[i]Dear Mum,

Everything has still been peaceful in Belencrest. Some of the men have even complained that they need more action rather than braving another boring street patrol. You really should see how much quieter here it is here than even Bossart. It reminds me a little of our house on the edge of town.

I know you wanted me to make friends and all, but it hasn't been easy. Most of the folks here are older and into drinking at dingy pubs. What few girls there are here are always quipping about how I take too long to get ready in the morning or how my 'delicates' are impractical when we do laundry. Exactly when was a lady's underwear even a little bit practical?

I know what you must be thinking, but don't worry. My roommates and I were always making petty little quips at the academy. They may have had a better idea of what 'practical' means, but they also weren't exactly mature when it came to comparing who could shave her legs the best. Yeah, in a lot of ways, these White Guards are a slightly more mature crowd.

How are things at the mansion? Did Dad hire more help for the repair shop yet? He's got to learn how to relax every once in a while, you know?  I think about you all the time and miss your cooking more than you know. Even the stores I’m used to shopping at are hard to be without.

I'll be joining an escort group to Paolou this morning, so maybe I'll finally get a taste of something luxurious in a week or two. As always, I'll write you as soon as I arrive.

Lots of love, 
Adele Brunsque[/i]

Adele sighed as she set her pen down, rubbing her eyes for the tenth time. Despite getting to bed late, she'd arisen before the sun to make sure she could finish her errands and preparations for the trip. She'd managed to fold her dresses and other things into a trunk the night before, but it was always wise to make an inventory check for her equipment. Sure, it [i]looked[/i] like she just had that big, weird cannon to worry about, but that cannon sure came with a lot of adjustable nuts, screws, filters, and strings. All of those had to be checked before the cannon could be operated.

Her high-tech crystal sycronization device? A tuning fork. She took the thing from her desk drawer before knocking it on the desk's wooden top.

[i]Pliiiiiiiiiing.[/i] Adele closed her eyes and grabbed the crank of the cannon, slowly turning it. Wheel rubbed against string, making a hum that sounded like a metallic bagpipe. She smirked, already imagining the groans of her drunk neighbors as she awoke them with the instrument's loud music. Well, it wasn't really music, as she was simply testing every note of the thing's chromatic scale, but it still sounded nice to her musician's ear.

Once that little task was complete, she checked to see that everything in her utility belts was in order. The number of small trinkets and devices in those pouches was enough to give even her a headache. Was she done then? [i]Please[/i]. If every woman in the world simply woke up and went out ‘as-is,’ the world would probably implode.

She freshened up with a pitcher of water and some peony scented soap, making sure every last stench from the night before was gone. Since she had some extra time, she even managed to painstakingly shampoo her hair, lathering it up with some fruity-yet-sharp scents of pear and juniper. What she didn’t have time for was to let all her hair dry, so she simply pulled it up into a bun and clapped her goggles around the top of her head.

Dressing for the day was easy for once—all her other dresses were packed away, so she was left with only one choice. It was a ruffled, light blue shirt with a leather corset and simple brown skirt. Her utility belts formed an x over her waist, and she had an additional one running from the top of her left shoulder to the right side of her hip. Finally, her thick leather shoes were belted up all the way to her knees, and running up from those were creamy white stockings. Of course, this offered nothing in the way of protection, but she wasn’t going to be the one parrying blades. If anything was silly enough to get close to her, it would be incinerated, electrocuted, or blinded. Possibly all three.

With letters in one hand the handle of her trunk in another, (plus a small pack on her back—she was a veritable pack mule), Adele finally made her way out of the barracks. She didn’t actually have hands to carry her cannon, but that was solved with a harness gripping around her neck and shoulders. The weapon dwarfed most of her torso, but she barely seemed to pay any mind to it as she hit the streets and headed towards the market.

The first thing she did was drop off the letters, but the market was far too tempting for her to just pass through. Plus… she was tempted to find a make-up gift for a special someone. Last night hadn’t exactly ended well and she wasn’t sure how to approach that someone without an excuse.

Ah, but when was a marketplace good for finding only one sort of thing? The smell of freshly baked pastries was so tempting that it was only minutes before a hot and flaky raspberry tart was in her mouth. She stopped to smell flowers, to admire some locally woven cloth—at some point, she could have sworn she even saw the bear-like form of Marcel somewhere along the fringes of the marketplace. After a few more self-indulgent minutes, Adele finally found what she wanted, or rather, what she wanted found her.

“Oooh, what a pretty lady. You must fancy fine things, yes?” A middle-aged woman grinned at Adele, making the young lady stop to listen. Well, honestly, even if the woman hadn’t spoken, she was still something to stare at, what with all those bangles and flowing tufts of purple fabric about her body. “You look a little lost, too. I can help.”

Adele folded her arms, more than a little skeptical. “I’m not lost, and I only buy fancy, fine things when they’re worth the cost.”

The woman held out a hand, gesturing Adele closer with the other. “You are seeking guidance on a personal matter, yes? Your spirit animal will guide you if you only choose to listen.”

This was getting ridiculous. All the same, Adele found herself ridiculously intrigued. She vaguely recalled spirit animals in reference to some ancient cultures that used totems shaped like animals. Given that she was standing in a city quite lacking in such history, the likelihood of the woman selling fake totems was quite high. Perhaps the woman was already guessing at her thoughts, because she waggled a finger.

“I do not specialize in magic. I am a craftswoman who is in touch with the spiritual world. Allow me to show you.” The woman reached forward, gently cupping her hands around one of Adele’s. Without asking, she removed the leather glove from it and lightly traced the lines of her palm with one finger.

“Ahhh, you see this line closest to your thumb? This is your life line, and you have a very promising one. Long and clearly marked, you shall have a long life full of vitality, but it is not without some problems. Your line is chained, ah, perhaps emotional problems are plaguing your health?”

Adele raised a brow. “I’m perfectly healthy. Exactly what are you trying to convince me of, here? Are you trying to sell medicine?”

The woman shook her head with a small smile. “Now, your head line, the next up. This one is very long and straight—you are logical and direct in your thinking. You must have excellent memory and quite the imagination, quite potent over your body when this line is joined with your life line.

"Ah, and the most tender of all—your heart line. You have a disregard for the true meaning of love and its responsibilities, which is why you are prone to give your heart away more than you must suspect. This long line also tells me you are looking for one whose status rises above yours, someone you respect. Again, your chained line here tells me you are bothered by the tension your love life is giving you.”

Adele’s cheeks flushed, and she promptly pulled her hand away. “Like I said, complete nonsense.”

“You think so?” The lady rummaged through a drawer hidden under the table she had been leaning over, and finally procured a strange trinket—a butterfly. It appeared to be some kind of brooch made from woven strings and glass. The center was riddled with white rhinestones, and the wings extended out like a net with each one nesting a pane of dyed red glass. Or was that polished quartz?

“Your personality has attracted the butterfly. He is a lightness of heart and spirit, a bringer of transformation. There is a part of you ready to transform, my dear.” The woman offered up the trinket, her smile widening. “This can be your companion for only a few coins.”

Adele rolled her eyes at this, though she didn’t up and walk away. Actually… the more she thought about it, the more interesting such a gift could be. It’d certainly look nice as a brooch for a certain sash.

“Eh, I’ll take it if you stop talking.” Adele made a quick exchange, finally holding up the trinket to the light of the morning sun. All that crap about spirits and palms was too much to swallow, but the lady did make some gorgeous accessories. 

With that distraction out of the way, Adele picked up some thin bronze squares she’d pre-ordered some days ago and finally made her way over to the caravan. Surprisingly, it seemed like some of the White Guards were still missing—namely the one she wasn’t too keen on seeing again. She shrugged that off and stuffed her trunk into the wagon with the White Guards’ supplies before looking around to find the best way to kill time.

[i]Hahaha[/i]—Thorpe looked like he’d been dragged across half the country and back again. The frazzled soul was standing a little of a ways off from the caravan talking to Djonn, probably about discretionary ‘mission’ stuff. She found she didn’t really care about being outside the special information, given that she already knew the most important thing: she’d be travelling the road instead of remaining in a barracks where she could comfortably work on her cannon. 

She sighed as she cradled the instrument in her arms, looking for something better to amuse herself with. Luckily, she found Marcel again, this time waving and walking up to that strange rabbit fellow she’d caught a glimpse of the night before.

Yeah, that was as good an opportunity as any.

“Hey, guys!” Adele put on a smile as she stood close enough to form a small circle with the two men. “Just to make things official between us, I’m Adele. This is my first time guarding a caravan, so I’ll be sticking around you two to get the hang of it.”