[IC] Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

[shylarah]

Riverside

Amuné shrugged at Ethan's questions. She knew what amnesia was but not why it happened, and even that was only because she'd shown a talent for her mother's trade of village healer and midwife. The girl didn't have the magic gift to go with it, but even a mundane healer was a very useful person in a little village such as where she'd grown up. Her jaw dropped when Cecil said he was less than a year old. She scrunched up her face. "Are you sure? Maybe you forgot more than you think, because you don't look like a baby." The whole Machina-as-a-person concept was very confusing to her, and the girl kept trying to apply living-people rules to what wasn't technically alive.

"Mommy never needed to heal any Machina," she told Ethan. "So I dunno if she could if she needed to or not. And..." her shoulders hunched a little as the image of the villages surrounding her mom and dad resurfaced in her mind. She shoved it away with a shiver. "And she's not here now," Amuné finished a bit lamely. "But Saint Edos can heal anyone, that's why he's a saint," she added, trying to regain a small amount of positivity.

"Yeah, I can walk," she told the man, with a slightly brighter smile than before. She let him set her down and turned her attention to Wyth, who demanded his due by shoving his head into her chest and making rumbly noises. He was glad his girl was feeling better, though still not sure what to think about the man that had made her sad and the other child who smelled like metal, oil, and ozone. "I've never caught a fish," Amuné said, looking at the river. She'd seen a big river before, with her father on the way to a fair, and there was a little one, more of a creek, that ran near her village. The village children loved playing and splashing in it. It wasn't big enough to swim in, but that didn't make it any less fun. "I mean, I've seen people fishing, but I've never actually caught one myself. But if we can catch one, I can probably clean it." She supposed cleaning a fish was a lot like cleaning a small rodent.

At the word "fish", the moorcat's ears lifted, and he looked at the water, then away in distaste. It was big enough to have the swimming prey, but experience told him that catching them in a strong current was more trouble than it was worth. Not that he exactly had a lot of practice. The water in the village was much calmer, and the fish there were usually on the small side.

[Mogtaki]

Cecil didn’t really understand a lot that was being said but he was going to go with it, seeing how he had a lot he could be thinking about that was probably more important. They certainly seemed to be trying to work out what was wrong with him and how he functioned, but he didn’t know why they might be trying so hard when it was essentially not bothering him all that much. If he did have amnesia over that event then maybe it was something he didn’t want to remember, but he couldn’t be sure without actually knowing the backstory behind that and why he felt it was necessary to remember the light and the aftermath of his possible escape.

“Uhh yeah, I am! I mean…since I was activated, since my internal clock has been running”, he spoke, thinking about it briefly before looking to Amuné when she made a strange comment, simply wondering how that was relevant. “Look like a baby? But I wasn’t made to look like a baby…” He didn’t understand how that might work; he was made to look like he did now, not like anything else. Smiling, he listened to Ethan’s explanation of the Saints, finding it to be a rather curious thing before an even stranger question came into play. “Flesh? I am not that, so I don’t know”, he spoke, tapping his cheek thoughtfully, “I don’t know how Machina work, though. I’ve never seen another one like me”.

Whatever was wrong with him was probably going to remain a mystery for now, or at least until he found someone who knew how to fix him. He didn’t know how many of his own kind were wandering around for people to know how he might be repaired, meaning most of his repairs had been done by himself. Keeping fairly quiet as they walked along the path he did want to interact with the occasional person they passed by, but he was a little wary after what happened yesterday. He didn’t know if they might had heard about what happened, but he wasn’t ready to take any chances either. To have focus on caution like this felt out of character for him, but if he had to be careful then he would be careful.

Coming to the bridge, Cecil felt rather overwhelmed by the river’s presence as water flowed rapidly underneath it, his eyes staring at it curiously before he quickly turned to Ethan and Amuné, looking rather nervous. He hadn’t come across so much water before so it was a little intimidating, especially when it could potentially be dangerous. He didn’t know how much water there was or whether there was some kind of depth to it, but he was thankful that there was a river there. Watching Ethan and Amuné for a moment he soon took his attention back to the river, their need for food being drawn to it for some reason. He probably wouldn’t be of much use here, he didn’t know how he might handle water nor did he know what he was supposed to use for getting food from there, but that was probably their worries. He would’ve just continued onwards if he was by himself, but they needed food so he would have to wait with them until they managed to get some. “How long is this going to take?”

[Vena Sera]

"I know Edos is a Saint and all, but still... How do you heal something that's made of metal?" No matter how you sliced it Ethan couldn't fathom a way for it to be possible. Machines were made by people, so to that end he figured it would take a person to fix Cecil, not some deity. If they could find a way to speak with Edos or ask for his aid then hey, they may as well try, but he had a hard time imagining that it would work. Besides, with their getting closer to the city they were bound to find someone familiar with Machina anyways, so they probably didn't have to go to such extreme lengths. When they arrived at the riverbanks, Ethan eased Amuné down off of his shoulders and gave himself a stretch, feeling a bit cramped after having carried her for so long. They'd come a decent ways this morning, and with a river right before them now it was probably a good time as any to take a break, and get something to eat!

Having to try and explain why healing may not work to Cecil was a bit tricky, but at least now he seemed to be getting why it may not be possible. Not that Ethan took any pleasure in saying an idea of theirs wouldn't pan out, he just didn't think it possible and didn't want to set them up for disappointment. Things were looking up by the time they had reached the bridge, what with no one having given them trouble on the way down. The fact they were at a river too was even more exciting, as a river often meant plenty of fish to eat. Granted there was the slight issue of the rapids, but it was nothing Ethan hadn't tackled before. Walking towards the banks he peered down at the sandy shore below, wondering just how deep it got out in the middle. "We can definitely catch one, we'll just have to get a little creative is all," the white-haired boy said, grinning as he started to take off his shirt, "Since we don't have a fishing rod or bait we'll have to do it the old fashioned way: catch fish by hand!" He'd done it before, during the first week of his trip in fact. It wasn't the easiest or even most practical thing in the world, but between fish and some wild berries he'd much prefer the fish for lunch.

Setting his shirt aside, Ethan removed his pouch and dropped it there as well, settling down onto his rear to get off his shoes to boot. Now that all he had left on were his pants he grinned and hurried down to the waterfront, looking around to see if there was a calm patch to wade into. "Uh... Good question Cecil! An hour? Maybe less? Maybe more?" Ethan shouted back to his friend, smiling as he started to slowly wade into the currents, pleasantly surprised they weren't as strong as he thought, "While I do this how's about you two get some firewood? We can set up down here so we're off the road, just to be safe." Then again a fire meant smoke, and smoke was bound to grab someone's attention, so should they even bother? Couldn't hurt he supposed, and if they were out of sight then they could keep hidden if someone did spot the smoke signal, maybe even slip away while they were checking it out.

"Let's see... There's gotta be some little fish floating around here..." Ethan mumbled, leaning forward slightly as he peered through the water. Lots of rocks, some plants and the occasional fallen branch, but as he waded around he wasn't really spotting any fish. Probably scaring them away while moving through the water, if there were in fact any around here. Smiling to himself he decided then to stand perfectly still, watching the immediate area for any signs of movement. Surely something was bound to come out if he kept like this, right? It looked like his patience paid off pretty quick as he saw a hint of movement off to the right, right by a log that was partially submerged by the water. At first it looked like a fish, but as the creature came out it was longer and thinner than any fish he'd seen. In fact it wasn't a fish at all, if the bright yellow rings around its long body wasn't indicative enough. "Oh crap! Crap crap crap!" Ethan shouted, turning and running out of the water, practically on the surface as he got back to shore, glancing back to see a several meter long, venomous ringed cobra swim by, heading downstream and evidently not even paying him any mind. Heh, so that might be why there were no fish.

[shylarah]

Riverside

"OldDan says fishing takes lots of patience and us whippersnappers move too much," the girl said, taking off her shoes and setting them by Ethan's. "So...maybe a long time?" Ethan's estimate surprised her, as did him wading in. How was he going to catch fish with his hands? They were slippery, and always wriggled away from any child that managed to get ahold of one, leading to more splashing and shrieking and giggles. The corners of her mouth turned down for a moment before she forced herself to smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I wanna see you catch a big fish with your bare hands, Ethan!" Amuné told him, moving towards the edge of the water.

Wyth looked at her, then Ethan, before stretching and finding a sunny spot to lie down, resting his head on his front paws and half lidding his eyes. He had decided that the man wasn't a threat for now, and he was sure he could be at his girl's side in plenty of time if something should happen. And of course it did. Wyth was on his feet at once as the man started hollering and splashing and otherwise making a racket, racing to where his girl was dipping her feet in the shallows and herding her back by means of his considerable bulk.

"Ethan?!" she called, voice shooting up quite high in concern. "W-what is it? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She was seized by a sudden fear that something might happen to him and then she'd be left without anyone else. Cecil was a machine, and the girl still wasn't sure what to make of him, and Wyth was family but not people. Ethan was the adult, the one she was inclined to look to for guidance. What would she do if he was gone?

[Vena Sera]

"Will do! Just you watch, I'll catch a huge one!" Ethan was determined to catch some fish, even if they didn't have the proper equipment for it. He'd seen some of the villagers catch some barehanded before, and while he'd only managed to do so himself once, and the fish got away, he had a general idea of how it worked. No doubt the currents of the river would make things a little difficult, but then nothing worth having was easy to get now was it? Wading through the water didn't prove terribly challenging, and in no time he was standing around waiting for some signs of fish. Before long the white-haired boy caught signs of life, but it was life he wanted nothing to do with; a highly poisonous ringed cobra swam out from its hiding spot in a fallen log, causing the Magi to practically run across water as he bolted for the shoreline. Panting as he finally came to a skidding halt on the sand he placed his hands on his knees, glancing up when he heard Amuné shouting for him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Just got spooked is all!" Ethan called back, laughing as he shook off his legs to get some water off. That was a bit of a close call, those things were known to be highly poisonous; one of the villagers had been bitten by one and ended up bed ridden for nearly two weeks, albeit they'd survived thanks to a quick administration of an antidote. They hadn't any of that on them though, best to avoid the slithering cesspool of pain at all costs. "I'm thinking we'll just gather some edible plants, maybe catch a squirrel or rabbit or something. At least those won't try eating me!" he joked, grinning as he reached down and playfully tapped Amuné's nose before he hurried back up the bank and onto the grass. Chances were there wouldn't be anything for them to eat near the road, as anything that had been here was already picked or probably kept clear of the path to avoid becoming lunch. Anything they would have then, he reasoned, was hiding in the trees.

Finding something to snack on ought not to be terribly challenging, not when you had a decent head about you when it came to hunting. In most cases Ethan would set a trap and wait for something to catch it, yet when he had a young girl and moorcat to feed as well he couldn't well just sit back and waste time waiting it out. Instead, he grabbed himself a fairly sturdy twig and, using a rock, sharpened the edges into a point. Carrying that along with him he then began seeking out some kind of furry animal to nab, figuring something small enough to cook quickly but large enough to at least give them some energy. While sneaking through the brush he managed to come across a moderately sized water mouse, essentially a muskrat except far more like a typical mouse than anything. Smiling triumphantly he held out his hand flat and laid the stick out, aiming it at the rat that was busy picking away at some fallen nuts. Eyes glowing a slight gold, he breathed out a wisp of air that enveloped the sharpened stick before he let it fly, firing it off like an arrow and nailing the rat square in the head. "Sorry little guy, but we've gotta eat," Ethan said, heading over and scooping up his latest kill, taking it back to the group.

"Here we are! This ought to keep us going, at least until the next town," Ethan announced, beaming as he held up his acquisition, "I can skin and gut it if you want to get some sticks for firewood. Cecil, think you can help her with that?" That was one nice thing about traveling in a group, he no longer had to hunt, prepare the fire and clean the kill all by himself, albeit he would still if need be. Placing down the rodent by his feet he started back for his bag to get out his sword for cleaning purposes, having nothing smaller than that to use. As he was standing back up from getting it out he noticed someone coming across the bridge from the far side, narrowing his eyes and putting a hand over them to try and get a better view of who it was. From here it was hard to say, but he could tell they were pretty big and wearing a coat, so maybe a traveling fighter or something? He knew people like that existed, sellswords or some such that made a living fighting. Not the most friendliest sounding of folk, but then you could never know until you met them. Might as well give it a shot, he supposed, and at the very least make sure this individual was safe for Amuné to be around.

Tucking the folded sword up on his side, Ethan grabbed his shirt and slipped it back on, as well as his coat which he left open. "You guys wait here a sec, okay? I'm just gonna go say hi," he shouted, smiling at the others and holding up a finger before heading onto the bridge. By now he could see it was an older man, and a fairly imposing one at that. Still though, it wasn't right to judge by looks alone, so he stood at the end of the bridge with a smile and waited, lifting a hand in greeting when the stranger drew close enough. "Hey there! Nice to meet you!" he said politely, giving a slight wave, "Kind of surprising to see someone else out here, been a while since we crossed anyone else. Want to join us for a meal?" One easy way of befriending folks, Ethan had found, was offering them a nice hot meal and friendly conversation. He'd befriended a fair number of travelers on his way out here, and if it worked once then it'd work again, right?

The old man didn't seem to respond to him, looking at the young boy as though he were scrutinizing him. Feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his face, Ethan chuckled slightly and rubbed at his neck, glancing over at the others before gesturing to them. "If you're wondering if we have enough food then I can always get more, it's not a problem. There's tons of things to eat here, you only need to know where to look. You can take a seat and just relax while we get things ready." Again there was nothing, no kind of reply or anything from the man, just that stare. Shifting his weight about nervously he wondered if maybe the man might be deaf, or if he'd really struck up conversation with one of those nasty mercenary types. After a silent moment he cleared his throat, itching at his nose and opening his mouth to speak, getting cut off this time.

"What's your name kid?" the man asked, frowning as he looked the young Magi over.

"Uh... My name?" Ethan asked, blinking as he pointed to himself, "Oh, sorry, completely forgot! My name is Ethan Campbell, nice to meet you sir!" That was rude of him, he really ought to have given his name before he said anything else. Extending a hand in greeting he smiled cheerfully, hoping now they could finally settle down and get this meal going.

Hm, so this was him then? Rather unimpressive for a Magi, especially one that managed to knock out four armed men. Shame, the boy might have been able to live if he hadn't done something as stupid as use magic in the middle of a town. Looking at the boy's hand he sniffed a bit, tucking his own away in the pockets of his coat as he lifted his head up slightly in defiance. "Sorry Ethan, but orders are orders." Ignoring the puzzled look on the boy's face, the man's eyes glowed with a dulled bronze hue, and as they did so two spouts of water burst up from either side of the bridge, twisting and turning as they seemed to direct themselves directly at Ethan, shooting forward like a geyser.

Crap! This guy was a Magi too? Startled by the sudden attack Ethan quickly flipped back away from the spout, jumping back again as he avoided the second one, staring at the man in shock as water rained down around them. "Hey, what's that for? I haven't done anything wrong by you!" he shouted, "You must have the wrong person, I've done nothing wrong!" What was that noise? It sounded like a waterfall crashing, but there was no waterfall here. Turning his head his eyes widened seeing another large spout shooting up at him, this one coming horizontally across the surface of the bridge. Not thinking he could dodge it in time he pulled his sword free, the blade flipping open and promptly glowing, a slightly green hue dancing around the blade. With a concentrated effort he swung forward hard, sending a slash of air along that sliced the spout in two, sending buckets upon buckets of water spilling every which way, some barely catching him and making him stumble. Spitting out a bit he looked back at the man again, gasping as he ducked under a large arm, rolling to the side to avoid getting grabbed by him as well. "I said cut it out, I don't want to fight you!"

"That's not for you to decide, or either of us for that matter," the man remarked, frowning as he held out a hand to Ethan and formed several shards of ice from the water, shooting one at a time at him. The boy was fast, even without his magic it seemed, as each of his strikes narrowly missed and found themselves embedded in the ground. "As I said, orders are orders, and you're to be eliminated."

[Mogtaki]

Cecil really didn’t know as much about the living world as he thought he might need to know so this whole question and answer session was helping him some. He never heard of Saints before, but it certainly seemed like common knowledge among the people here. Maybe he was going to have the chance to use it in a conversation one day, but maybe those kinds of discussions should be kept low until he worked his way around a sentence to find out whether they believed in such a thing too. People were so strange, but maybe one day he’ll understand them. Right now, the focus appeared to be on the river and getting food from it, even if that appeared to be an impossible concept to him they probably knew what to do in such a situation.

Taking a bit of a backseat he moved well away from them, staring at them as they got close to the water. He didn’t want to go near that just in case something nasty jumped out and went for him, finding that to be the most logical conclusion rushing water and possible animals had in his mind. They would know what to do more than he did, so it was always best to keep out of the way. Frowning at the measurement of time it would take to complete this he forced a smile, giving them a wave. “Okay! An hour maybe!” That should be fine, it wasn’t like he was in a hurry to get anywhere not to mention they had to refuel. Staring at Ethan he let out a gasp as he was given a request, this time for ‘firewood’. “Oh, uhh…firewood…” He wasn’t really sure himself what it was, but definitely something to do with fire by the sounds of it.

While he was all confused to what firewood looked like he only looked around for a short time before turning and watching the pair down by the river. Ethan was wadding into the water all trying to catch something while Amuné was looking like she wanted to copy him. This all looked strangely dangerous to him, especially when it was water they were going in. They didn’t know what was under there and yet they were freely moving around in it and looking happy to search for food. Good thing he didn’t need food otherwise he’d be doing all sorts of crazy things like that, but then again he did wonder what the pleasure they got from eating was like. It must’ve been a good feeling if they were willing to take risky measures to get food, leaving him something else he wasn’t entirely going to understand.

Watching Ethan from afar, Cecil stared as he witnessed Ethan fail to stay in the water long enough for something to be caught, resulting in him flailing to the shore again in a panic. That was a strange sight to behold, especially when he had been so confident before. Slowly sitting down, Cecil watched Ethan curiously as he appeared to have a change of plans, creating what appeared to be a weapon of some sort from a stick. Living beings sure did change their mind quickly, especially now that he had gone from the river to some shrubs. Watching in interest, seeing Ethan use the spear and come out with a dead animal managed to surprise him.

These people were really starting to surprise him. He had never seen someone hunt and kill another creature before as something inside him was telling him it was okay to kill. These people did it so he could too, maybe he could even make his own weapon like that and kill animals for them to feast on. He might be good at that, but that was so long as he wasn’t missing a particular skill too from the mix. Standing up in excitement he smiled happily to himself before Ethan once again asked him for that ‘firewood’, his eyes going to Amuné to see what she might be going to get. Slowly standing up to see what might be retrieved he wandered over to the shrubs, waiting for some sort of prompt that she might pick the ‘firewood’ they were needing so he could tell what he needed to do.

Finding it rather confusing he turned to look to Ethan, his eyes going to the man who appeared to be coming their way from across the bridge. Frowning, he didn’t know if it was wise to go and talk to the man, seeing how they were supposed to be hiding away from the majority of people. While the first few people they had met were friendly enough, this guy didn’t appear terribly friendly while carrying an energy about him that made him feel particularly nervous. He didn’t know why, but he certainly had conflicting feelings going on.

Watching from afar, Cecil looked between Amuné and Ethan, wondering what his job should be and whether he should be over there greeting this man too. The air about the man felt rather threatening and was giving him warning signals as someone he should avoid. With the man not showing much of a response, he frowned as he stared at the pair, hearing the man finally speak up before suddenly water immediately shot up from the river and targeted Ethan.

This was bad, it seemed this guy knew how to use that strange magic too but on a more advanced level. He could feel the magical energy from this guy now that he had shown it off and it was definitely dangerous. This was exactly the type of people they were trying to avoid, or at least the ‘aggressive’ architype of people. Immediately, Cecil was heading back to Ethan and the man, watching as Ethan tried to fight off the water with his weapon but ultimately stumbling, placing himself in a vulnerable position. Watching as the man decided to attack with a much more dangerous form of water Cecil was quick to literally jump in, managing to spring a fair height before dropping down in front of Ethan, throwing his fists at the shards of ice. The ice shattered against his metal when it struck, his large arms acting as a shield fairly well with hope that Ethan might have a chance to recollect himself. “Your presence is not welcomed here! I will exterminate you if you do not leave!”

[shylarah]

Riverside

Amuné sighed in relief. Ethan was okay. He was okay, and she'd be okay. She scrunched up her nose when he tapped it, surprising a small giggle out of her, but her heart was still pounding from the mess. She settled with Wyth as the man started sharpening a stick and headed off to hunt, her gaze drifting to Cecil. He really was strange. Did he really not need to eat? And only a few months old, how was that even possible? She kept changing her opinion on him, and couldn't get her thoughts to settle on the subject.

Wyth rubbed his head against her hand as she pet him. The moorcat had no such concern. His girl was okay, there was no danger, and everything was fine. The warm sun felt nice, and he enjoyed his girl's attention. "You could use a brushing," she told him as fur came off on her fingers. "You're shedding."

Ethan returned with a water mouse, and Amuné eagerly went to gather firewood while Wyth stayed behind. Since Cecil didn't know that they needed small pieces as well as big for a fire, she showed him the different types, and had gathered an armful by the time Ethan called that he was going to say hi. Her gaze moved to where he was heading, and she paled. The man was scary, and --

She gasped as a vision hit her, her eyes flickering. Ethan, battered and beaten. Ethan drowned. Ethan dead and Cecil in pieces, and the scary man turning to look at her, and giving her a frown. No, no, no! She didn't realize that she was saying that out loud, a string of quiet "no"s as her face went pale. The armful of firewood fell from her grasp, and she staggered a bit as weariness washed over her. "Ethan!" she shrieked, just as the young man gave the same name to the stranger. "No, get away from him!" She leaped over the pile of wood, forcing herself to move despite feeling weak because of her magic, heading for the bridge. "Wyth, come!" she called, moving as fast as her legs could take her towards Ethan. And then the water moved by the strange Magi's magic, and all she could think was why was a Magi attacking, that wasn't right, the blessings of the saints wasn't for hurting people! It was only for helping.

Cecil got there before she did, leaping very high to do so. He was more than human with his lifting both Ethan and herself earlier, and now his amazing jump, but the bad man was using water. If he got hit, he'd rust. And if Ethan was hit...she didn't know. Amuné was sure it would hurt. "Wyth! Defend!" she cried, pointing at Ethan. The moorcat surged ahead of her, and planted himself between the two Magi, snarling. If the stranger attacked again, he would find a very fast and very agile feline coming at him.

[Vena Sera]

"Why are you attacking me?! Stop this!" They had never even seen this man before, what was it he was after? Ethan hadn't ever hurt anything save for the animals he hunted, and Saints knows he wasn't being attacked for that. So what gives? And what was this about orders? If he had a moment's rest he might have a second to ask what was going on, but as it stood he hardly had enough time to dodge attacks, let alone think or talk. After managing to evade three blasts of water he found himself now on the receiving end of ice shards, narrowly avoiding getting skewered by the first few simply by running away. The last couple however were on target, and Ethan fully expected to be struck down by them. However, the sound of metal being scraped against and the sudden appearance of Cecil were his saving grace, and now he finally had a chance to catch his breath. In the midst of all the fray too it seemed like Wyth had somehow gotten into the middle of things, and Ethan's heart sank now knowing that both the moorcat and Amuné as well as Cecil were all in danger. He wanted to tell them all to just run, but if he hadn't had the Machina to help he'd have several holes in him right about now.

What was all this then? A rogue Machina, a small moorcat and a little girl as well? This wasn't part of his job, he was supposed to kill Ethan and Ethan alone. "What is this? None of you are my target," the man spoke, slightly annoyed that someone was interfering. "By getting in my way you're associating with this man, you do understand that right? You'll be punished if you continue this way." The moorcat snarled at him viciously at that, and the Machina was even foolish enough to threaten him. Letting out a soft sigh he reached into his jacket, pulling out a single cigar and lighter, igniting the tip before placing it between his teeth. "Fine... I'm sorry I have to do this, but orders are orders..." That he should have to kill a small girl and an animal today, this had turned into a rather sour job. Taking a puff of his cigar he blew out a ring of smoke, and as if on cue another two water spouts rose up from either side of the bridge again. "Sorry, you'll have to die now."

Ethan couldn't believe it, this man was going to attack them? Really? If he was the target then he should be the only one in danger here, not the others. Looking back at Amuné, then at Cecil and Wyth he gritted his teeth, wondering what his chances were of leading the man away from them. He was fast, but this man seemed powerful, could he get away? "I want you three to run, hear me...? When I start, run across the bridge and keep going..." He wouldn't know unless he tried, but he had to at least give it a shot for their sake. Eyes shifting between the two spouts he waited until the first came down at them, promptly imbuing his sword with magic again and making a thrusting motion, sending a spiral of wind at it and managing to tear the spout apart, panting a little from exertion after that. With only one spout left he then channeled magic again, his feet illuminating slightly before he dashed ahead, darting past the man and taking a swipe at him with his sword which missed by a fair bit. It worked though, as when he glanced back over his shoulder he saw the spout coming for him, dodging to the right to avoid it. However it didn't look like the man was taking the bait, instead turning on the others. "Don't hurt them!" he shouted, running back at the Magi.

"I'll make it quick, at least then you won't have to suffer," the man mumbled, frowning as he raised an arm in Amuné's direction. Might as well kill the child first, she wouldn't want to witness what was bound to happen. Behind him he could hear Ethan's footsteps drawing ever nearer, and he knew the boy was no doubt going to try attacking again to stop him. Raising a pillar of water he turned abruptly and threw his arm to the side, catching Ethan off guard and knocking him into the side of the bridge, clanging against the supports before falling to the ground in a wet heap. Seeing him trying to still get up after that the man frowned, bringing the water up around Ethan and attempting to form a bubble, having the intent of drowning the boy inside of it. Thanks to Wyth being nearby and attacking however he was spared that fate, the man having to back off to avoid being bitten.

"Wyth... Stop, I said run...!" Ethan said, coughing as he spit up a decent bit of water. This man was too strong for them, he was casting spells left and right and hardly seemed to be fazed whatsoever by it. Just what had they done to get someone like this sent after them? Eyes widening seeing the man trying to attack Wyth, Ethan used what little magic he had left to dash forward, tackling the larger man to the ground and using the flat of his sword to try pinning him, looking at the rest of the group worriedly, "Run!" Crap, this man was strong too, he could barely hold him back as he pushed against the sword. Wrestling to keep his grip on it, Ethan's eyes widened when he saw water rise up again, having to yank his sword free and roll away as water came crashing down on top of the man, covering a decent portion of the bridge in liquid as it pooled up and slowly began to run off. This was insane... How were Magi this powerful?

Now that was annoying, he'd had to put out his last cigar because of Ethan. It was saturated now and probably wouldn't light again, meaning he had nothing left until he got back. On top of that his clothes were soaked, it would take easily an hour or so for them to dry out in the sun. Standing back up after being deluged, the old man wiped at his face, annoyed that these children were being so bothersome. "It'll be easier if you just lie down and accept your fate, you're not leaving here alive," he said plainly, raising two water spouts this time on each side of the bridge, "You're too risky to be allowed to live, it's nothing personal."

[shylarah]

Riverside

Amuné cringed as the stranger lifted his hand again, preparing to leap out of the way. Why did he want to kill Ethan? He was a Magi like they were! He shouldn't be one of the bad guys. It didn't make any sense. But Ethan came at the man from behind, and the water ended up directed at him instead of the child. He was hit, and then he was being drowned, but Wyth, obeying the command of his girl, leapt at the stranger, trying to sink his teeth into the man's back. The man dodged, but Wyth circled, looking for an opening. The cat was focused on the person threatening his assigned charge, and when attacked, dodged neatly aside, avoiding the water without difficulty. Still, he wasn't able to get close, because the man's defense was too good. Still, Ethan was able to tackle the Magi from behind and knock him over. Wyth saw the water coming yet again, and both he and Ethan moved away, the moorcat snarling.

Amuné watched the fight. She was terrified, but she wasn't going to leave without Ethan. But this Magi -- he didn't seem tired at all, even though he'd done so much magic. Too powerful, she thought. He's just too powerful. We need to get away -- all of us. "I'm not leaving without you Ethan!" she called, her voice unsteady. But how could they escape? Her mind presented the image of last time, when they'd ran from the town after Ethan flung the men into the wall. "Cecil! Can you get Ethan?" she asked, hoping this would work. "Wyth! Come!" The moorcat's ears swivelled towards his girl, and he came, landing at her side. His fur was damp and he had the distinct odor of wet animal, but Amuné didn't care. She grabbed hold of the thick fur at the base of his neck and jumped up. Knowing what this meant, Wyth lowered himself enough that she could swing herself on his back. He wouldn't be able to do this much longer, as she would soon grow too big for him to carry, but for now it still could be done. "Take Ethan and run, Cecil! We'll go ahead." And with a whispered word in his ear, the moorcat started forward, heading straight for the attacking Magi, his girl crouched low on his back as she might ride a pony. She was reaching deep within herself, trying to tease her magic loose to where she could grasp it. The man sent a waterspout at them, followed by frozen shards. Wyth dodged the waterspout, but when the projectiles shattered against the stone of the bridge, some of the pieces hit the pair. Wyth's thick fur absorbed most of the damage, but blood welled up on Amuné's shoulder where one of the shards sliced her. They reached the man, but instead of attacking, Wyth planted his paws and leaped, passing right over him, and continuing on across the bridge.

[Mogtaki]

Cecil was ready to take on this guy and whatever he had to offer, not seeing anything he was doing as threatening. He didn’t want Ethan to get injured and was prepared to take the hits himself if he had to, seeing how he wasn’t made from flesh. He didn’t know how well he’d do with water but he wasn’t going to care when he was as durable as he was. He didn’t know how strong he was, he had never fought against someone but he still felt there was some underlying instinct in his Machina body that was urging him to fight. It was probably an instinct he shouldn’t have, given he was a machine, but he couldn’t let these people get hurt.

Managing to hold his own against the ice he looked up to the man again, not feeling any threat whatsoever in his words. He didn’t care when he had no actual meaning to his existence yet and if he was comfortable fighting then that’s what he was going to draw his purpose from. Staring at the man with a sharp gaze he watched as he began to attack once more, moving when Ethan moved into attack mode. He wasn’t going to get in anybody’s way except the man’s and was careful with where he took his steps just in case he stumbled over someone. Keeping his arms up he had to guard when more water was being thrown at them, but with a swift move Ethan managed to get around the man and almost slice him up well and good.

Everything was moving so fast, he wasn’t finding any sort of opening to do anything while his only instinct right now was to kill. He knew what he could do, but the others were too close to him. Looking between them all he gasped when Ethan was grabbed in water only for the animal to dislodge him from that water ball, his eyes going to Ethan when he still insisted on giving them orders. He wasn’t going to run, that was a bad idea for him. He had about enough and with the girl now fleeing on the animal and barking orders at him. He had to put an end to this and he knew exactly how to.

Watching Ethan dodge yet another attack he backed off when the water came crashing down, watching as it instead hit the man. He was going to have to get Ethan out of there somehow, but without him moving he wouldn’t be able to give them a clear route and a fair chance. As the man spoke he glanced up momentarily before running around him as he raised the water up once again, stopping at Ethan and grabbing hold of him. “I’m sorry if I hurt you”. Without a moment to lose Cecil threw Ethan into the air with a fair force of strength, getting him to fly high as he turned around himself. He didn’t have much energy for this, but he had to save them all.

Waiting only a second for Wyth and Amuné to get off the bridge he raised his hands. Very quickly his hands started to glow with a strange energy, but as soon as the energy showed itself electricity forced its way out of his hands and conducted everything that had been soaked by the water. The bridge practically lit up from the energy for just a quick moment and conducted the man as well, but before he got too carried away he ceased his attack and jumped up to Ethan before he could fall, grabbing hold of him before running after Wyth and Amuné.

[Vena Sera]

There was absolutely no way they were going to beat this man, that was just fact. Ethan wanted the others to runaway because of that, he'd manage to find a way out of here, yet none of them looked willing to do it. It was a little frustrating, there was no way he could live with himself if anything happened to his friends. He had even tried to tackle the man and give the others a chance to flee, yet he'd been made to move when a deluge of water came crashing down, nearly knocking him off his feet from the sheer weight of the water. So much magic had been cast by this man and somehow he was doing even more, bringing up four spouts of water this time. He could hardly pull off one wind tunnel, or three short bursts of air attacks, and here this man was throwing gallons upon gallons of water about like it was nothing. Smiling tiredly he shook some water from his sword, getting ready to fend off any more attacks that might come their way. He might be able to squeeze out just one more attack but that'd be it, so he'd have to find a way to make this man unable to attack any longer, maybe he could knock him out?

To Ethan's astonishment Amuné and Wyth bolted past him just then, heading directly for the man who'd been attacking them. Fearing they were going to strike he tried to give chase, nowhere near as fast as a moorcat however, certainly not as tired as he was. It was terrifying really to see the young girl and her pet be attacked, yet thankfully they evaded the worst of the damage, dodging both the water spout and the shards thrown their way. In one great leap they managed to get over their enemy, and were well on their way down to the other side of the bridge. Fearing the man might give pursuit he went to charge in once more for an attack, instead gasping when Cecil grabbed him by the shirt. "Wait, what are- AIIIIIIIIE!" He'd not expected to get grabbed, and he DEFINITELY didn't expect to get launched up into the air. Flailing helplessly as he was tossed he tried to muster up enough magic to catch himself, unable to do so even as he continued to soar up in the air.

Just what were these kids playing at? First the girl ran past him, now Ethan was being thrown into the air by that machine. If his conscience wasn't making this so hard, having to kill children, he'd have been done with this job already. The girl would have to be caught a little later, for now Ethan and the Machina were his targets. Frowning as he looked up at the boy in the air he prepared to direct a spout at Cecil, eyes widening however upon seeing his hands begin to glow. It could use magic?! Bringing a spout down to use as a potential shield, the man couldn't possibly have been prepared for the sudden electrical shock that enveloped the still drenched bridge. Clenching his teeth as electricity ran through his body he tried to remain firm, falling to his knees and hands as his body convulsed from the shocking. Trying to sum up the strength to attack back he found his muscles unable to comply, the spouts of water crashing back down as he lost control of his magic. Watching then as Ethan was caught he could do nothing even as they took off, his entire body numb from the blast of electricity. "D-D-Damn you!" he shouted, fighting to get back to his feet and nearly falling for it.

Ethan had no idea what Cecil had done really, having been a bit too busy flailing and trying not to become a pancake to notice. Whatever had happened though seemed to do the trick, and even as they left the bridge and started back on the road the man was still down on the ground. He hadn't been killed though, as the shout was evidence enough, for which he was grateful to Cecil. "Wow... We actually got away..." he mumbled, smiling before laughing to himself, "Man I feel stupid for trying to do that alone, sorry..." If he had known Cecil had a means to end the fight so quickly then he'd have let his friend do so, instead of trying to play martyr. Leaning against the Machina as he was carried, Ethan closed his eyes and gave Cecil a pat on the back out of appreciation, letting out a long sigh as he did so. "You did good... And thank you for not killing him. I guess we should be more careful from now on." Or rather he should be more careful, seeing as this was all his doing. Opening his eyes back up he looked ahead, relieved to see both Amuné and Wyth ahead of them, largely unharmed even after that spectacular fight on the man's part. "Thank goodness... Everyone is okay."

[shylarah]

Past the Bridge

Cecil could use magic? And wasn't lightning unusual? Maybe it was related to wind or water, because it came in storms? Amuné was impressed and confused. How did a machine get the blessing of a Saint? She wouldn't have thought such a thing possible, and she'd not sensed the attack, neither the smooth rush of Saint Genrei's blessing, nor the breezy feel of Saint Kedo's. She put it from her mind for now, too tired to worry about it at the moment.

The girl gave Ethan a weary smile. "Glad you're okay..." she mumbled, still all but lying on Wyth's back as he padded along. The bad Magi hadn't sent any more attacks her way after they'd passed him, but deliberately tapping into her magic made her so very tired. Still, she'd been successful, and that was a good thing. Her father had said that practice made it easier to use magic, but she'd never had reason to use her Sight deliberately before. She'd thought the village was a safe place. Out here, though, she had no idea what to expect. Her magic would be useful, if she could learn to use it. But...could she trust Ethan enough to tell him, and ask him to teach her? She certainly wasn't sufficiently sure of Cecil yet, and besides the Machina seemed unsure of so many things. He didn't even know how to build a fire, so she doubted he knew much about magic.

"And you do need to be more careful, Ethan," she added, frowning slightly. Amuné was tired enough that she wasn't censoring her words as carefully for the moment. "There's bad people who will hurt you if they know what you are....Can't just trust anyone." Really, the caution was partially for herself instead of for Ethan alone. It was sad to hear a child say something like that, though.

[Mogtaki]

Cecil thought he had done good, even if he threw Ethan up like that to try and keep him out of danger. It was important that he didn’t get hit by that, even if he didn’t fully know what it was. All he knew was he had that function and if he didn’t do it he would be endangering Ethan; however, the whole process and how much he had to discharge really took a lot out of him. He didn’t know how to control it yet, he hadn’t needed to do it before. Carrying Ethan away as he made a quick look back he nodded in acceptance of Ethan’s appreciation. “I didn’t want to because-…because he is not the source of the problem”.

He recognised the man was following someone else’s orders by how he spoke and acted, knowing he was probably not the man who decided to do this hunt. Running as fast as he was able to manage at this particular time he was soon catching up with Wyth and Amuné, not even having the desire to look back just in-case the man was coming right for them. He didn’t know where exactly they were running to and even though he could probably check his databases for the map he really didn’t have the concentration. The attack had taken a lot of his energy and he had been running on economical for a while, making this running business pull his energy into dangerous levels.

Struggling internally to keep this up he continued on after Amuné and Wyth, he kept on a brave face as she told Ethan off for his stunt which not only cost them the food they were going to have but also nearly got him killed. Looking back momentarily to see how far they were now he saw they were a fair distance away from the bridge, hopefully far enough away from that man to keep him off their trail; but then again, he would probably recover soon and figure they were going to the next town as well. “We should find somewhere to go, or that town quickly”, he spoke, his eyes focusing on the path ahead, “I don’t know how l-long he’ll be stunned…I-I also d-don’t know…how much energy I’ve g-got left. I-I need fuel…I need s-somewhere to stop…”

[Vena Sera]

That had been a close encounter, but somehow they'd managed to make it out of there without anyone being seriously hurt. Ethan almost wanted to laugh over the whole ordeal, feeling foolish for trying to do it alone and relieved that everyone had gotten away. Even the man attacking them was alive, a welcome sight given that Cecil had proposed killing anyone who might attack them just earlier in the day. "Good way of seeing it, Cecil... But still, thank you. I really appreciate it." Nothing worse than unnecessary loss of life, even if they were fighting with someone. You could win a battle without having to take someone's life away, and a small part of him hoped that maybe, after losing, that man wouldn't come for them again. It was probably wishful thinking, but perhaps by showing they didn't desire to kill him, and they weren't bad people, he wouldn't bother attacking again.

It was odd to see Amuné so tired as well, though he was positive she'd not used any magic during that fight. In fact, he hadn't seen her use any magic since they met. Was she even a Magi? It didn't much matter to Ethan whether she was or not, he just simply wasn't sure one way or another on the matter. "Glad you're okay too, Amuné..." he answered back, smiling as he flashed her a thumbs up and smile. She'd even been attacked and yet got out safe, save for the one small scratch she had on her arm from the ice shards. That would be easy enough to fix, and there should be a healer in the next town who could patch her right up. Looking back to the young girl as she spoke something struck Ethan as unusual, and it wasn't that an 8 year old was lecturing him. She was telling him to be more careful, obviously in reference to the man who had attacked them, but then this wasn't the first time she'd said that was it?

"Hey... Earlier, you were yelling at me to get away... Why?" Did she just have a bad feeling about that man? Sure, he wasn't the friendliest looking of sorts, yet he couldn't just ignore someone because they didn't come across as the nicest of folks. Sometimes you could get a pleasant surprise, goodness knows he'd met some people on his trip that he'd been happy to find were great company. Before he could get a response out of Amuné, Cecil started to speak up about being low on energy, or getting tired. Hard to say with a Machina, but it just sounded like he was getting exhausted. Nodding to himself Ethan gave his friend a pat on the shoulder, smiling as he pointed up ahead, "The town should be just up over that hill... I think. Just stop at the base of it, then I'll carry you for a change, alright?" He was getting carried an awful lot by Cecil it seemed, it was only fair he give the other boy a chance to take a load off. It wasn't like a Machina was going to be all that heavy anyways, right?

[shylarah]

On the Road

Amuné bit her lip and looked away. She wasn't ready to share that particular bit of information. The girl was too frightened of what might happen if she did, especially after another Magi had tried to kill them. She'd thought all Magi were good people. Why would a Saint bless a bad person, after all. But now she wasn't so sure, and she worried that Ethan might be like the villagers of her home town and turn on her. She was saved having to answer by Cecil. It seemed that had been magic, for the Machina was tired, just like other Magi after casting. She hoped they could find whatever he took as fuel. Coal, maybe?

But Ethan looked her way again, probably picking up the earlier line of conversation, and the child fumbled for an answer. "I-I just...he...he was bad," she stammered. The half-truth, half-dodge sounded lame even to her own ears, and she winced internally, hoping the Ydra wouldn't notice. She pressed her lips together, determined not to say any more about it no matter how he might try to get an answer. She didn't want to be left on her own again. She liked Ethan, and Cecil, and having people around. Two weeks alone had been terrible, and she'd never been so lonely in her life. For that matter, she hoped that Cecil would be okay. Did machines sleep? Would sleep make him better? He didn't eat, because he'd not had any breakfast. Or maybe he did, but like Wyth, where he didn't need to every day. And on the subject of getting better, she lifted a heavy hand to check her shoulder, wincing when she touched the sore area around the cut, but while it was bleeding, it was mostly superficial. If she could get it cleaned out, it wouldn't even scar, though a bandage wouldn't hurt.

[Mogtaki]

Cecil was trying hard to keep going but his energy levels were being pushed pretty hard, especially after trying to defend his friends. They would’ve been in big trouble if he didn’t do that, there would’ve been no way to get Ethan out of there without great injury. He didn’t care that it was draining and made things worse for him, all that mattered was he got them to safety. Trying to throw in his own word to say how he was feeling he didn’t get much feedback, probably because they didn’t know much about how his body. His internal battery running low was a very risky problem that might end with him collapsing and running like this was still draining. He hadn’t been able to find proper fuel for a long time and had been having to burn up organic materials, but that cost fuel as well just to process it. What he really needed was fuel specifically for Machina to get the full effect and hopefully this town had some.

Looking down at Ethan as he gave him his reassurances he looked up ahead, seeing the hill up ahead. All he had to do was get there and that was it, he could put Ethan down and not have to deal with the uphill struggle either. He was struggling already and didn’t need to have the hill being a problem too. Upping his speed some more to try and get there faster it felt like his head was getting heavier to start with his feet failing on a couple of steps every so often. He was trying hard to keep going but thankfully the hill was coming up quick, his salvation almost in sight. He was trying hard to keep going, the longer he continued was starting to feel worse, but he wasn’t about to drop Ethan and fall on top of him.

As the hill came a whole lot closer the distance was completely overestimated in Cecil’s head, his body slowing down in even his mind as his energy gradually died down. When the ground started to become uneven it was then when Cecil really slowed down, coming to a gradual halt before slowly dropping Ethan’s legs so he could stand, letting him go before slowly backing away. He was looking rather tired while his eyes weren’t looking as bright as they used to be, his joints twitching with his movements. “I-I-I c-can’t keep-…I need energy. E-Error: can’t open t-tools…” Another way would be to find somewhere to shut down for a while to gather solar energy, but that would take a day and they didn’t have time for that. Dragging his feet along he simply wanted to get up the hill, his arms looking close to dragging.

[Vena Sera]

Hm, it didn't seem like Amuné was really wanting to answer that question, which was odd. Ethan couldn't imagine why she wouldn't, it wasn't as if it was especially personal or anything. It was fine though, if she kept quiet on the matter then that was her choice. "Well... Yeah, I guess he was bad since he attacked us..." he mumbled, still not getting quite why the girl had called that out beforehand. Maybe it was just how the man looked, for all he knew it triggered something in the little girl and it was just natural to be afraid. It didn't much matter now, they were a ways away from the enemy and ought not to run into him again, so long as they were careful anyways.

Between Wyth carrying Amuné and Cecil carrying Ethan, the group had made quite good distance in a short amount of time. With a hill just up ahead in the road one could see a bit of smoke coming up over the horizon, a sure sign of a fire burning away. Given what the map had said Ethan figured it had to be the town beyond the river, which hopefully meant a safe place to rest and get the others what they needed. There was a slight issue in their getting to the town however, as it seemed like Cecil might not be able to make it. Noticeably slowing down, Ethan opted to be let down and walk under his own power, hardly wishing to be a burden to his friend any longer. His own body was a bit sore from being battered by water, but other than that he was perfectly alright and capable of moving himself. But what about Cecil?

"Energy...? Uh... Well we have that..." Did they? What did a Machina use for energy anyways? Ethan vaguely recalled oil, but he was pretty sure that was used to loosen up joints, not for energy. If this town had something for Cecil to use then all the more reason to hurry up and get there; with the robo-boy looking a bit drained they might not be able to get there in time, if he was to walk. "Here, I got you, hang on," Ethan said with a smile, trying to ease Cecil up onto his back. For the most part the other boy wasn't terribly heavy, but there was definitely a notable heft to his gauntlets, making the Magi lean forward awkwardly as he tried to keep balanced. Once he had Cecil comfortably held he started up the hill, relieved it wasn't all that steep nor lengthy.

As they crested the top of the hill, Ethan was ecstatic to find they had indeed found the next town. Just down the other side and a few hundred meters away sat the village of Galloway, assuming that was the right one. It was a nice enough looking place, certainly bigger than most other towns this far out west. Even from here he could see all the buildings were made out of cut stone, standing out a fair bit against all the grasslands and plots of farmland that dotted the landscape. Carts were coming to and from the village even as they approached, with a few roads branching off every which way out of the town. A few strange glances were sent their way upon arriving at the town limits, but no one gave them any trouble, and it seemed like a friendly enough place. Now, hopefully they could find someone who might know something about Cecil's energy problem, and someone to patch up Amuné. "How bad is your shoulder, by the way?" Ethan asked, glancing over with a small smile, "I might have something for it, at least until we find some bandages."

[shylarah]

Outside of Galloway

Amuné looked wide-eyed at Cecil as he all but stopped moving, twitching and saying odd things. "Will he be okay?" she asked, worried. He was strange, but she thought he wasn't a bad person. He could have killed the strange Magi but he hadn't, after all. She was distracted from her concern by the sight of the next town. She remembered the map had said it was Galley...Galway...something like that. "Can we have lunch now? Please? I mean, after we help Cecil," she added hastily as she looked back at the other two.

Wyth's ears were forward, and he was watching the various people, animals, and carts. So much to see, so many smells. He'd been to towns before, and he recalled there being rats and other smallish things to chase -- as well as structures with food on display, though his girl and his man both told him not to take from them. But they would exchange with another person, and sometimes then he'd be given a treat.

The child turned her head again at Ethan's question. "It hurts!" she told him, making a pained expression. "But...I think it's not too bad? Um...Mommy says things like this need...uh...rinsing and a bandage, I think?" She screwed up her face in thought. "That should be right. Um, and ointment, but I don't have any. That helps it get better quick, and keep the bad things out."

[Vena Sera]

"Cecil? Oh uh... Yeah, he's fine! He's just... Tired!" Ethan replied, smiling uncertainly as he carried the Machina along, "Turns out machines can get tired too, who knew? We just need to help him rest, then he'll be back to normal!" By rest he meant recharged, or given more energy, however the heck that worked. His knowledge of how Machina operated was next to zero, so helping out of their friend was going to fall to someone else's expertise. Now that they had reached Galloway, a fairly busy looking town, they should be perfectly capable of locating someone to give them a hand. That would mean asking around, something Ethan didn't have a lot of luck in the past with; given that this place was so busy, however, he was willing to wager there was at least one soul here who might lend a hand. "We'll get food too, and some new clothes for you. Don't you worry, I haven't forgotten."

Galloway was far busier than what he was used to, even with the small town vibe to it. Ethan had never seen so many people in one place before, it struck him as both odd and exciting to witness such a thing. So many vendors, so many people from all walks of life: if he wasn't here on essentially work then he'd explore a little, but that could wait. First order of business was finding help for Cecil, and once that was taken care of he needed to see to Amuné as well, and maybe even Wyth if the moorcat needed anything. Speaking of... How was her wound? It seemed fairly superficial, but it never hurt to check in, maybe there was more to it than he could see. Thankfully from what Amuné said it seemed like just a surface wound, which after a cleansing and some bandages should be perfectly fine.

"Okay then, so we'll get you patched up, then eat. After we help Cecil that is." They needed to be careful about how they asked though, given how uneasy people were about Cecil before. Machina were apparently not meant to look as lifelike as their friend did, so if they went around saying he was one then it might cause a fuss. Best to keep it vague then, Ethan reasoned, and only once they found someone to help would they reveal everything. There was certainly no shortage of people around to ask, yet again he should be selective with who they approached; if word got around that they were asking about Machina then someone might get suspicious, and goodness knows they didn't need more men in suits coming for them.

The first person Ethan decided to approach was a traveling merchant selling what he could only assume to be were Machina parts; fixings, parts, upgrades, he had a wide variety of assorted goods for anyone who owned a machine. However when asked about them in general the man could only shrug, explaining he just sold the wares and wasn't familiar with Machina. Their next bet was a blacksmith, a man who looked to be refurbishing some kind of strange, box-shaped machine. Questioning the old smith about their quarry didn't yield any results either, and nor did their questioning of someone who was even walking with a Machina dressed like a servant. Maybe just asking about randomly was their best course of action, especially if everyone Ethan thought might have some idea was completely clueless.

"I don't get it, someone should know something..." the Magi mumbled, pausing on the side of one of the busy streets. All around them people were hurrying around, the sounds of peddlers shouting and children laughing and screaming carrying well over everything. Being surrounded by so many people and so much noise made thinking a little tricky, as Ethan found out, furrowing his brow as he tried drowning out the sound. "So the smithy had no clue, and the man selling parts didn't either. Who else would know about Machina...?" Was there maybe a person here who worked with them exclusively? The man selling parts was just a vendor, and the blacksmith repaired them, neither was responsible for actually creating them. Maybe they should ask about people who built Machina then? "Huh... Amuné, figure there's a store for Machina?" Ethan asked, earnestly confused as he was unfamiliar with all of this, "Maybe if there's a place like that then we can find answers there?"

[Mogtaki]

Cecil really needed to find some way to recharge his battery if he was to continue on normally without becoming a burden to them, knowing that the man could recover at any time and be right on his way to try and find them. He didn’t know who the man was or what he was helping his friends from, but it was definitely a matter of urgency that he’d try out his own weaponry without killing the man. He wasn’t entirely sure what he did or how he did it, all he knew was he had been helpful and managed to get them out alive. Resting his body against Ethan he did try to make it easier on him by having his arms moving at an equilibrium as to not throw him completely off balance.

Cecil remained quiet in his powered down state as Ethan took him up the hill, his eyes only opening when they finally reached the top. He wanted to see what the place looked like, how the town was and whether there was anything that would make him want to remember this place. He still had energy to store information and when it was something like a town. He was fascinated by settlements, even if his last experience with one was largely negative. He didn’t hold it against them that he was like that, he didn’t mean to cause any harm. Staring over his Ethan’s shoulder he watched the people up ahead, wondering just why they decided to live up on a hill like this. Maybe they were afraid of what was down below and needed some way to view up high and see where everything was.

Now probably wasn’t a great time to be thinking, instead he had to be conserving energy and hoping thinking wasn’t going to end up having him completely drained. He was already having a hard time speaking so thinking wasn’t going to help whatsoever. While he didn’t know what they might do now, it was probably still worth having a look around and trying to see if there was any sign of someone who might be able to help him, someone who might know how to fix Machina who were drained. There was probably going to be the problem of someone else knowing he was a Machina. People didn’t appear very friendly concerning Machina, they seemed to get scared and retaliate with violence and threatening his life.

Keeping quiet whenever Ethan spoke to other people he only stared tiredly whenever they were questioned, frowning when the possibilities were only shattered when they denied any possible knowledge they might hold for Machina. It was all turning out to be full of dead ends, one after another. Feeling a little down he closed his eyes momentarily, hearing Ethan pull all sorts of questions out in their confusion before he decided to speak up. “If you c-c-can’t find a place, just-t-t go on without m-m-me”, he spoke, his speech stuttering with his weakening power cell, “You n-n-need to escape”.