Savayna's 'friendly' pat nearly made Emiri set off her next arrow. The woman was much stronger than she looked; no wonder she was general. Emiri nodded slightly in response to the compliment, though it was somewhat migrated by her follow up. Was she insinuating that she was useless? She couldn't help but glare at the back of Savayna's head as the general took out a Viper cleanly, nor did she want to admit that she was talented. The way she fough so easily, it was clear she had years of experience and training behind each swing of hers. While Emiri had trained with Nadeline when she was younger, she had to rely on her own instinct when she ran away from home. Her own style was probably unrefined compared to Savayna's. Hell, it was unrefined compared to Nadeline's, and she had more real-world experiences than the princess had. She relied on her bow for the moment, wanting to reserve her strength for the fight with the Esper. The Sumit Pass was before them, offering them a great many ways and directions to go to. The ice queen had taken to calling Emiri her less than amusing nickname, and it was at this point that Emiri felt her patience was strained. She looked at the general, clearly displeased. "[b]My name is Emiri, I would appreciate it if you'd address me as such.[/b]" She snapped, clearly annoyed. At the question of which way to go, she felt somewhat unsure. Concentrating once more, she tried to see if she could find the Esper. They were definitely getting closer, she could feel its Mist. And yet, the direction it came from was not offered from any of these paths. It actually seemed like...it was above. "[b]This way.[/b]" Emiri instructed, taking the left-most path. --------- Straight-forward as always; that much Nadeline had to admire Jaakuna for. Still, his answer satisfied her, and she gave him a nod of approval. Sometimes she wished she could think so simply, but that was the result of her upbringing, she supposed. "[b]You are absolutely right.[/b]" She said quietly, turning a page of her book. "[b]To prevent the abuse of said power...to save the people we care for. It sounds very heroic, doesn't it?[/b]" She said, chuckling slightly. "[b]Hmm...we would be quite the heroes, no? An interesting party...a sky pirate, a princess, a prince, an ex-general, and a runaway.[/b]" --------- Grant remained rather stoic as he was pulled out of his seat. He raised an eyebrow at each guard, as if their actions were odd and not downright shocking. He let out a small sigh, looking at Vincent. "[b]My failure?[/b]" He repeated his words, as if they had been in a completely foreign language. "[b]Hmm...no, I don't believe that.[/b]" He responded slowly, almost as if he was deciding what to order off a menu rather then the situation he was in. "[b]Last I checked, Lady Glacie was not under my command. Had it been my general, then by all means, I would be taking full responsibility. I admit when she and I first met, she was nothing like I had imagined her. I assumed she was a woman of her country who served her Emperor fullheartedly...obviously, I was wrong in that department, but you were the one that advised me to take her along, no? As for the Dawn and Dusk Shards, they had been placed in the Ark's laboratory, which if I recall correctly--do feel free to correct me, if not--was under the care of your scientists. When my associates got to the lab, they found each one of them sleeping on the job.[/b]" His expression was now a very odd, somewhat forgiving one. "[b]It must be frustrating, being unable to control your own forces...I wonder, did your brother 'charm' your general as well, Your Eminence?[/b]" He asked, a gleam in his eye. "[b]Is it my failure you are angry about? Or has your rage against being unable to control your general gotten to you? I admit myself surprised, I thought you better than that.[/b]" He sighed wistfully. "[b]Do what you must, though I plead that you remember your position. Sure, I can be considered a throwaway prince as the current Rozarrian Empress doesn't look like she is going anywhere for sometime. However, even you know how much siblings care for one another...then again, my life would be the perfect excuse for that war you and my sister are craving.[/b]" He smiled. "[b]What say you, Eminence?[/b]"