Brink of Delusion; Crystal's Shine ((Full))

[Scythe de Zaran]

Rigo sighed as they traveled on. The sun was now beginning to dip, signaling the approach of the graceful evening and dusk, the so called beginning of the realm of "Darkness" that Rigo was only so familiar with. Due to the thick forests of Terminus, sometimes, many areas were darker than usual areas because the trees blocked out light. The travel hadn't been so harsh. THe wildlife battles hadn't been all that difficult to deal with. He nodded and listened as Harrier spoke. "Certainly." He dropped back into the midst of the group as Harrier led on.

"We should be setting up camp within the hour per Sir Harrier's instructions," Rigo said calmly in a manner that seemed to be precisely more of an announcement. A good day's travel and some stiff legs. The rest would be welcome, and Rigo supposed they'd have to hunt for food from scratch until the women returned with some supplies. That would not be a problem. After all, Gio and he had hunted for food before... though actually it had mostly been Rigo's weight on the task.  

[Jest_A_Clown]

((Lol, I havn't posted in awhile. I still live though!))

It had been a long and eventful day, topped off with a long Chocobo ride. Suri was quite tired, even the nagging and haunting memories of those he'd inadvertently killed wouldn't stop him from sleep tonight. With the group talking of setting up camp soon, he could hardly wait. The fiends they'd passed along the way were hardly a bother. Chocobos being a sort of 'monster' themselves, they were not bothered. Suri had never even heard of such paltry monsters going after Chocobos which could be quite fierce in battle. He idly wondered if the old fairy tales of Chocobos summoning meteorites down to smite their enemies with their last breath were true. It seemed largely implausible, humans, let alone birds, couldn't summon meteors...could they?

Suri dismissed the thought as he stared at the dropping sun, it's descent painting the sky in beautiful reds, purples, and oranges as it neared the horizon. Suri's Chocobo had been fairly steady the whole ride, and looked quite prepared to keep on striding well into the night. Suri briefly wondered just what they crossed Chocobos with to get this sort of stern breed...Cockatrice perhaps? He'd stayed near the back of the group with Orin and had remained mostly silent for the trip. Though he was sure his legs were going to feel it tomorrow morning, Suri hadn't felt much discomfort while riding. Awhile after they'd begun talk of camp, they eventually stopped. Each person dismounted with their own amount of grace...or lack thereof, since Suri caught his good ankle in the stirrup and went sprawling with a loud 'clank' of metal. He hastily picked himself up and dusted off as if nothing had happened, moving towards where everyone was grouping. They'd need wood for a fire, which shouldn't be too hard to locate, and they'd need something at least partially edible to eat.

Suri was quite thankful in the respect of food, because he knew he wouldn't be a burden to the group by eating. He took a silent moment to assess his power level, feeling with his mind more than his senses, at how energized his Crystal was. "...Wow, I didn't think I'd used that much. That shockwave I expelled must've released quite a bit of electricity I guess." he thought worriedly. His energy stores would last a few more days if he didn't have to fight and just ride. But he knew they'd be reaching the bandits, and he wanted to be fully prepared. He'd be no use in hunting, though his machinery was remarkably quiet for metal, it still made enough noise to botch any attempt at stalking prey on a quiet landscape.

"Looks like firewood duty..." he thought as they sun slipped further down.  

[hinastar]

Kasumi

Kasumi laughed as she watched Gio and his graze-death-by-a-hair chocobo. She slowed down a bit as she saw Rigo come closer to the group and made the announcement about setting up camp soon. "Sounds good to me." she smiled. She didn't have a problem traveling in the dark but knew that wouldn't be the safest thing to do.

''Lets see, where going to need wood, start a fire, food, water, some sort of shelter...." she said quietly, listing off the stuff. When she ran away from home, she had to learn to live outside in the wilderness. It was hard at first but she caught on pretty quickly to the necessary things you needed to camp safetly.

Finding fresh water was not very hard for her to do. She had learned from her mother how to find springs underneath the ground and rise it to the surface. The only down side would be that it would take up a lot of her energy and the last thing she wanted was to be dead weight to the group.  

[Black Claided Cat]

“Thank you Suri,” Harrier said as he set down his pack and let the Chocobo wander, albeit not too far.

“I will go and see what I can hunt, when Suri get's back with the wood feel free to start a fire. There's some flint in my bag. We should also get some water and set up watch for the night, I will be willing to take the first. Who has enough energy to be woken early for shift until we leave?”

He scanned and saw the others also setting down their stuff. The packs along with the saddles had enough supplies for a few evenings before or when the other women came with the rest. He already scanned his to find a pot, bowls and utensils, some knifes, a bed roll, blankets, a tarp and some rope. Once they got water and some meat they could make a stew, no doubt the others had enough for themselves in their own pack.

Good old Mario, he sighed shaking his head slightly as he slung his bow over his shoulder. The sun was beginning to set already and he would have to go out quickly to hunt.

“We can establish other things when we return. But water, fire and food are the main things we need right now. Also to keep an eye on the Chocobos. We can hobble them before we sleep,” Harrier continued. He made sure that the hole in his armor wasn't too bad, the fabric of his tunic was ripped, and the metal links of the chain mail was in need of repair, but the leather of the vest remained unharmed. Bow secure, arrows plenty and blades at the ready.

Harrier A'Cal- "I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom."  

[Black Claided Cat]

Alane Shoudu- "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw."

Alane was standing still outside the door of her house. It wasn't essentially her's, but her father's. But a home was a home.

Maurik stood not far from her, the large black wyrum and her had just flown here from farther below in the canyons, and he waved his head from side to side lightly with the breeze. Alane gulped a little nervously and gave a small whistle from her lips, which made the wyrum perk before flying off.
The wooden door was ominous to her, but it was the man who she knew to lie behind it that frightened her a bit. Her father would be furious, yes, but mostly worried.

She gripped the long diagonal handle in her hand and pressed down on the level like object on the top to open the wooden door to the slate colored house in a hole on the side of the canyon. Most houses were built like this to withstand the winds of Tylem, built into natural holes and in cloves to insure utmost protection. Alane's was at one of the farther sides not far from Renara's forests, but not as far to be considered out of the city. The roof of the small building, a little more than a one story, but not very wide, was actually built into the rock of the canyon wall. The attic merged into a small tunnel in the rock, and went a little below for her father's storage.

Alane herself was not here often, actually only coming to sleep, work and eat (sometimes, most of her meals were elsewhere), and Kashmir stayed out working as well. The door opened without a creek, odd because it always gave one off before it reached an inch open. Alane peeked her head in, then slid all the way inside.

“Hello?” She called and heard a rustle from someone getting off a chair in the living room to the left.

“Eh-he. Hi, dad,” she grinned sheepishly as she saw the large figure of her father slide ominously like a dark shadow into the kitchen where she was standing.

“Alane,” his gruff voice said. The light shone a little as he walked forward, unmasking the darkness that covered his form. Kashmir Shoudu was large and bulky from his years of lifting heavy objects in his trade of a trader. His black hair was cropped short showing a thick scar that ran down the right side of his face, almost getting his ear and narrowly missing his brow. If one were to look at him at first they would think him a gentle giant, since his stature was so tall and his grey eyes, which Alane inherited, showed their emotion so readily. But he had a temper at times, and was fierce and brutal. And yet at the same time he was an excellent father, raising his daughter without a wife. And for any further explanatory purposes; yes, Alane was dropped on the head as a babe.

“You know why I am mad,” was all he said as he crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

“I'm sorry that I didn't come here right away. But I had to inform the Rangers of the tragedy that took place and prepare for the journey. Oh, father! You'll never guess who me and Har met! Crystal bearers, just like him. Apparently....”

Kashmir's eyes softened as he heard Alane's tale and they soon sat down and began talking about the Crystal guardians, travels, myths and just about anything. Her father hadn't totally forgiven her for her lateness in assuring her safety, and was quickly ruffled when she said she would like to come with.

After a lecture of being told that it would be dangerous, she retorted that Harrier would come with her if something similar had happened. But this was just one of the many reasons, and they both knew that. Alane described the guardians, how they acted, what they looked like and how surreal this all seemed. She was still sorrowed of the loss at the outpost, but it was slowly beginning to heal.

Hours passed, and the sun began to fade outside. The lone window next to Alane was alight with wonderful colors, and she briefly wondered if the sunset and rise were just as beautiful like here in Tylem. She still spoke with her father, but now it was about supplies. Being the trader that Kashmir is, or was (since he quit the traveling part after Alane was born), he was stocked full with supplies. But not all of them were useful. They spoke over this. Weapons wouldn't be necessary, since Zent had a good enough trading system in it, food was being gotten by Miya and Jolyre, but other things like rope, knives, pots and sheets were light enough to fastened onto Maurik's saddle. Which, by the way, was rescued along with the bridal with only a few blood stains and scratch marks.

Soon the talking stopped and dinner was eaten. Alane and Kashmir decided it would be best to sleep at least half the night before heading out. And after she dealt with the bandits she would visit one last time before going to Renara. Before Alane took off to her room, she asked her father something.

“Hey, Dad. One last thing.”

“Yes,” he said looking up from the dimly lit book, sitting at the table still.

“Can you tell Harrier's family what has happened and that all is well with him? I don't want them to worry, and he wouldn't ether.”

Kashmir blinked, “Of course. I'll do it later this evening.”

“Thank you. I love you, Dad”

“You too. Sleep well.”  

[Denyala]

[[Went ahead and caught back up to the group. I can change anything if you need Jolyre, just let me know! 3nodding ]]

The town was full of life. Most of the stands had things like fruit, meat, clothes, or things of a domestic nature. It was very different from her homelands. Weapons and armors of all types were the most commonly hocked wares. Each weapon-smith and armor-smith considered their product to be the best, and often times little scuffles broke out in the streets when men decided words weren’t enough.

Of course she was biased, but Miya always felt her father had been the best weapon-smith in town. From a very early age, she could remember the heat from the forge and the soot that never seemed to wipe clean off her father’s nose. His course hands were soothing, yet they were always tough. He had made every weapon Miya had ever wielded. Her first weapon had been a spear which her mother had taught her to fight with. Her dad was by no means weak, but her mother was the skilled fighter in the family. In this aspect, Miya took after her mother. Miya had dabbled with weapon forging as a teenager, but she found she had no patience for such things. It wasn’t until she had returned to her village that she’d actually gotten decent at the craft. Time had made her more suited to the job. Mostly though, it helped her feel closer to her parents, who had passed onto the next life. With time, she learned that she actually was very comfortable making weapons. With her natural affinity to fire and her skill manipulating it, the weapons she was able to make were particularly good. Despite the weapons high quality, she still used the weapons provided by her father. In fact, her favored weapon had been the only whip he’d ever made. She’d teased him when she watched him try to figure out leather instead of steal.

A woman waved a bright purple fruit in her face and brought Miya back to the present. Wiping slightly at her eyes, she mentally scolded herself for being so sentimental. She had a job to do. Smiling at the woman, Miya went on her business.

When everything was said and done, Miya had a wide range of items. She’d gotten them for a decent price, being an extremely aggressive haggler, most gave in quickly. From dried fruits, meats, fish, and even herbs, the fire bearer hoped she’d covered everyone diet. She’d also picked out a few smaller tents that could be easily packed and carried. They weren’t particularly sturdy, but she decided portability was most important. Surprising even herself, she found herself picking out items for each bearer. A small kit full of mechanical gizmos she didn’t understand for the machine man, a book for the avid reader, a small hairclip for the innocent, but sweet, girl. Alane was difficult, since this was her hometown, so Miya settled on some fragrant oil that reminded her of the region. Perhaps it would help the two natives when they were homesick. Rigo was difficult as well. What did one get a quiet, reserved individual? She settled on a small herbal drink in a tiny glass bottle with a cork in the stopper. It was supposed to relax and energize whoever drank it. She decided this would be enjoyed by anyone right? Gio was last. He was just as difficult as his brother. After picking out a small pouch of sweets that the town specialized in, Miya found herself at a loss. Was she giving the boy candy? Well, for now, yes. Who didn’t like candy…?

She had something more personal for Jolyre but decided to give it to her later, once they were safely with the others, and preferably alone. The woman had been quite helpful shopping and loading up their goods. Miya was actually thankful she’d come along, but was hesitate to say anything. Why, she couldn’t say. As vulnerable as Jolyre had felt, Miya was beginning to feel the same. Jolyre knew more about her than any of the others, more than anyone. But, there was no time to worry about such things.

Following the directions she’d been given, the two women headed out and rode their chocobos fairly hard. Miya’s older bird kept the pace, but was obviously struggling more than it’s younger counterpart. Miya smiled. She knew exactly how that bird felt.

After a time, they finally saw their companions in the distance. Well, they hadn’t gotten too far ahead, had they. Miya waved and shouted out a greeting to warn them of their arrival. She didn’t want to startle anyone.  

[MadameDPomp]

It was barely noticeable. Nothing really. Just the slightest slip in a concrete gaze. A hardening of previously softened eyes. Had Jolyre struck a nerve? Who was Gio, then, if the mention of family was enough to shake a Zarrenkian out her composure? She decided not to push the topic. Jolyre would press it from her later and if Miya didn't comply, she'd simply have to bring it up as a group topic. She was sure Gio would be interested... Jolyre felt bad for the very thoughts of blackmailing Miya who had shown her the kindness of talking at all. However, the angeal still felt the whole ordeal an every man for themselves one. She would get her hands dirty if she had to.
Oh, father..mother...how ashamed you would be...
The information presented to her did nothing to assuage her. If anything, Jolyre had even more questions now after the minor interrogation. Alessa was not murdered; but fatally wounded in spirit. Another vengeance to tack onto a long list. Jolyre was not the bearer her mother was, but was that a good thing? The young angeal was so much like her father. Where Alessa was calm and often too caring for her own good, Alexei was a warrior and trained his daughter well, much to Alessa's displeasure.

"She won't grow up to be a lady, Alexei. She can't be a knight forever." Jolyre had once heard Alessa say. "Growing up to be an aristocrat won't help her either Alessa. You know what she'll most likely become..." Alexei had replied, a grave look upon his face.

She was too young to understand at the time, but now she realized that her mother had never wanted her to grow up a fighter. And that they both knew what she would be one day. It presented her with a dilemma. Had she grown up to both her parents standards? Or did she lack the ladyship Alessa had always wanted her to command? Did she grow up to be nothing but a warrior?

Although no where near content, Jolyre decided to drop the conversation. Not because she was ready to. No, she was far, far from that. Miya and Jolyre had arrived into town and everything had become a blur of colors and smiling merchants and a wave of trade. Aside from beginning tio get busy stocking up, any meaningful conversation would be risky and impossible to hear anyway.
Jolyre shot a puzzled look at Miya as she...wiped her eyes? Was she crying? Jolyre hadn't noticed. Go figure.
It had been a long day and as Jolyre lifted crates and bags, they only seemed to get heavier and the day longer. How long had they been in this infernal pit of commerce? She let Miya do the majority of the talking, kept her angeal face a neutral mask, and kept her wings out of sight as always. Jolyre had always lived by a code of anonymity whenever possible. An angeal walking through a Tylem town, Jolyre was sure, was not a common occurrence.

Had it been hours? It felt like days. Jolyre had never been so happy to see a chocobo in her life then when the bouncing outline of her choice bird came into view. She almost wanted to laugh at the absurd thought. She didn't. They saddled up and set out a fast pace. Jolyre got the feeling that Miya didn't trust the ragtag band of bearers to be on their own for very long. Who knows what would happen, if left to their own devices? In an attempt to make things easier on Miya and her chocobo, Jolyre tried to regulate the speed of her own feisty ride. And failed. The excitable thing wanted to run and do all matter of crazy things. After a while Jolyre gave up and satisifed herself with the fact that it would at least let her direct it.
Miya gave a shout and wave and startled Jolyre out of a riding-for-hours stupor. Had they caught up with the others already.
"They didn't make it very far.." she muttered. But the barn was a welcome sight. There was nothing that the Lady Commander Jolyre Aegis, High Knight of the Glorion Crystalis wanted more than to sleep. There is no rest for the weary.  

[Jest_A_Clown]

The others knew the tasks at hand, and so set about doing them. Harrier took off in one direction from the group, bow in hand, Suri decided to go the opposite direction. There was still enough light to see by, and he could see some very tree-like silhouettes marking the horizon. After putting his chocobo with the others, he set off in that direction intent on his objective.

He no longer walked with a limp, but his ankle gave out a mild ache of pain every now and then. This barely crossed Suri's mind as he neared his goal: the silhouettes had turned into a small stand of trees. The ones on the outside were scraggly and looked wind-worn as everything else around Tylem. As they neared Renara he expected plant-life would be more abundant and lush. But this would be perfect for firewood purposes. The trees at the center, however, were quite healthy and thick. Small movements and rustlings in the brush indicated there were living things within, whether they be monsters or wild-life. Suri set about the task of snapping the limbs off the outermost trees, going for the ones he deemed half-dead already and using them for kindling. If they were small enough he'd snap the entire trunk itself and add it to the bundle.

In short time, he'd amassed a big enough bundle for a hearty fire to last the night. Making his way back over the landscape he soon arrived back with the group and deposited his load of wood near the center of camp. The whole process had only taken around thirty minutes, they now awaited Harrier's return, hopefully with some food. As they waited, Miya and Joylre came riding up, fully laden with supplies. "Wow, you two made excellent time. I thought we'd gotten further." he remarked as the two entered camp and put their Chocobos with the rest after being unloaded. "Glad you two didn't kill each other, I trust there were no difficulties with the supplies?" he said good-heartedly while sitting on the ground and stretching.  

[Vizzion]

Orin Beleren

The night was almost upon them as they stopped for camp. Everyone got off their respective chocobos and begun to think of tasks for each person. Orin looked on to his companions as he tied his saddled to chocobo to a sturdy looking tree near their camp. "Well since everyone else has taken on a job, I shall volunteer myself as the next watchman" Orin said to Harrier as he walked towards the group.

"Also, I want to sit everyone down and discuss a battle plan when we are all settled. I do wish that the other two would be here when I do" Orin said to Harrier as his attention was diverted by a shout of greeting coming from the distance. "Well I guess it won't be a long wait then will it?" Orin muttered as he looked at Miya and Jolyre arriving with supplies. Just as he about to say something he heard Suri's voice. "Well, that was quite a quick trip through the woods for firewood" Orin said as he looked at Suri then looked back to Miya and Jolyre. "I do hope that no trouble brewed between you two and that you can still work together for the battle to come?" Orin said half-serious as he turned to walk back to where Suri had sat to.

 

[Draconia Crystalis]

Giovanni Infinito Dragoni
I just.... I just don't want to see anyone hurt because of me. I want to be able to protect them.... protect them all.

Gio found himself at a loss for a moment when they finally stopped for camp. Of course, the first thing he did was hop off of his Chocobo and give it a light pat on the side of it's neck, petting it compassionately. He trusted the bird, so he said, "Okay, while it's still light enough, you can run around a little bit, but please don't go out of sight, and don't get yourself hurt, okay? Come back when it's too dark."

The big bird stared at him for a moment with very intelligent, understanding eyes, and then gave a delighted 'kweh' before sprinting off. For a moment, Gio worried that it would run away, but after a moment he was pleased to see that the bird was doing as he had asked. It had sprinted into the open plains outside the woods, dodging the few obstacles there were by a hair, and generally being the little daredevil bird it was. It didn't go out of sight though, making sure that it was always within sight of where they were making camp. It was a surprisingly well behaved bird, considering how it had recoiled from him just hours before.

Now that he was content that his only means of transportation wasn't about to run off on its own, his mind turned to what he could contribute to the camp. When he turned his attention to everyone else, Suri was already heading off into the woods to find wood for a fire, and Harrier had his bow strung, and was heading out to find some animals to hunt for their dinner. Orin was already volunteering to be the watchman for the night, but he wondered where that left him. What could he contribute to the camp? He would feel like a guilty leech if he just did nothing while they all set everything up.

He decided that at least for now he could make the fire. There were a lot of dry leaves and needles around to use as the base for the fire, and all he would have to do was wait for Suri to arrive with the kindling so he could start lighting the tinder. Once he was finished with that he would worry about what he would do next to help with camp. So in order to prepare for the kindling and firewood to arrive, he began making a pile of tinder with a large circle of rocks around it, making the fire pit. Once he had built up a sizable amount of tinder, he began making a few more piles of tinder off to the side, dividing them on his left and right side. The pile on the left would be added to the fire if it needed a little extra kick, and was all in one large pile, while he had made several smaller piles off to the right for him to practice creating sparks with to start the fire. Reaching into a pouch tied to his hip, he pulled out a sizable flint stone and drew out his katana from its sheath as well. He had had quite a bit of practice in swiping the flint without slashing his own hand, but he always found it better to practice so that accidents were less likely. So as he waited he began striking the stone across the blade, creating a row or sparks that hit the first pile, only to disappear. He kept this up until he had burned down all the little piles he had set up, and Suri arrived sooner than expected out of the woods.

Orin was the first to point out that his retrieval of firewood had been quite expedient, though Gio imagined that that was due to his mechanical body. Suri didn't really have to worry about rough bark or splinters, and from the looks of it he had been able to snap off larger branches as well as entire small saplings in his little excursion. Being a cyborg sure had its advantages. As Suri set down the firewood, Gio was quickly scooping it up one piece at a time, setting the pieces in a way that the fire would spread easier. It would have to be a large fire too if it was going to keep them all warm, so he piled it as high as he could while still being able to get it started.

His first swipe with the flint, however, he nicked his thumb on the edge of his sword, cutting a semi-deep gash. "Ow!" he yelped quietly, placing his lips over the wound instinctively to keep the bleeding from making a mess and to dilute the contaminants that may still be on his blade, which hadn't been cleaned in a while. He pulled it out for a moment and winced at how the open air made the cut sting all the more, not that it didn't smart already. It was strange though... just hours ago a wound like this would have been healed almost a moment after being made.... when he was cut off from that incredible power was he also cut off from the regeneration that had fixed the hole in his shoulder?

Suddenly he felt very aware of himself, and didn't want anyone to know about this. What if they found out that he couldn't heal? They would probably baby him, singling him out as the one to be protected and not someone to help the group when trouble came... He didn't want that, he wanted to be helpful. He wanted to be worth something to all of them. Before anyone could notice, he pulled a small roll of bandaging out of his pouch and wrapped it around his finger, stopping the bleeding. He kept the roll just for moments like this, and to disguise it he slipped on a set of brown leather gloves.

Thankfully, as he had been doing that Miya and Jolyre returned from getting supplies, and so everyone had been focused on them and not him. He tried his best to act casual by quickly resuming swiping the flint to his sword, getting the fire going in a few short minutes. By that time, the two women had finally gotten settled into camp, and he gave them both a friendly smile to hide his worry about his little injury. "Glad to see you got here safely. I hope it all went well." he left the definition of 'it all' up to them to decide, and asked, "What kind of supplies did you get for us all?"  

[Kasumi the ocean]

Kasumi

Kasumi got off her chocobo and rubbed its neck. "Such a good boy you are." she smiled. The chocobo let out a 'kweh' and walked over to the trees and layed down. Kasumi smiled. "You disserve a rest." she said. She looked to see everyone busy getting set up for camp for the night. "Guess I will get a fresh supply of water." she smiled.

She began to look around and went closer to the trees. She placed her hands on the ground and remaind still. She was sensing to see where the most water would be. "An underground spring. Fresh water and a good supply of it." she said quietly as she got up and walked a few more feet into the woods, still able to see the camp.

"Alright. This is gong to wear me out but we do need water." she sighed as she placed her hands on the ground and began to concentrate. She had to use a good deal of her power to bring the water up. The ground began to boil up as it began to cave in a bit to look like a pond. "Almost there..." she said quietly as she used more of her power to bring the water up and let it fill the small pond.

Once it was filled, she gasped slightly. Her body was worn out but she couldn't let the others see her like this. She didn't want to be seen as the weakest link. She got up slowly and began to walk back to camp. "The...water is taken care of." she said with a weak smile as she leaned against a tree to help her stay standing. Her body felt so weak and she felt her legs would give out at any moment.  

[Scythe de Zaran]

With the night closing fast, the party had gone about tasks to prepare for camp. Suri had covered the gathering of firewood. Harrier headed the hunting party. Orin was declaring himself as the next watchman and the strategist who wanted to lay out a battle plan. Gio was trying to strike a fire. The Nero Angeal busied himself to help out somehow, but it seemed most of the matters were taken care of. It hit him that they did not know much about the bandits at all, and who knew which news were rumors and which were real?

Rigo’s Chocobo companion was not as energetic as Gio’s and went to Kasumi’s to rest by that Chocobo under the same tree. The Chocobo ruffled one of its yellow wings, kwehed, and then sank down to the ground, putting a wing over its head. Rigo had no idea if they were two different genders or if they had any previous relationship. However, his attention turned to the new arrivals as they arrived.

Jolyre and Miya had now returned, and they appeared to be unharmed. Rigo nodded. While Jolyre had seemed volatile, he had not expected her to just go and fight with Miya when there were more important matters at hand. Alane was not with them. He did however notice Kasumi seem to be a little short of breath after mentioning that the water was taken care of. "Lady Kasumi, thank you," he said. The older Dragoni smiled and knelt down near Gio and nudged him in Kasumi's direction, hinting that Gio might want to talk with Kasumi to check on her.  

[Denyala]

When Miya arrived at the camp, several welcomed her and Jolyre back to the flock, so to speak. The two women quickly unpacked the tired birds before letting them wander off to their own devices. After they had done their task, Suri walked over, all smiles, and said "Glad you two didn't kill each other, I trust there were no difficulties with the supplies?"

The corner of Miya’s mouth twitched slightly at his comments. “No, the town had almost everything I could have hoped for.” The woman decided not to comment on the tension between the two. Their conversation on the trip had not fixed anything, but it had kept the women from fighting. Orin joined the gathering group, mentioned something about the woods to Suri before adding his two cents, “I do hope that no trouble brewed between you two and that you can still work together for the battle to come?" Miya said nothing to this. She knew it was all in jest, but she was getting a bit weary at all the comments towards her and Jolyre. If they had a problem with each other, they would work it out themselves. Constantly pointing it out didn’t help either.

However, no one meant any harm and Miya had thick skin. She opted to say nothing and instead survey the camp. A small fire was slowly growing in strength, beside it a nice pile of firewood. Well, they could make a fire; that was good. Of course, making fires were a snap for the fire bearer, but it was good that they could get by without her. Several were missing from the camp, probably out hunting, scouting, or the like.

Gio wandered over from the direction of the fire. “Glad to see you got here safely. I hope it all went well. What kind of supplies did you get for us all?” Miya decided to focus on the latter comment instead of the first. She looked over the supplies, mentally remembering what it was exactly she had purchased.

“Those 5 bundles are light-weight tents. Most of us will have to pair up, but it’s better than nothing,” she knew one of them wouldn’t have to pair up, but she didn’t want to bring that up yet. Instead she shuffled through a few large packages and small boxes. “These have dried fruit, fish, meats, herbs, that sort of thing. We can make some decent stews with it if we can’t find something to hunt.” She continued pointing out other bags containing small odds and ends.

“And I got a few things extra,” Miya told them and reached into the pile, withdrawing a small kit for Suri, which she tossed at him. “I don’t know if that’s helpful, but hopefully it is.” She withdrew a small pouch of sweets for Gio and tossed them over, not bothering to say anything. She was still a bit embarrassed that sweets was all she could think of for the boy. Miya instead withdrew a thick book for Orin and passed it over. The others were still in the camp and the woman figured she’d pass out the other goodies when she saw them.

Standing up straight, Miya felt and heard her back crack loudly. The chocobo ride had been pretty rough, but it was over now. Eyeing the fire, Miya knew that was her next plan. A nice relaxing meal by the fire was all that was on her mind…  

[Jest_A_Clown]

Suri received the kit with a quick catch, careful not to crush it in his arms. Looking down and opening the small box, he discovered a good array of mechanical fixings for fine-tuned work. They even had the tools that went with them. "Much obliged Lady Miya, Lady Joylre. I should be able to fix this rickety old door with no trouble now." he said happily as he withdrew to the fire, where there was decent light, and sat down to repair himself. He was quite pleased about the whole affair, everyone was now well furnished, Harrier and Alane would be getting surprises of their own upon return, and their group was slowly starting to meld together instead of being tied together.

He worked with deft hands that, though they had no sense of touch, were quite used to metalworking. Popping open his chest cavity, his Crystal reflected and matched the dancing colors of the fire, it's warm glow complimenting that of his Crystal, both elements essentially spawned from the same buildup of energy, just manifested differently. Taking out the smallest of wedges, he neatly popped out each of the hinges that held his door in place, along with unhooking much of the wiring that bridged across the door as well. With that piece of him now lying separate on the ground, he began working on bending the mis-aligned hinges back into place. As he had done with his cut ankle, he funneled a good amount of energy into just one of his fingertips, creating an improvised welding torch, and began superheating the metal. In moments he had the metal soft and malleable, so he bent each hinge back into shape with his bare fingers, something any smith would love to be able to do. With the hinges fixed, he set the door down to cool, while he repeated the same process with the hinge pins. With that done, he took some spare wiring from the kit and applied it to his, creating more stability and better current flow. He set the door back in place, popped in the hinge pins, re-connected the wires, added some oil from the kit, and it was done.

"There we go! Good as new. Handy little assortment of pieces in that kit." he remarked as he tested the door, it opened and closed automatically as he directed perfectly now. "We ever head back around Metrino, I'm getting auto-locks installed on this, since there's actually people who want to take my Crystal for themselves." he said as he gazed into the fire. He grimaced as he could almost see the face of Aztherus in the fire, as it loomed over him, trying to tear the Crystal from his chest. He looked to the sky instead, which looked alot more comforting, and heaved a sigh of contentment.

Setting the kit beside him, he settled close to the fire and awaited the return of the others.  

[Draconia Crystalis]

Giovanni Infinito Dragoni
I just.... I just don't want to see anyone hurt because of me. I want to be able to protect them.... protect them all.

Gio smiled as he walked up to where Miya and Jolyre were packing, watching as Miya threw a box of mechanical supplies to Suri, and was surprised when she threw a bag of sweets into his own hands. Candy? Well, he imagined it wouldn't be very easy for her to find anything else that he would like, not as easily as it had been to find something for Suri, so he was happy, "Thanks, Miya. I'll make sure they last." he told her.

Gio gave a surprised jolt as Rigo came up and gave him a slight bump on the ribs, giving him indications to look off to the side of the camp. When he looked, he saw Kasumi looking very weary and exhausted near the edge of camp. Did Rigo want him to go talk to her? He gave his brother a puzzled look, wondering what his reasoning could be, but shrugged and walked over to her. He gave her a smile and put a hand on her shoulder, asking, "How are you feeling Kasumi?" He looked down and saw that there was a sizable pool of crystal clear water nearby, unnaturally clear for the rough dirt that was around it. It had to have been pulled up by magic.

"You wore yourself out doing that, didn't you?" he asked her, pointing at the pond. He gave her an encouraging smile, looking at the reflective surface of the water, which was growing dark in the waning sunlight. "When I was using that magic before..." he began saying. He didn't know why he was saying it. Maybe he was just trying to comfort her or help her, and maybe he needed to tell about his experience to someone too. Whatever the reason was, he continued, "I could feel that so much magical power was flowing through me.... So much that I couldn't even begin to grasp how vast it was... I didn't realize it during the fight, but when I think back, I felt unbeatable.... I felt like a God. Like I could fight toe-to-toe with the strongest Eidolons or the greatest monsters, or even the Great Will itself. And at the same time.... I felt puny.... insignificant, like I was only tapping into a small portion of something bigger than the whole universe, bigger than this entire dimension, and like I could be crushed easily by those same powerful entities. It's is such a strange feeling... to feel so strong and so weak at the same time...." He winced, realizing he was rambling, and brought his mind to an actual reason, something for him to tell her, which he had learned from his brief experience, "Anyway, I think what I'm trying to say, is you have immense power already.... you just have to grab it. I understand magic better having felt it now, and I was so powerful in that moment because I was thinking of nothing but being strong enough to defeat Kai. My mind was focused to the point that I lost sight of everything else, and I was more emotionally strong and determined than I'd ever been in my life. It was incredible, but at the same time I never want to have a reason to feel that way again." His expression grew downcast as he thought of how she had been slashed so brutally and almost died.

"I'm rambling again," he chuckled nervously, "Okay, what I'm really trying to say, is you can tap into incredible amounts of magic without tiring, so long as you have the strength of will and heart to pull it into you from the Crystal. You just need to be able to want something so badly that the power flows through you at full force."