Noah listened to Haruka's explanations with wide-eyed intrigue. The boy was practically a sponge for information. He had always enjoyed learning, regardless of the subject, that was why he was going on this journey in the first place, after all. For such an inquisitive soul, an interesting individual like Haruka was a godsend. "Martial arts, huh? You should show me it at some point. If it's not a secret, or anything." Noah took a bite from a green apple on the table. It was quite sour, much more so than he'd expected, and his lips instinctively curled at the abuse of his taste buds. "I've never met someone like you either, but who knows, it's a big world out there, maybe you have family somewhere!" The boy's optimism seemed to emanate from every fiber of his being. He smiled when Haruka volunteered her help if he was in trouble. "Thank you! I can't do much to repay your kindness I'm afraid, but... hmm... I can cook! So maybe I can repay you in food." The boy's eyes left Haruka for a moment as Lexine spoke up. "Yes, we're a team." He beamed. "Will do. Hopefully there won't be any here though." The boy laughed, waving to Lexine as she left the room before turning back to Haruka. "So I was thinking of looking around the castle a bit, and possibly going by the library. Would you like to come along?" He turned in his seat. "That goes for everyone, of course, if any of you want to look around." He motioned around the table.







   Elizabeth had set about her business, walking around the marketplace in search of anything that might be useful in their journey. Outside of the occasional odd look from one of the locals, the process had been rather uneventful thus far. Still, markets caused a faint nervousness in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps it was a residual feeling from her earliest days as a street urchin. After all, in those days the market had represented both risk and reward. As it stood, though, she wasn't here to steal anything, so the feelings inside of her were little but an inconvenience. Her scanning of the marketplace was interrupted as she saw another figure leaving the castle. Upon closer inspection, she came to the conclusion it was Lexine. She had said very little about herself, and was one of the people Cross had referred to as a 'professional'. The blonde woman turned, meeting her new compatriot at the market's entrance. "Looking to do a little shopping out here as well?" She leaned against her cane, looking the woman over. "You're Lexine, right?"