[center][h2]Alice and Dalious[/h2][/center]

It wasn't long before Dalious' parrot flew away.  In fact it was the very first moment he walked outside, spitting out a final "Fuck off!" before fading off over the buildings of the capitol and toward the mountains.  

[color=steelblue]"Well that was very anti-climactic," [/color]Dalious said of the matter, as he only pondered for a few moments of what could have been.  It was a good distraction from his thoughts of wanting to leave his companions and head back to the seas.  Those thoughts faded as well as the news of the bodies quietly spread amongst them.  Finally some purpose, he thought of it all.  It was horrible to think that way when people had been killed, but nonetheless, he was just glad to have some work.

Still walking with a slight limp in his left leg, and using his sheathed katana as a walking stick, Dalious made his way down to the Capitol's underground.  He entered a hole in the wall place called the Pit, a lowly lit tavern where a few of the soldiers went to clear their minds.  Two men were fist fighting in a small circle with others cheering them on, and at the bar sat a lone man that was hooded and turned away.  Dalious hobbled over to the man and took a seat next to him, wondering how in the hell Vesta managed all those years with her injury.  

[color=steelblue]"What's the word on the streets?"[/color] Dalious asked, as the bartender set down his usual drink of whiskey.  The pirate downed the shot and waved over another before the other man answered.

"Nothing like you're talking about," he replied.  "We don't have that many eyes yet, but as far as we can tell, Barcea is quiet."

[color=steelblue]"Figured as much," [/color]Dalious said. [color=steelblue] "Keep me posted if that changes."[/color]

The two men clinked their next shot glasses together.  

"For honor and country!"  the man said.  

[color=steelblue]"For country and coin," [/color]Dalious said after.

After they downed the shots, one of the two men fighting took a hard left hook and slumped to the ground.  The audience around them erupted in both cheer and applause, as everyone seemed to be feeling pretty good.  Another fight quickly broke out, as more and more of the people started building up their courage and testosterone.  It was somewhat normal, at least when coin was involved.  However, things were known to escalate quickly in the Pit.  

His informant left on to other business, but Dalious decided to stay awhile.  The place was a slum, he knew, but it reminded him of sailing out in the ocean.  The company around him was horrible, but it was the memories it all brought back.  He polished off a few more drinks, then decided to head back to see if Vesta or Calypso found out anything.  

Shortly after the orders had been given to find out information within the city's grounds, Alice had quickly set to work. This should have been easy work for someone like her but with the poor amount of response she was getting she was growing more and more frustrated. 

At one point she had met up with Stark to reconfirm that neither had found information and to meet up later while Alice indulged herself for once and found herself blending into the less than favorable side of the city-entering into The Pit with her hood pulled up enough to hide most of her face. She only took a moment to glance around the place before spotting a familiar looking man across the way with a few empty drinks before him. 

Alice danced her way around the current fight to take the seat next to the pirate-pulling her hood back as she leaned on the counter to face towards him. "Any luck?" Of course he would know she would be speaking of their mission.

Dalious slightly jumped a bit in his seat when Alice appeared almost out of nowhere.  Normally, he had prided himself for his expert hearing and keen observation.  This was not such a moment.

[color=steelblue]"Dammit!" [/color]He gasped, nearly toppling his drink over. [color=steelblue] "You mustn't sneak up on me like that Alice, I thought we talked about this?  You scared the shit out of me." [/color] His thoughts weren't of the road ahead when he had been startled, but rather of the lives that had been lost in the past.  His thoughts of leaving the group quickly disappeared when another challenge seemed to present itself.  He knew, though would probably never admit, that he would serve the king for as long as he would have him.  Cyril did save his life, that seals an oath that lasts forever.

Alice gave a quiet chuckle as she seemed to have scared Dalious. "It's not my fault you aren't aware of a beautiful woman." She smoothly teased as the two shots were brought to them. She gave a simple nod to the bartender with a smirk and a wink before returning her attention back to the pirate across from her. She simply kept quiet as she let her fingers dance on the rim of the shot glass-contemplating if she wanted to nurse the drink or fully take it in a single go.

[color=steelblue] "Beautiful things are rare in this place, and no luck, clearly," [/color]he said as he raised two fingers at the bartender, who quickly then brought the pair two drinks.  Whiskey, always being the case for the pirate. [color=steelblue] "No matter how many I drink, I can't seem to get drunk anymore.  It's quite upsetting really." [/color] He had packed up some dragongrass in the while and took a few hits from his pipe.  [color=steelblue]"I know what you meant, still the same answer.  The streets are quiet.  I fear this may be above my pay grade.  Especially, since I lack a pay grade to begin with.  What about you?  ...and how much do you get paid?"[/color]

The two were quite suddenly interrupted as one of the other bar patrons walked up just behind them.  The short man didn't have the same grace or technique of the bounty hunter, he was simply drunk and dumb.  Dalious was aware on this account, though he remained facing away from him toward the bar.  

"Hey lady, us guys over there..." the ugly man started, spitting slightly on the pirate's shoulder, though looking toward Alice.  He was licking his lips and nodding his head for approval.  "We was thinking, why is she with, that cripple?  Wouldn'tchu rather, come over so we can, you know, start this gangbang?"

Before Alice could respond, Dalious reached his arm quickly back, grabbed the man by the fat of his neck, and smashed his face into the bar.  Alice's thought process was stilled as her hand grasped and partially un-holstered a pistol strapped to her thigh as the short drunkard decided to come up behind Dalious and dare to speak to her in such a manner. In the same instance that Dalious brought back his arm and slammed the man's face into the bar, Alice pointed her pistol at the man's face before he fell to the ground. She all much snickered as all attention was on them- holstering her weapon for safe keeping. Everyone involved at the fighting ring stopped and turned to the two of them.  It was a number, far beyond the pirate's counting abilities at this point.  The biggest and baldest of them took a few steps forward and said, "That's my brother!"  The annoying woman with few teeth beside him began yelling loudly in the background, her words pointless to try and comprehend.

[color=steelblue]"Unfortunate, really," [/color]Dalious replied, taking his shot and turning toward the men. [color=steelblue] "Well, we are all fighting on the same side, mates.  We are all brothers and sisters.  Devine's bless us, one and all.  All for one, or something like that.  Who's with me?" [/color] He turned to Alice and whispered. [color=steelblue] "No killing, right?" [/color] then gave her a wink.

When Dalious turned to speak to her about no killing she grinned wide, "No promises!" She exclaimed as she took that shot of whiskey before taking the shot glass and slamming it into the left side of one of the approaching woman who was swearing up a storm at her. The woman faltered for a moment before Alice cocked her right arm back again and cold clocked the woman in the face-watching her go down like a sack of potatoes.

Dalious attached his sheathed blade around his back, via a leather strap that held it from across his chest.  "You're dead!" was the bald man's only reply, though he waited for the others around him to jump in first.

[color=steelblue]"Alice," [/color]Dalious said. [color=steelblue] "I forgot to ask, how was your day?"[/color]  He fully expected her to tell him what she did today, even as he caught a punch from an attacker.  He twisted the man's arm around to his back, then broke it, while simultaneously kicking in the man's knee to bring him down.  He swatted him away, then moved on to the next. 

Alice locked eyes with another patron as he brought both of his fists up and tried to size her up. "Oh , it was quite lovely actually. I found a lovely little cafe on the far East side of the city-lots of gossip to be had over there. I also did a bit of baking earlier as well." Alice coolly stated as the man threw the first few punches; slowly and clearly predictable. She got into the man's personal space before her left grabbed his arm, her right foot came down hard on his left foot and her right arm cocked back and landed three times on his throat before she threw him backwards onto the ground. 

"What about yourself? Been enjoying the holidays, Dali?" Alice gave a grunting noise as arms wrapped around her from behind. Her toes barely touching the ground as the person holding her tried to keep her still. She gripped the man's arms tight before pushing off the ground with all her might and jerking her body forward, planting her feet on the ground, and flipping the man up and over her body and onto one of the tables with a loud bang. Now she was grinning wide as she squared up with a third who was calling her less than kind names. 

A steady roundhouse to the jaw sent him to the ground totally knocked out.

[color=steelblue]"I'm not actually partial to the holidays, but..." [/color]he started,  only pausing to hold in his breath while he lifted another assailant up, only to slam him back down again. [color=steelblue] "...I did find the food to be quite good."  [/color]

The large, shirtless, bald one sprang forth, tackling Dalious to the ground while also reminding him of his hip and leg injuries.  It was easy enough to avoid his jaw being touched, but his leg was another matter.  Though even as it throbbed in pain, he still managed to twist and turn from muscle memory, obtaining his attackers head and arm in the process.  He squeezed on an arm triangle, pulling the hold tighter and tighter as the man slowly went to dream land.  

"On a scale of one to ten how pissed do you think the boss might be at us for this?"  

[color=steelblue]"Oh, best we not trouble our boss with the little things,"[/color] Dalious replied, shoving the unconscious man aside and using his covered sword to help himself back to his feet.  The next man was hesitant on moving in on the pirate, but eventually he decided to give it a go as well.  Dalious gave off a deep breath, then swung his sheathed weapon, cracking the man at the temple and dropping him out of the fight before he could do much of anything.  [color=steelblue]"Though if I had to guess, probably a solid nine."[/color]  

When all was said and done, Dalious began limping over to Alice with his sheath-cane.  There were numerous unconscious bodies lying in the wake, some slowly coming to, while others were still completely out.

[color=steelblue]"Well then," [/color]he said, leaning on the cane while also propping a leg on one of the attacker's backs. [color=steelblue] "We should probably never talk of this again.  I'm quite certain they won't.  Barkeep, bills on that one."  [/color]He pointed to the half-aware, though still utterly messed up one, of which started it all to begin with, his face was still oozing with his own blood.  

Alice had taken care of those who dared to attempt a fight with her- turning her focus to Dalious as he limped over. Her arm was raised and ready to catch him should be fall or need her assistance but before she could make a joke several others ran into the bar and gathered in the door.

With a hard drown Alice found herself between Dalious and the pissed off group ahead of them. "Oi, was you the ones picking' fights?" One of the gruffer ones asked as he attempted to look intimidating by cracking his knuckles.

"No." Alice harshly said as she kicked one of the bodies out of her way and unholstered both of her pistols on her chest holsters and pointed them at the group with a level hand. They would see her eyes glowing almost ominously as she continued speaking, "we were just leaving." She cool stated as she moved forward.

A few huffed out of the way but one such man actually moved to swing at her only for her to drop the gun and fire a single shot just outside of his thigh- grazing the flesh and just a bit of the muscle underneath. The man went down quickly wailing. "Next ones in your buddy's head."

The group was silent as they parted ways and let them through.  Dalious nodded in approval as the group left way. [color=steelblue] "Yeah, I'm with her!"[/color] he pointed out, his ego in full tact.

Alice bolstered her weapons again before dipping under Dalious and using herself as his lean on. "Come on sea captain. Let's get you back to the castle to rest."

[color=steelblue]"No rest for the wicked, love,"[/color] he replied.  They made their way out of the Pit and into the dank streets of the underground once again, all eyes finally parting from the now more respected duo. [color=steelblue] "I've done enough of that lately." [/color] Even though neither of them could find out much on what was going on with the dead bodies, it all just gave off the feeling to him that a great threat was involved.  By the time they would find out what was going on, it would probably be to late.  There wasn't much the pirate could do in either stance, however he did feel the need to get back in shape.  The fact that he was heavily breathing into Alice's personal space spoke wonders about it.  

They paused from the streets to look up at the distant castle.  Standing from the lower district and looking up at the view was quite exotic, even from a dank side of the capitol.  The sunlight glimmered from a few bells that stood high, while the skies color began fading with the sunset in the background.  [color=steelblue]"I fear the King's peace might be coming to an end." [/color]

"A peace that he never truely had in the first place." She felt relief that he had sensed the same shift as her. Alice had been trying to make sure Cyril had been eating and sleeping but she wasn't close enough to him for it not to be considered inappropriate. 

"By the way, I get paid the standard rate of a Sentinel...Im just free of any binding. If I decide to leave then I may do so without fear of punishment." She cool stated as she ignored the alcohol smell on Dalious' breath. 

[color=steelblue]"Ah, so our two boats sail simaril...sim, simularily?  Similarly,"[/color] he tried to say, unsure of whether his slurred speech was from the whiskey or from that word just being stupid.  Either way, his point was that they made about the same amount of coin.  There were also the benefits that came along, so all in all it wasn't a bad deal.  Still, he felt he needed more.  Much more, though he still knew his place.  

[color=steelblue]"I feel like we deserve a raise, I'll make sure I put in a good word for you when I see the king again." [/color] He reached into his pockets and pulled out a single gold coin, quickly flipping it from finger to finger and then back again.  All he had on him was all he had left, having lost a great majority of his private earnings due to various gambling, as well as the underground resources.  Yes, it all went that fast.  He knew he had a problem.  He was broke again. [color=steelblue] "Or I'll get nervous before we reach the castle and just, run away."[/color]  He looked down at his own posture and grunted.  [color=steelblue]"Limp away."[/color]

Alice couldn't help but chuckle at his drunken state. "Anyone ever told you that you should cut back on the booze?" She eyed the good coin he had pulled out, "Or that you should set money aside? I know youre you're a pirate and daubatury is kind of your thing but still." She huffed as she knew he wasn't going to retain anything she was saying. 

"Better yet, I'll make a deal with ya." A smirk spread across her face, "Get your shit together and I'll kiss you. No strings attached. Nothing. A reward for stopping these shenanigans and becoming of more use to His Highness and Barcea." Of course what did she have to lose? Either he kept his ways and got nothing from her or he got his shit together and she gave him a single kiss of sorts.

[color=steelblue]"I knew you had a crush on me,"[/color] he instantly stated, not fully understanding all that was said and focusing solely on the prize at the end.  He could go down as the dumbest sea captain that ever lived had he refused such a deal.  He paused for a brief moment.  No shenanigans.  Beautiful bounty hunter.  Dalious bit on his bottom lip as he thought.  Her green eyes were already pulling him in.  It was just another one of her magic tricks, far to powerful for him to overcome.  [color=steelblue]"...and you have yourself a deal. I straighten up, you give me a kiss." [/color] He badly wanted to cross his fingers and lie his way to her lips, but he took oaths and deals quite seriously, especially ones from his own company.  Though this deal had a bit of spice to it, it was still just a deal all the same.  Besides, once he did kiss her, who's to say he couldn't go right back to his nonsense. [color=steelblue] "It had better be a good one."[/color]

Alice couldn't help but laugh again as he so quickly responded. "Get and keep your shit together and then we can talk."

...

They'd arrived back to the castle, Alice removing herself from under his arm as his support, "There. We are back. Can you make it back to your room without getting side tracked?"

[color=steelblue]"Probably not," [/color]he said.  [color=steelblue] "I'll just have to manage."[/color]  He was already heavily sidetracked, now seeing the bounty Hunter from a new light.  No strings attached.  Sure, he could play that game.  Maybe.  He wondered how true to her words she actually was.  Dalious gently grabbed her hand and kissed it.  [color=steelblue]"Always a pleasure.." [/color] He said and bowed, instantly cracking something in his back, though this time he held in the pain and kept his face calm.   He wanted the kiss now, having already convinced himself that he was a changed man.  Everything she was asking for he knew would be a challenge, but he always believed that the challenge was the gift.  [color=steelblue]"To be continued."  [/color]

Alice chuckled again as Dalious places a loss atop her hand, though she did wince at the loud crack his body made. Seeing him not react to it she gave a small bow back to him with a gentle smile. "Until next time." She responded as she moved to leave and return to her own quarters into the castle- amused with Dalious' antics yet still annoyed underneath it all at their lack of information.  

[center][h2]Stark and Ser Godfrey[/h2][/center]

With everything that had happened within the last few day, Stark was at a loss as to what to do. She didn't know Ser Raizen well enough to travel with him and she had felt she’d been hovering and potentially smothering Christopher as of late; not to mention the annoying little voice in her head telling her she was doomed to fail in protecting yet another leader of hers. 

With her forcing herself away from Chris, their teaching sessions on hold due to his injuries, she had been able to learn more about the people around her and gain first hand experience with a lot of new situations. Of course, she was more than happy to learn from those willing to teach.

Her mind had been wandering when she had crossed paths with Lady Alice who was barely able to hide the emotions I'm her face. The sniper stood in the empty hall with her fists balled and shaking. Stark realized she hadn't been seen yet as Alice turned and punched one of the stone walls several times before kicking it and wiping away the tears coming down her cheeks with a harsh frown. Alice barely acknowledged Stark, mumbling something about someone being mistaken and lying to everyone before rounding the corner to likely go back to her room. 

Stark couldn't help but feel her heart twist for Alice. She wasn't handling news that Joachim had relayed all that well it seemed. Alice always trying to hide her emotions before utterly snapping. Stark had seen it before and she knew she was going to unfortunately see it again.

As such, Stark's mind began processing what she saw and immediately took off towards the town.

The girl looked around her surroundings before catching a glimpse of the place she needed to get to - Ser Godfrey’s clinic. She opened the door cautiously, keeping her manners in check, “Ser Godfrey? Are you here?” she called into the all too quiet store.

In his haste, the King had declared that Godfrey was basically his personal assistant. “Be on hand,” he said, “so that I may call upon you whenever I need your services.” 

Fat lot of good that would do Godfrey’s line of work, or the people that relied on his small shop, or the others that relied on his… [i]secondary[/i] work. He could almost taste the claustrophobia of the king’s collar closing in on him, and it made him uncomfortable.

Even so, though, it was probably not the best of ideas to refuse the king’s direct orders. He’d come back to his storefront to gather another set of materials-- this time, with fewer noxious chemicals-- to have on hand in his temporary-new-mobile-workshop that his handcart had become. Glassware, fuel sources, powdered reagents,vials of coloured chemicals… Many such materials were gathered on the countertop, being sorted into categories of ‘need to bring along’ and ‘should have ready to retrieve when necessary.’

In the midst of the mess, Godfrey sat, exhausted, on the edge of a low table, a small case open next to him. The case was filled with tiny glass ampoules, varying in color and luminosity, and arranged meticulously in the crushed velvet-lined interior. He ran his finger across each one, as if mentally taking note of what was in the case.

“A Rose in April, check… Barrow-Down Elegy, check… Steeple Romance, check…” he muttered, before suddenly and surprisedly being snapped back to awareness of his surroundings by the voice of the woman who’d opened his door. He carefully but quickly closed the case, engaging the puzzling lock mechanism on it as if it were second nature.

“Ah, yes?” he replied, and stood up to meet the woman. “I’m afraid my shop will be closed for a short time-- royal commission, you see--” he started, before locking eyes with the lady. He’d seen her, briefly, while he had been in the castle grounds, and struggled to recall if he knew anything about her.

“...though, I am sure you are aware of that,” he added. “What service can I offer you, madam?”

Stark heaved a quick sigh of relief as the man who had been called to the castle locked eyes with her. She gave a graceful and clearly practiced now before standing again with a slight smile. “Oh, please Ser, I am simply Stark. No need to be called Madame.” She calmly stated before continuing, “I do hope it's not too much of an inconvenience but is there anyways I could purchase pain relief medicines and possibly anti inflammatory from you? I’d have waited until you arrived at the castle but the one who requires it should have it sooner rather than later.” 

The grey haired girl quickly added, “If it is too much of an inconvenience, as I do know you're returning to the castle, would you allow me to assist you? Two is typically better than one, yes?”

[i]Stark. I will remember it.[/i] “Local anesthetic, or oral dosage?” he asked. “Pleasure to meet you, by the way. I apologise for my not being together, as it were.” He gathered a few little paper envelopes from the basket on the counter. “These should do well for reducing swelling and dulling pain, and this one will be fine for local application, to prevent infection and to numb the nerves in the area.” He paused. “Since I’m on the King’s silver now, and I can assume you are as well, I’ll just add it to the remaining cost for all those other materials that the H’Kelan queen so unceremoniously ‘borrowed’ for her little show. In exchange, instead, would you be so kind as to help me get back to the castle? Everything should fit on the cart, I just need to load it up.”

There was quite a bit of things to load up, but with two of them, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes. With minimal effort and only a couple “be careful, this will melt the flesh from your bones if you spill it”-s, it was ready to return to the castle. While Stark wasn’t looking, he slid the case of colorful liquids into his apron pocket.

Stark paused for a moment before answering him, “Local application would likely be best.” truth be told she had no idea if that was true or not but why could it hurt. She pulled the envelope into her bag before pulling her coin purse out. “Oh no, Ser. I am here on my own accord, for a friend truthfully.” Stark just wanted to help but with his stating he would require her help she did mark it up as being a fair exchange.

Stark took explicit care with all of the unknown substances she was handling- especially the ones that made her nose tickle. As they finished she trained her slitted eyes on him with a smile, “I do hope you enjoy it at the castle. His Highness is very kind and most everyone is super accepting. Of course we have some oddities, such as myself, but we are all harmless.” She wasn't the greatest at small talk but it was a start.

“Harmless? Oddities? Whatever do you mean?” he said, inviting her responses. Surely the king had his inner circle of heroic tragedies, but the more he knew about them, the easier it would be for him to transition into the castle. They trudged onward.

“Surely each person has their own oddities and quirks, but I daresay it might not be fair to oneself to take on that title willingly.” He smiled a bit. “I might even be a little out of the ordinary, myself. There aren’t that many alchemists in town…”

[i]...and none who can even come close to my work,[/i] he finished mentally.

“Well by oddities I mean children of Divines, shape shifters, uuuuuuuh. Let's see who else. Snipers and obnoxiously named pets. Pirates, old knights, Gifted and obviously royalty.” Stark looked rather pleased with herself as she gave vague descriptions of just a handful of the people Godfrey would meet.

She turned to look at Godfrey with a smile, “My ‘Uniqueness’ is not one that I took willingly. I am a water mage at heart and will try to keep to that for as long as I can before my changes happen.” She felt oddly calm speaking about her differences with this man- odd. Stark seemed to remember herself as she snapped back to reality, “Not to say that your alchemy is anything to snuff at! You see, we don't have anyone of your intelligence or skill set. Yes we have a healer but through magic. Your physical prowess is going to be invaluable- I think so at least.” She gave a slightly nervous laugh, “I meant no harm Ser. I highly respect those who are intelligent.”

[i]She’s a magician, huh...[/i] he thought, and tried silently not to make any judgments about her before getting to know her a little. “You seem to have a varied cast of characters in your play,” he said cheerily. “I hope that my non-magical self will fit in!”

He noted the way she talked about herself. Changes? What could she mean, he wondered. He shook his head a bit. “Oh, no offense taken. I am just good at science, nothing really that special. I am not sure how useful I can be. My work is a little slow, you know-- surely you understand that alchemy can be a time-consuming process-- so I wonder why the king wants to keep me so close-by. Was it the forensics, maybe? I did nothing that charlatan of a magician didn’t also do, so that must not be it--” he said. Somewhere, the H’Kelan Queen might have sneezed.

They kept up simple conversation until their arrival at the castle. Godfrey would definitely be out of place, at least in his mind-- in an entourage full of literal children of deific figures, beings held together primarily by sorcery, and those with abilities he could likely only figure out with a prolonged study involving vivisection, the lone human chemist would stick out like a sore thumb, much to his chagrin.

“I understand I am to accompany the king on his journey,” he said, pulling the canvas cover a bit tighter on his cart as he stowed it. “I’m a mobile laboratory for now, so I needn’t unpack anything. Maybe I can help with the recipient of these medicines?”

“Perhaps when you were summoned and asked here for assistance he liked the way you looked at the situation and your ability to keep your head? New perspectives typically are always appreciated!” The way she spoke made it clear she was just trying to figure it out herself. “Oh,yes! Not everyone in the Sentinels or its allies can cast magic so don't ever feel ostracized.” 

They finished the trip to the castle with relative ease and Stark seemed to bounce on her toes. “So you'll be traveling with his Highness? I am as well!” She got a bit ahead of herself before she added, “Oh, I dont think that will be necessary. Lady Leon isn't the type to be helpless. She's the sniper I mentioned earlier.” She said matter-of-factly. “However, perhaps meeting with Lady Diane would assist in future situations? She's the resident healing mage I mentioned. Though, she is a bit cold at first. She's very nice when it counts!” She blushed lightly as she realized she was rambling. “Ah, I'm sorry. I tend to drone when meeting interesting people….ahem. Anyways, is there anything else I can further assist you with? “

He shook his head. “If you have things covered with your patient, then I had better go back to my shop to make the last few preparations for it being closed for a bit. I’ll try to catch the Lady Diane at some point soon-- thanks for the recommendation!” he said. [i]I will see how much better science can do her job, perhaps.[/i]

Running through the checklist of things he had left to do in his head, he mentally scratched out “move materials to castle.” With a grin he set his heels together, and nodded to the woman. “You were great help-- it would have taken twice as long without you. Thanks again! We will certainly have more time to chat later,” he said. He had a few more things to do before the shop was set to be locked up.

Stark nodded and smiled- giving a formal bow to the man. “It's not problem at all Ser. If you ever need assistance just let me know in the future alright?” She gave her best smile before turning and going off into the direction she believed Alice to be in.

[center][h2]Christopher and Alice[/h2][/center]

Her hand was bandaged snuggly, the bleeding having stopped a while ago, as she looked over the last of her items to back away. Since receiving the information of who their next enemy was Alice had hidden away in her room and taken to cleaning and organizing. Her weapons newly polished and primed were set aside as she finished packing essentials. 

Finally putting it all together she pulled it into her back with ease before leaving out of her room. She moved through the halls only to fall short as words were exchanged between The Direwolf, Christopher and Vesta. Alice held her place and held her tongue until she knew The Direwolf was gone. A small flag went up in her mind as she pulled off her pack for a moment and pulled something out of an outside pouch. 

Alice pulled her bag on quickly before catching up to where she saw Chris and Vesta. “You probably shouldn't bleed on Stark’s present this early on, Sparky.”

Christopher briefly tensed, before relaxing after realizing the one who had rapidly approached was in fact Alice. Briefly he glanced over to her, and then snorted ever slightly before he looked back forwards. Down below, his fingers flexed ever slightly, before he nodded.

[b]”Good thing I’m not wearing it yet. Still got plenty of time to fuck it up, though. Going somewhere?”[/b]

Alice kept pace with him as she casually adjusted her pack, “I'm not traveling with the Liar and I'm not feeling up to keeping a nice front going for the King so I settled with you.” The jab clearly wasn't malicious- just part of their normal banter. “Besides, I figured a bit of extra sass and sarcasm could do you more good than big bad red bitching at you.”

[b]”Liar? What do you- you know what, nevermind. Glad to have you with me.”[/b] He had given a shrug about halfway through, even while proceeding on through the hallways. [b]”The plan isn’t anything fancy; just a straight shot there. Ever been to Kyora before?”[/b]

Alice glanced at him with a warning look as he questioned her words only to look forward as he backed off. She kept quiet for a moment before sighing, “So a winding looping mess of a travel party towards the vague direction of Kyora, got it.” She lightly mused as they rounded another corner. “I have actually- several times. Not sure if everyone's forgiven me though…” Her words leaving off on a questionable point and her thoughts wandering for a moment.

“Oh yeah. Stark gave these to me to help with my own ignorance. Figured you could use this better.” She held out the item she had pulled from her bag- the antiseptic salve and pain relief. “Want me to put it in your bag?” 

It was his turn to glance over, taking in the sight of the medicine before he gave a nod. His hand went to his own bag, holding it out in her direction to make what would come next easier for her. [b]”Go for it.”[/b]

Alice smirked before popping the bag open and putting the salve inside. She paused a moment to look him in the eyes, “Chris...are you going to be okay?” She wasn't being sarcastic or rude. She meant what she asked. “There are a lot of people who would rather you stay here and be safe than go out and start punching shit before you're ready. I know you're going to do it anyways but I need to hear it from you. Are you going to be okay?” She questioned once more.

He returned her look, his gaze calm as he quite bluntly said, [b]”I would rather die than be left behind, so don’t worry about me. I don’t even have a real dog in this fight and refuse not to go. I’m more worried about you.”[/b]

Alice tried to keep a straight face but his bluntness made her face break out into a smile and ever a chuckle. “I figured you'd answer something like that.” She released his bag, “Nah, don't worry about this broad. I might not be a demi divine but I think I can handle my own.”

[b]”Not what I mean, but alright.”[/b]

“I know what you meant and either I'll be happily drinking by the end of this or picking fights with people who can kill me.” Alice shrugged, “If you need help with anything just ask. No questions asked I'll help.” She reached over and flicked the kid on the cheek. “Come on we need to get going.”

His hand came up to swat her hand away, even as he said, [b]”It’s why we haven’t stopped walking yet. Let’s give the Wanderer a run for his money.”[/b]

She stuck her tongue out at him like a child before frowning “I'll give him something to run from.” She grumbled under her breath before going quiet.