They... They were saved? But how? Who were these people? They had been overwhelmed by the Varuna and his magic in every way imaginable, utterly outclassed and without a hope of survival. What were the chances then that they might be saved? Awash in a sea of both humiliation and relief Nymira collapsed forward and caught herself on her hands, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to calm her breathing. They should be dead, that man could easily have killed her and the others yet here they were, alive and well. At least, most of them were. Hearing the cries of Amuné she lifted her head and watched as the girl tried to piece together Cecil. The idiot, sacrificing himself like that. Seeing the girl trembling and her hands shaking as she worked on the Machina was a little too much for the exhausted Dimuran and she had to look away, closing her eyes and shaking her head. She should have been strong enough to protect them, it was now a second time her ineptitude had seemingly cost the life of her retainers. No, she'd cost the life of one of her friends this time. Inexcusable, what kind of leader allowed those under them to die so meaninglessly? 

"Cecil...? Hey... Cecil..." Ethan muttered, crawling over to where Amuné worked to try and piece together their friend. [i]No, no, no no no... There was no way he could be... He couldn't have...[/i] Kneeling at Amuné's side he looked over Cecil and let out a choked sob, unsure of whether or not he was even with them or not. As a Machina he couldn't really die could he? Yet if anyone saw the state Cecil was in right now it was hard to imagine him being alive, or as alive as a machine could be. Reaching down he grabbed his friend's legs and tried to put them back in place, blinking back tears as they refused to set back in the sockets. Was he actually gone? Cecil had shut down before, having run out of power, but this felt different. Looking to Amuné he reached out and gently grabbed her hands to stop her, shaking his head and looking back at their fallen friend. "He... He's..." Ethan began, clearing his throat and forcing a smile, "He just... Sh-shut down, like before. We'll get someone to f-fix him again, he'll be o-okay, he'll be... He will..."

"That stinky bastard ran away! The fuck's wrong with him, stinking up our roads and then scooting off like that!" The nerve of those damned Church dogs, they left ruin wherever they left and blame it on someone else. Scumbags, the whole lot of them. "Kensen! Make sure none of those slimes are left, give the area a once over and make sure there's nothing else around!" the woman shouted up, frowning as she walked over to the embankment and looked down it. Coward, running away like that. Spitting on the ground she turned and moved towards the cart, arching an eyebrow seeing a boy and girl huddled over one of their friends. Machina, judging by the wires and metal parts strewn about. What was anyone so bent out of shape over a broken machine for? Moving closer she paused when she sound of metal sliding against leather grabbed her attention, turning her head and smiling in amusement at the Dimuran girl struggling to her feet. 

"Stay back, you will not touch them," Nymira growled, staggering as she rose to her feet, holding her dagger in both hands as she tried to keep the woman at bay. She didn't seem phased in the least by her threat, and when she took another step forward Nymira tried to lash out, her arm easily being caught long before she could ever strike. Staring up at the woman fiercely she wanted so desperately to fight back, but even keeping on her feet right now was a battle in of itself. Her arm was released and she yanked it back, barely holding onto her weapon as she tried to remain upright. "I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but if you lay a hand on them I swear-"

"Well no shit you don't know who I am, I haven't introduced myself. Though I'd be flattered if you did know me," the woman interrupted with a grin, "And relax, I ain't your enemy. If I was here to kill you then you'd be dead already, I wouldn't waste time flapping my gums like that stupid guppy that ran off. So put down your damn knife and relax, you look like you're about to collapse." Waiting for Nymira to relent she rolled her eyes and moved on to the next group, to where the children were sat and huddled around their friend. Definitely not the healthiest looking Machina she'd ever seen though perhaps the strangest looking one; so lifelike that if it wasn't for the wires she might swear the boy was a living being. 

Who was this woman? And why was she helping them? None of this made any sense, not why they were being hunted or why they had been helped, nothing made sense right now. If she had come to their aid though and driven off the Varuna then she was an ally right? Maybe... Maybe she could help? "P-Please... Do something, save him..." Ethan pleaded, looking at the woman before back at Cecil again, "He's... He's not dead right? He's just... He shut down, he... Ran out of power or something, right? Tell us he's just shut down."

"What, you want me to lie to you, tell you everything's probably all hunky dory? The truth is I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with him kiddo, I'm no machinist, no clue how to work on one of those things," the woman answered, watching as Ethan's face crumpled and he began trying to gather up the broken Machina. Sighing to herself she placed a hand on her hip and glanced down the road in the direction of the town, tapping her foot and biting her lip on thought. "Look..." she began again, looking back at the children at her feet, "We'll get him to town, there's people there who work on Machina. It's going to cost you but they can probably fix it, if you really want it fixed. Could just get a new one."

"Cecil is not an [i]it[/i], he's out friend," Ethan muttered, finally managing to gather Cecil up enough to lift the fallen boy into his arms. His entire body cried out as he struggled to his feet, sluggish from his expending of magic and aching with the smallest movements. Trying to then carry the Machina to the cart he nearly fell over, gasping as the woman caught him, and Cecil, taking the broken boy from him. "Please... Help him. We don't care what it costs, just save him, please. I'm begging you."

"Fine, fine, quit asking me, you're giving me a fricken headache. I already said there's people who can fix it," the woman said as she began moving to the cart. What a mess, a broken Machina, a bunch of kids in shock and some nasty Varuna running around. Why was the Church after them? Other than the obvious fact they were Magi she couldn't imagine they had done anything to earn themselves their ire or attention. Seemed like overkill too to send someone after inexperienced Magi like them, even one or two decent Magi would probably be more than they could handle. 

Should they be trusting this woman? She had just saved them but they had no idea who she was, why she had come or even from where they had come. And what was with her outfit? It looked almost like a bandit's clothing with how it was all thrown together, scraps and pieces of other outfits seemingly mashed into one. What's more Ethan had noticed the marking on her chestplate, a strange hand print that probably meant something to those familiar with it, though to him it was just a random mark. Looking down at Amuné, a sad smile on his face, he pulled her close in a hug and ran his hand over her hair in a comforting gesture. "Cecil's going to be okay, we'll get him help. He's tough, you know that, it'll take a lot more than this to beat him." 

"Cecil's strong, we just have to get him repaired and he'll be alright, don't worry child," Nymira added, smiling through her fatigue as she carried herself along. They had to trust this woman for now, she was clearly more powerful than they were and they were in no state to fight, they had no other choice. She'd be wary of them for a while yet but until given a reason otherwise they were tentative allies. The woman and that other Dimuran, a man who she considered even more concerning than the woman herself. Did she know him, or his clan? Given the Rumia clan's long reach it was likely, and it was just as likely he was not a fan of hers. Perhaps it would be best to keep her heritage a secret for the time being, until they secured Cecil the help he needed. 

"Asta, how are you faring?" Nymira called over, looking to the Ydran woman as she made her way across. None of them had sustained any serious injuries during that entire exchange, the worst being some scrapes and bruises that would heal in a few days. Other than the overwhelming sense of fatigue, both mental and physical, they had gotten off miraculously unharmed. "A Thistrun? I see you're a summoner then..." she spoke with a frown, sinking down into the grass besides Asta, "Dangerous magic you're playing with, you'd not be terribly loved in my clan. But... I suppose you did help us with it, so I shall overlook it this once. Impressive, being able to summon a Thistrun. Though it seems like your control of it was... Wanting." Not that she meant to be critical of an ally but there was a point that needed to be made with this: the use of Void beasts in combat was never a good idea. Even seasoned summoners could lose control if their focus waned and would be turned on in an instant. Or, worse still, their allies might be slain by the very beast summoned to protect them. Asta needed to understand her magic was not to be used lightly, not if it put them at risk.