monsters we've never seen. If they're to do with the Ten Wise Men, they might be beyond all of us."

Then she turns to Susanna. "...I do what I can," she says about being a friend. "It's good that she thinks so."

"...Hm." Somewhere 'else'. She can imagine Rille might not be the best at sneaking, but she never rules much out in terms of the capabilities of strangers. "So there's monsters, but they're largely not attacking people, and..."

She frowns, and doesn't turn to Citan. "Lahan," she says.

A homecoming indeed...

"Then we'll have to examine the portal. I'll go through. Anyone else who wants to try it can, but I have the best shot of getting back if something goes wrong."

The animal is interesting, but...

"Or surviving long enough to try." 

<Pose Tracker> Hicalu Wilwisp has posed.

    "Whoa! You're from Lunar?! Cool! Is there really air up there on the moon?!" Hicalu has never been to Lunar, and he is dutifully impressed by Timu's origins.

    But everyone assures him -- more or less -- that the rocket is fine, and that's a relief. "My big sister's up there, too," he explains, to Edward. "Her name's Lan -- Lan Lilac, we got different last names -- and I'm real worried 'bout her." Hicalu may be twenty-three years old, but he does have remarkable little-brother energy.

    And he adds: "Yeah, sometimes tears aren't nothin' big. Like, we do it with Darkness Symbology all the time, it's normal." He has a pet demon who eats his table scraps, which is a totally normal thing to have.

    When Rille says the dragon-bat was his size, though, Hicalu squeaks again. "O-oh man, uh, um..." Notably Scary Woman Lily Keil offers to protect him, though, and Hicalu wrings his hands some more. "I--I guess if you're gonna be there, it'll be safe! I mean, fine! I mean, not, um, I mean..." He trails off, trying to find the right combination of words for going on an adventure with a horror witch. "Yeah?" He finishes, lamely, instead of finding one.

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    Timu was always a little too polite for someone Beastfolk-coded by the standards of the Badlands - sheltered, an easy and largely correct assumption to make. It's somewhat miraculous unto itself she's here in one piece as it is. (That... and gil, being made of gold, spends rather well about Filgaia.)
 
     "I'm sorry, I never... I never hid that, on purpose," she says to Rille, bowing her head. Rille was one of the very nicest people to her in comparison to much of the people she ran into, and really owes her plenty.
 
     Things go back to the more readily important matter - a hole in reality filled with Symbols, and Timu is completely out of her depth as Rille gives the lay of the land about the powers at war and how they're dealing with the presence of it.
 
     "...Sure," she says to Lily, only a little intimidated in the wake of Rille's surprise, as if slightly afraid she might have hurt her unwittingly.
 
     Is there air up on the moon? Timu just slowly nods her head at Hicalu's exuberance on a question she doesn't know how to say 'yes, obviously' to in the heat of the moment. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Citan's eye for gathering details is something Riesenlied is reliant on; she doesn't always have the werewithal to collect all the clues. A Dragon-like creature... could it be a Metal Dragon? Could it be Father, once more?

    Her expression softens as she looks to Edward. "It is a long story, and I can safely say that being able to sense it is not exactly the healthieest thing one can do, but... yes."

    Susanna gives her assurances that she'll help, and there's a pleased nod in turn. "Thank you. That gives me reassurance, Miss Susanna. If Kislev is involved, this could be a very dangerous situation indeed..."

    There's a proud look from Riesenlied as Timu explains how she's been using her sorcery. "Healers are always in demand and short in supply. I thank you, as well, for aiding so many people in your journey."

    Rille explains the situation -- of how Kislev is more distracted with the war, and they can only dedicate so many patrols to the portal. "You would have the best knowledge of Kislevi patrols, and be able to move stealthier than I, Leon, Lily. I am afraid I may just slow you down. But we can be in position for backup."

    Then, she explains that it's at Lahan. Her eyes widen.

    "... is this, too, the irony of fate?" No, wrong Tales game, Riesenlied. "As if it has not suffered enough..."

    Hicalu reveals that he is Lan's sibling. "I did not know Lan had a younger brother..." The way he explains about tears in space being normal is a bit surprising, though. "I suppose from all I have seen Lily do, that seems to be a theme of Darkness, yes..."

    See Hicalu, you have more in common with the scary woman than you think! 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi listens to Rille describe the bat-dragon, then immerses herself in her portable scanner. "I don't have anything in my records matching that monster," she says, half to herself. "Though I haven't examined every single type on Filgaia and Lunar..." Which would be a nigh-impossible task, even for a scientist like herself who's spent years at it. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna listens intently, nodding along as Rille explains. Not just a hole - but a tunnel, to somewhere else entirely...

"...Gotta admit, I'm mighty curious now." She considers. Where does it go...? If things can leave... can they, from this side, enter?

"Huh. And if they're attackin' folks, there aren't rumors about it..." She considers that. It's definitely interesting. But, as for where... "Near Lahan, huh...? Yeah, I know about where you're talkin'."

She does want to check it out... but right now, Lily's volunteering.

"...Aye, I wager you might be right about that." She considers. Certainly, if there's anyone she'd expect to be able to pass through militaryfolk into an unknown, potentially inhospitable land and make it back out just fine, it'd be Lily. "If you want to scout ahead, I think we'd all appreciate whatever info you can bring back."
+pot 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Edward was picturing something smaller. His brow furrows--he looks much like his sister, when she's thinking about something--as he tries to piece together Rille's description into a distinct creature. "That's... something," he says, after glancing at Hicalu to get a proper sense of scale. "And it wasn't hostile, just startled. Or defending its territory. Nature is more my sister's wheelhouse, but... nothing we can't handle."

    The middle Everstead-Rey child turns to Hicalu with a reassuring smile. "Lan Lilac. I'll have to ask after that name. But if she's with Ida, I know she'll do everything in her power to keep her safe." Honest praise, coming from a man who's often envied his sister. He glances sidelong at the Hyadean beastmistress, and nods. "Would it help if we tried to bring on in for study?" he proposes. "Alive, of course. The soldiers are a bit of a concern, but we've dealt with worse. They won't come to harm, either."

    Then he turns to Riesenlied, with an understanding smile. "Of course, Miss Riesenlied. I wouldn't ask you to come so close to something that would cause you harm. I know Ida wouldn't want that, either."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Hmm, I see," Citan remarks, regarding Rille. "So there is 'another side', it is merely a matter of whether it is safe to travel through..." Rille does speak of monsters coming out, but what's true in one direction doesn't necessarily apply in another. It would depend on what things were like on the other side in terms of environment, among other things...

    To say nothing of whether the local monsters, as eager as they apparently were to cross over, were the friendly sort. Based on Rille's experience, it would seem that this was not the case.

    "That is useful to know. We may have a chance, Captain, to investigate further if they are otherwise occupied? At the very least, we may be able to get our eye on the situation from a distance." He looks at Hicalu as the young man expresses his own talent with Symbology and regards his markings, then looks to Lily. "Well, Lily? What are your thoughts? Perhaps with your specialties as well, we might...?"

    But where, precisely, is this hole in reality?

    Even before Rille says the name of the place, the look in Citan's eyes is the look of a man who knows what's coming. There are a number of ruined towns across Ignas, it is true, but the specifics of the location give it away. A ruined town... that close to the borders of those nations... and that far north.

    "...Near the ruins of Lahan, is it..." He glances away, touching his fingers to the bridge of his glasses. "Of course."

    It almost feels fitting that it had to be near 'there'.

    The description of the creature is strange, even to him. He frowns as if in thought as Rille explains what she saw, as best as she could. "Hmm... It does not sound as if it were anything we have seen before. You, ah, had an altercation with it but were forced back, you said?" He won't claim to be an expert on the subject, but he has never seen or heard of a Fiend or even Hellion of that sort in their travels. To where does the other side of the 'gate' connect? 

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Susanna scratches the back of her head, glancing away from Edward as he asks that. "Well, figure there might be tears in space what don't have monsters comin' out...?" She sighs. "Look, magic and physics ain't really my strong suit. You want a monster punched though, I'm your gal."

She might be semi-retired, but she's definitely kept in shape, at least somewhat.

She nods to Rille. "Glad to hear it. But for you and its sake. If it ain't out to kill, that might make for less problems, at least." But the description of the creature... "That's a new one on me."

She nods to Lily. "Same goes to you. You need a hand or a pair of eyes for a lookout, call on me."

There is a sympathetic look to Hicalu, and the mention of 'a sister with a different last name' doesn't even trip her up in the slightest. "You ain't the only one with a sister on that rocket, hun. We'll get 'em back, one way or another."

To Riese she nods. "Won't be the first time I've dodged a patrol or two, if I'm bein' honest. Has been quite a while, though..." She unfolds her arms to lace her fingers together and then stretch her arms high above her head. "Luckily bein' on the road's gotten me all limbered up again. I might not be able to keep up with some of you youngins but I wager I can still hold my own well enough." 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

"That would be great!" Malfi exclaims to Edward's idea of bringing a monster back for study. "If they're alien, maybe we can find weaknesses in their physiology -- to use if needed; and if not -- well, I've never opposed knowledge for its own sake."

"It's probably not TOO alien," she says, then asks Rille, "Did it seem to be having any problems breathing our atmosphere? Or flying in our gravity?" 

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Still, he looks again Hicalu's way. "Lan Lilac is your... sister, you say?" And she, too, was among those on the rocket... 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"That's... disquieting," Leon admits, at the description of the hole in space. He frowns, ad running through his beard as he tries to picture it. He nods, though, at description of the monsters' behavior. Not attacking people.

Stranger and stranger.

When Rille mentions it is near Lahan, he tenses. He thinks of Fei, in an instant, of course; he thinks of all the things that started here. "Lahan..." He looks at Citan -- and then nods. "I suppose we had to return there. Sooner or later."

At the description of the monster that she fought, Leon frowns for a moment. "Like nothing I've heard of," he says. "This is deeply troubling. You did well to look into this, Felis. And wait for us."

He looks to Lily, when she says that she will go through. There is not even a moment's hesitation. He nods to Riesenlied -- she can be back up. And he and Lily... "We'll go together."

<Pose Tracker> Rille Felis has posed.

"I mean, I can understand why you WOULD," is Rille's response to Timu. "I'm just surprised, that all! Really, I bet if you told a bunch of people around town, most of them wouldn't believe you, anyway."

Pause. "I do though. And of course there's air on the moon, why wouldn't there be? Unless there's, like... bad air, like in the mines."

Rille smiles, after a moment. "Look, I don't know about a rocket, but I'm sure it's fine, right? I mean... this definitely isn't a wreck, or anything like it. So it must have got where it was going." Pause. "Where WAS it going?" she asks, because she has no idea where you'd aim a rocket.

"And if you wanna go, of course I'll come. I can keep you safe," Rille says, but then she hesitates. "Except I'm kind of broke so I might have to ask for, like... payment. Or at least food. But other than that!" Come on, they're Drifters. That means they are either completely broke, like she is, or fantastically wealthy from their findings and treasure. She doesn't think they come in any other sorts.

She pauses a moment. "I mean, I started the fight with it," she admits. "I kinda surprised it. It wasn't hunting me. I think if it did hunt it'd go after something smaller than a person, ha ha! It's not like it's a pack." But then again, does she really know?

Malfi asks a question. Rille's brow furrows. "It was breathing fine, I think. I don't remember it gasping or anything. I don't know how you tell about gravity. Gravity's gravity, isn't it? Unless there's sorcery involved. Things go down."

Add 'physics' to a list of the other things Rille has not studied. There weren't schools for people like her in Nortune.

"You guys know Lahan?" Rille is torn between asking a question and the very real sense that she is about to step off a cliff by doing so. She elects, uncharacteristically, to hold it in. "Sounds like you can find it, at least."

Leon praises her for it. Rille says, matter-of-factly, "Someone needed to hear about it. I really don't like Kislev, and you guys - I mean, you Drifters - " She gestures at the entire group. Yes, including you, Hicalu, despite claiming you aren't a Drifter. "From what I hear, you're the only people who do shit sometimes. Drifters fought off Odessa and Drifters fought off Mother. And it's not like I got a home I can just walk back to and ignore all this stuff, either." She's kind of a wanted criminal in Kislev! 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily nods to Timu. That seems to be enough for her; she doesn't say much more on it. Hicalu's words get a look. "It won't be safe," she agrees. "But you won't be harmed."

She can make sure of that much.

The irony of fate... "Very well, Riesenlied. Then you'll be our backup."

She considers Malfi next. "Your knowledge of monsters in general might be useful, too."

And Layna volunteers to handle the matter of 'here' until she's back, it seems. "If I'm able to return, I'll do so quickly. Just a scouting mission. We can decide what to do from there."

She thinks Citan is right. With her expertise...

Susanna offers help, and Lily says, "A pair of eyes wouldn't go wrong. I could use that."

Leon says they'll go together, without a moment's hesitation. Lily turns to him--and gives a rare smile, blink and you'll miss it.

Then she nods to Rille. "Well, in that case..."

"No time like the present. Let's get moving. If you're coming with us, you can fill us in on the rest of what's been going on as we go." She seems to have accepted Rille as a Drifter herself more or less immediately.

"...I'm not exactly on great terms with Kislev these days, myself." 

<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

"Drifters fought off Odessa and Drifters fought off Mother," Malfi hears Rille say. She declines to mention that she helped defeat Mother but used to be part of --but discontented with -- Odessa. Now is not the time!

She glances at Lily. "Yes, I'm willing to help. I have *some* of my monster-capturing equipment with me." Naturally, she does. She has not yet cataloged EVERY monster on the planet, yet. "But my --pets-- would be conspicuous. Is there a safe place they could wait? They're in standby mode right now -- they won't attack except in self-defense. Or mine." 

<Pose Tracker> Hicalu Wilwisp has posed.

    Hicalu is so impressed that there's air on the moon. So impressed.

    Totally Unremarkable Man, Citan Uzuki, recognises Lan's name, and Hicalu grins to him. (Did he not notice he was here before?! Does Citan blend into the scenery THAT MUCH?! He is just a normal father, after all.) "Yeah! That's her! I'm adopted," he adds, to Riesenlied, reaching up to frame his ears with his hands, "so, uh, no fault on not seeing the family resemblance." But they reassure her that Lan is fine, and Hicalu does look relieved, hearing that.

    He pulls out his wallet, when Rille asks for payment. "I got, uh -- twenty gella?" He says, with a nervous laugh. "But I can bake you somethin' if you get me to an oven! I'm real good at that!" His muffins were very good.

    And, indeed, he gives Rille Twenty Whole Gella on his way to scrambling off to follow Lily. "Oh, man, I got such a bad feeling about this," he whines, but he follows her, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    Timu's in that strange place where she's relieved to see a number of people she's familiar with from her time on Spira, and then suddenly very worried about the gravity of what it is they have to talk about on top of the whole 'hole in space' thing and weird monsters.
 
     "Even if you didn't, I'm... I'm glad I met you, Rille." Maybe the Badlands would've swallowed her already at this juncture otherwise, but nonetheless...
 
     "....And these 'Drifters,'" Timu has become more familiar with the terminology of that after being called one on principle, "helped fight off Sin." Beat. She looks to Rille. "On Spira. On... Lunar." She shakes her head. "I'm in the same place. I'd like to not return to Spira."
 
     There might be a story there.
 
     Leon makes the declaration they'll go together, and with that, Timu raises her left hand from where she was helping push Riesenlied's chair.
 
     "I'd like to go too!" She says, volunteering, with the urgency and eagerness of youth - she is likely the very youngest here, no older than sixteen. "I'm a healer, so if you all run into any danger over there, I can help if you're hurt."
 
     It sounds a little desperate, as it's not clear as to whether she can really defend herself in full. Rille might have seen her attempt to use a strangely colored ball a few times.
 
     A few times. It's gone now. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

"The other moon." Layna states matter-of-factly, as if this is a perfectly normal thing for them to be visiting and shooting rockets at.

She nods, though.

"I can't speak for everyone, but we'd be glad to have you along." Layna says. "As for payment... Well, I'm sure something could be arranged."

She nods, then toward, Lily.

"Aye, sounds like a plan." She agrees. She doesn't mind holding down the fort, herself - stealth isn't her strong suit and she doesn't know the way like Rille does, so it's better for her to wait until they know what's up. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied looks a bit surprised that Susanna has tangled with the Kislevi army. "I imagine you can still run circles around me, Susanna, on that matter. But I know where my strengths lie."

    She looks to Lily and Leon. "I will have Muni-Muni on standby." A glance to Layna. "And if the crew of the Ruby Empress and the rest of the Drifters are with us, as I remember them, we would be able to break through in the worst case scenario." She's been reluctant to bring the Metal Dragon back into battle for a while, but her stance on that has shifted... ever since that battle in Sielje. In a way, it feels like some things are shifting back -- between the reappearance of Siegfried, and their coming back to Ignas...

    There's a quiet nod to Edward, though his comment makes her wonder if Edward knows about Ida's integration with Fafnir... in that sense, they are not too different.

    Rille admits that she's broke, and Riesenlied has a soft smile to say, "We have some funds to spare to hire a guide. And you may have room and board aboard the Fereshte, unless you prefer your own lodgings."

    On the topic of Lahan, though...

    "We..." A pause. "We were privy to some of the details that led to its destruction." That feels like a really detached, clinical way of saying it, but in no small manner... it was a tragedy.

    Hicalu explains that he's adopted, but there's a quiet smile as she says, "No, I was not trying to make such a comparison, of course... I am just simply happy to meet more kin of my friends."

    Timu speaks of wanting to go, as well -- her eyes widen slowly, but... she trusts that Timu has made a resolve in this journey herself. But still, the desperate voice has her hesitating. "Timu..."

    She nods quietly. "... I trust in your skills. Let us work together to understand the nature of this tear in space." 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "Lahan," Edward says, rubbing his bearded chin. His eyes open. "Right. That was that town that got caught in a border skirmish, and..." He trails off, letting out a breath. He's too young to really remember much of Celesti, but he's seen the skeletons that conflict left behind.

    He glances at Malfi, then back at Rille. "Not all worlds pull down as much as Filgaia does," he says, "or so physics tells us. I'm a historian and archaeologist, myself--Father already had his maths ace and his aspiring ARMs Meister, so he didn't try as hard with me." Another broad smile, as he clasps his hands together. "Sounds like we have a plan, then! I can help with your expenses, Miss Rille, Mr. Wilwisp. And if you want something to keep you busy, I'll pay you top gella for those muffins."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Where was the rocket going, though? ...He is not going to answer that question. He'll leave it someone else to explain (Like Layna).

    "I see!" he does remark when Hicalu explains he was adopted. "Well then, perhaps we shall work together to better understand the nature of this 'hole in space'," he proposes.

    He meets the look, at last, that Leon turns his way. "Indeed..." he says, because what else can be said?

    Leon thanks Rille. Citan nods as if to agree with the sentiment. "Yes. We appreciate you waiting for us, but..." He pauses, briefly contemplative. "I am curious. Was it 'us' in particular that you were looking for, or would this have been the message that you passed along to any Drifters arriving from Aquvy?"

    Though given what she says about her funds (or... lack thereof?) he has an idea to which it might have been. He again looks Leon's way, as if to silently express, 'Well, Captain' through the eyes and slight nod of the head alone.

    So it didn't attack her first -- rather, it was the response to her attacking it. "Hmm. Perhaps, they are not inherently aggressive. Neither did it attempt to chase after her, it would seem. It sounds as if it were perhaps territorial at most, if even that. ...We shall need to take that into consideration," he concludes. An aggressive approach may not be necessary from the start."

    Still, it seems that he was on the right track, as far as what he'd assumed from her accent, at least. Between Lily and Leon, it would seem, she's in like company.

    "Then, it would seem we have quite an endeavor ahead of us all," he remarks, spreading his arms as if to thus include the lot of them. 

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"Pretty sure between all of us we can at least get you set up with some food, hun, if not money." says Susanna to Rille. "Remind me to share a few recipes with you, if you've got an inclination for cookin'. Makes the gella last longer anyhow."

She nods to Lily. "You got it, then." She slams a fist into her hand as if sealing the deal. They'll have her muscle, too.

Susanna studies Timu for a moment. She's not seen a Guado before, but she is experienced dealing with youngsters. And of course, she also knows one of the cardinal rules of Drifting:

Protect the person with the healing magic.

"We'll keep an eye out for you, hun," says Susanna to Timu, a touch softly. (And a touch more meternalistically than she'd admit to.) "Anythin' goes down, I'll cover both you and Miss Riesenlied, okay?"

She nods to Riesenlied next. "Didn't necessarily mean Kislevi," she says with a grin. "But I got up to my fair share of trouble in my day, believe you me." She nods. "Don't worry. I'll be protectin' you both."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Good," Leon tells Riesenlied. "We might need her, if Kislev takes exception. I'll have the Karlsefni move to where it can offer support -- and ask some of the Wolves to be on standby, should we need to... deter them."

He looks at Susanna. She seems competent enough, he decides, to keep an eye on Riesenlied. He looks back toRille.

"Ah, Odessa and Mother. We did do both of those things," Leon says, affording a slight smile at that. "Rest assured, I won't hold a dislike of Kislev against you. I've my own problems with my former homeland."

Sure, Leon had helped save the kaiser,once; he also hasn't forgotten Kislev's betrayal, even if it was born of another officer who ultimately also betrayed them.

He looks back at Lily, then returns the smiler. Fuller than before. "We can be our way, then. As the good doctor says, we have quite the task."

<Pose Tracker> Rille Felis has posed.

"The OTHER moon? Nobody lives there, right?" Rille isn't entirely sure if Layna is being serious or trying to fool her. She's willing to accept one moon. Two moons having people on them just seems weird. (But really, is it any weirder than one?)

When Hicalu offers Rille twenty gella, Rille reaches out - and folds his hand right back over the money. She can detect someone who doesn't have cash to spare at ten paces. "I don't need it now," she says, "so hold onto that. But I'll take the muffins, when you get an oven."

She grins. She has pointy teeth. All of them, with prominent fangy canines. "I like muffins. And I'm not much of a cook," she admits to Susanna. "I'm not picky though, I'll eat whatever."

Sin, she doesn't know. She'll get the information from Timu later. But she agrees, "Timu's great. I'll vouch for her... though it doesn't sound like I have to! I'll definitely come along... but I appreciate the offer," she says to Riesenlied, because frankly a place to sleep and a bit of a budget sounds like a good deal to her.

She didn't think Lahan would be the sticking point, though. Sounds like they know it better than she does, but she's not going to pry for the details.

Rille's brow furrows at Edward's explanation of gravity. "Timu, is that true? Does Lunar pull you down less?" It sounds like nonsense to her. Down is down, and if you go somewhere else, down might be toward some other ground, but it's still *down*.

Citan's question gets a shrug. "I'd've told whichever Drifters show up. Truth be told, I don't know any of you personally or anything - Timu excepted. But if people are going to go out there, they need to know what they're gonna get into, right?"

She thumps her fist into her closed hand. "Sounds like we've got a plan."

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