[i][h3]The Renata Household - Outside[/h3][/i]
While many took their time at Lady Renata's home to spend time to themselves, after being in such a large group for so long, the Sentinels made no such separation. They had spent so long together that they were well used to the presence of the others. To separate even for a break was rare, and so they ended up together outside. With Diane and Ayano sitting close to one of the fountains, the woman gently brushing the Princess' hair as she often did, the others stood nearby. While Alasa fired away at the same tree over and over again with his bow, Sampson indulged in a few treats that had been left at his bedside that morning, and Gortul sharpened his axe with a great amount of care.

The Prince was the last one to join up with the group, having done some exploring around the mansion himself beforehand. As Ayano jumped up to run over and directly greet him with a hug, the other Sentinels greeted them in their own ways; both Alasa and Diane with nods, while Sampson smiled and Gortul grinned. Giving Ayano a pat on the head, the Prince led the Princess back over to Diane even as she chattered away about the strange place they found themselves in.

In the moment he turned around after settling Ayano down the Prince realized that there was one more person in their midst. The Lady of Demons herself stood there, at the point to almost be an even distance from all of them. Once more she had simply appeared, with not a sign given beforehand, so suddenly it was like she had been there the entire time. The Prince startled slightly, and Alasa's arrow missed the grouping he was making in the tree.

[b]"Greetings Prince and Princess Serio, and the Sentinels. I trust you've been enjoying your stay so far?"[/b]

Along with various forms of affirmation from the others, Cyril replied with, [b]"Of course, Lady Renata. Thank you once again for allowing us to stay."[/b]

[b]"Of course, Prince Serio."[/b] In that moment Lady Renata brought both hands up, gesturing slowly and gently towards herself. [b]"All of you, come here so we can get to the point of the matter. I have gifts to give."[/b]

With only a brief moment of confusion did the group hesitate, before beginning to close around the Lady of Demons. In turn the Lady would face each of them, and when she presented their gifts she drew them from their own shadow, each one suddenly shifting around in turn to come close to Lady Renata as necessary.

[b]"To you, Alasa, I give seven arrows. Use them only with the intent to kill a member of the Manu Propria, or a threat of that caliber, otherwise you will be wasting them."[/b] The small black quiver that appeared in her hands was handed over, and upon receiving it Alasa drew one of the arrows to inspect it. The shaft was made of a dark wood, the fletch of feathers he couldn't quite identify, and the tip seemed to be made of silver; he nodded, accepting the gift as he placed the quiver on his back after replacing the arrow, setting it next to his other quiver.

[b]"Your shield please, Sampson."[/b] When she received the defensive piece of equipment Sampson's own shadow rose up, but rather than leaving an item she directly it to run over the shield instead. It encompassed it completely briefly, before falling back to Sampson; the shield remained, but now new deeply black lines were etched into it, seeming to eat at the light around them. The modified shield was handed back to its own as the Lady said, [b]"I have strengthened it for you. You are the closest the Sentinels have to a dedicated defender; it wouldn't do if your shield shattered under the first blow."[/b]

Even as Sampson thanked her, she was already looking to Gortul next. The shadows that curled into her hand left behind a black, somewhat rounded stone, one she held out to the much bigger man with both hands. [b]"You might recognize this as a whetstone. However, I would not use this every day; it will fade far more quickly than one you might already have. Use it only when you know you have a great battle approaching, and watch how it will affect your performance."[/b] Gortul began to clumsily thank the Lady, but already she was moving on.

To Diane she turned next, and a hint of deeper amusement creeped into her eyes and smile. [b]"You are a healer, yet you're more than prepared to defend yourself and those around you when necessary. Unfortunately, your tools aren't suited for such work."[/b] Her hand went out, and Diane's shadow stretched upwards into her hand, forming a long staff. It was simple, seeming to be made of a lightweight metal with the only decoration being the red jewel that was set into the end. This was handed over to the other woman even as the Lady said, [b]"This should be a little more durable, though even it will have a breaking point."[/b]

She then turned to Ayano, and her smile was quite gentle. [b]"If your fortune holds out, Princess Serio, you will never see battle. There is no need to give you anything for it, as I have given nearly everyone else. So, for you, I give you something I think you might be able to make use of."[/b] From shadow a small vial of clear crystal appeared in her hands, and within was a clear fluid. Carefully, she placed this into Ayano's hands, and from there guided the Princess so that she could properly explore the vial. [b]"This is a little experiment from long ago, in the replication of color. This liquid is prepared to become paint as soon as it is introduced to a color; simply place the vial against the object that has the color you desire to cause it to change. It will be able to change as many times as you like until you open the vial for the first time; then, it will become paint, and will remain whatever the last color you selected is. So, make sure you are pleased with the color you have picked."[/b]

Finally, she moved on, to the Prince himself. Once there she was silent for a moment, and then her eyebrow raised slightly as her smile once more returned to its smirking form, and she gave a slight shrug. [b]"Gift? For you, Prince Serio, I have nothing, because you need not one from me."[/b]

Briefly, the Prince's brow furrowed, before he tensed slightly; and then he nodded, calmly smiling. [b]"I understand, Lady Renata. Thank you for all that you've done so far."[/b]

Turning, the Lady of Demons nodded as she began to walk, both Alasa and Sampson stepping out of her way so that she could leave the group. [b]"Of course, Prince Serio. I'll speak to you later."[/b]

[hr]
[i][h3]The Renata Household - Deep in the Halls[/h3][/i]
It was one of the rare times Calypso found herself completely alone. Usually she was attached to someone else, typically Etsuko, and if not the Diviner in rare cases it was with someone like the Prince. In that moment, however, she found herself strangely alone. She hadn't seen anyone for almost a hour, in fact, even as she wandered through the hallways with no destination in mind.

She wouldn't call herself lost, but the hallways certainly didn't seem to be leading her anywhere. In fact, it had reached the point that she found herself in long stretches of hallway with nothing else; no doors and no windows, and even the decorations such as vases and paintings along with the lighting fixtures were rapidly becoming scarce. Steadily she was heading into unmapped territory of the mansion, for lack of a better term, and yet she proceeded on as if it were completely normal.

Before she could go too far, though, she heard something that brought her to a stop. Though the sound was something that, in a normal day, was completely normal, she was almost startled by hearing footsteps other than her own for quite a while. Slowly turning, she saw a light approaching through the darker than usual hallways, slowly but surely getting closer; as her eyes adjusted, she realized that it was the head butler of the mansion, Richard Leto, and the light came from the candelabrum he held in his left hand.

[b]"Ah, there you are, Ms. Calypso. You've been missing for a little longer than you might realize."[/b]

[b]"Really~? How long was that~?"[/b]

[b]"A few hours, at this point."[/b]

[b]"Oh my~ It certainly doesn't feel like that~"[/b]

[b]"Yes, the time of flow is strange here for those who aren't used to it, and those who aren't aware."[/b] He turned then, giving her a nod. [b]"Please, come with me. I'll take you back to the part of the mansion where the others are."[/b]

[b]"Oh, thank you~"[/b] Quickly Calypso stepped over, and the two began walking their way back through the hallways once more with the butler at the lead. Even with someone with a destination in mind guiding the both of them, Calypso had gone so far off the "beaten path" that it took them some time to even reach hallways where doors and windows returned.

Eventually, Richard once more spoke, even as they kept walking. [b]"You've been pulled into a struggle you weren't expecting Ms. Calypso. How does that make you feel?"[/b]

[b]"Well, it's quite surprising...~ But I'm fine with it...~"[/b]

[b]"And how do you feel about going up against those who are undoubtedly stronger than you, and may in fact kill you?"[/b]

[b]"Well, it doesn't sound that pleasant when you put it that way...~ But what choice do I have~? What happens will happen...~"[/b]

[b]"That certainly is one way to think of it, as accepting as it is... However, I do believe that you can be strong enough to properly fight back, and so does the Lady of Demons. That's why she left the matter of your gift to me."[/b]

[b]"Oh~? Really~? And what would that be~?"[/b] In that moment the air suddenly shifted around the both of them, something unseen moving through the space. It caused Calypso to blink, looking around as a strange shimmer seemed to pass through, her eyes focusing to eventually find the culprit; the thin wires that had shredded the assassins at the Capitol were surrounding them as they walked along, gently curving through the air around them, their source undoubtedly Richard himself.

[b]"I believe you have the aptitude to use my weapon of choice. Would you like to learn?[/b]

[b]"... Of course~"[/b]

[hr]
[i][h3]The Renata Household - Entranceway[/h3][/i]
Christopher's attempts to flee and hide from his teacher weren't going so well. From what he could tell, he was going around in circles in the mansion, even though he was purposefully trying to avoid doing that. Despite taking different directions every time, never taking the same one twice, he ended up seeing the same places; the entrances to the library, the dining room, and even the stairs at the entrance of the mansion itself. More than once he went up those stairs to try a different path, and yet somehow he somehow ended up on the ground floor once again without descending another set.

It was starting to drive him more than just a little mad, and it was beginning to eat away at his paranoia.

His useless attempts to flee were brought to an end quite suddenly. As he took the first step up those stairs to once again try to stay on the upper floor, a large and heavy hand came down upon his shoulder to bring him to a stop. Christopher recognized the hand immediately, and it was enough to make him go pale but not silent:

[b]"Agh, shit-"[/b]

[b]"Come with me, boy."[/b] With little ceremony the Divine Paladin yanked Christopher from the stairs, beginning to practically drag him towards the front doors. Christopher only put up a brief struggle before giving up, allowing himself to be taken outside onto the front porch. Once there, the Paladin finally released him after pushing him to sit on the steps, before he took a seat as well a little ways away.

[b]"Ow- chill out old man, that hurts-"[/b]

[b]"Ye'll live."[/b] For a moment Damon was quiet, simply looking up towards the sky. Staying like that for moment, glasses glinting, he soon looked over to Christopher. [b]"Yer mother sent ye with me because she knew the day would come along that ye would end up fighting against the Manu Propria. It was bound to happen one day, for a multitude of reasons."[/b]

[b]"I really don't want to know, I've got a feeling I might be a walking cliché by the time you finish."[/b]

[b]"If ye say so, boy. The time has come though, for ye to have something your mother wanted me to give ye in a situation like this."[/b] Carefully, Damon reached to the side. Pulling one part of his outer robes open, he pulled an object carefully wrapped in cloth from his side. It was around three feet long but quite thin, and Christopher blinked in confusion as he took it. [b]"Go on, open it."[/b]

Briefly grumbling, Christopher slowly unwrapped the deeply purple cloth from around the object. Soon enough, in his hand he held a sheathed blade; both the handle and sheath were pure white, and the blade had a slight curve to it. Blinking again, Christopher reached to the sheath to draw it ever slightly, but as soon as his hand touched the hilt he yanked it away as if he had been shocked. When his hand had made contact with the blade, he had felt a pulse pass through the entirety of it. [b]"The hell is this old man?"[/b]

[b]"That is one of the Creations of one of the Aspects of the Manu Propria, that Lady Ambrosia claimed long ago. If it weren't for ye, she would have destroyed it; instead, she decided to keep it to give to ye, believing ye might be able to use it. Today is the day ye should receive it."[/b]

[b]"It's like it's alive-"[/b]

[b]"It is the manifestation of a Divineborn, a piece of their soul. To begin with, do not expect it to obey ye so easily. Perhaps ye might be able to break it in one day."[/b]

[b]"Seems like a hassle... Then again everything at this point seems like it."[/b]

[hr]
[i][h3]The Road East[/h3][/i]
Krissandria had been quiet the entire trip thus far, despite Alicandriella's constant chatter at her side. She hadn't even rested, despite Alicandriella's constant requests for her to sleep. She had eaten little, and despite her own efforts not to, she had cried a lot. It had been a long ride, so more sure than ever that her eye was playing tricks on her from the lack of rest and sustenance she'd almost passed right by the man who sat at the edge of the trail with a stand, three glasses filled with ice, and what she could only assume, a citrus drink. 

When they got closer her sister hopped from her steed's back and laughed happily. 

[color=f6989d][b]"OH! Goody, lemonade! Just when we needed it! Thanks, Jinn!"[/b][/color]

When Krissandria halted and turned to face the man that, clearly, was not a figment of her imagination after all, she sighed, realizing just who it was. Alice's statement of the name, of course, helped. But it was clear she was correct when she approached her sister who held out a glass to her.

[color=#d12b3e]"Welcome to Jinn's House of Poon and Mercantile."[/color]

A hearty greeting if she ever heard one, fore sure. A soft sigh escaped her lips as thing fingers grasped the glass from her younger sister and she sipped the sweetened drink. [color=82ca9d][b]"We can't stay. You know that, Alice."[/b][/color]

The younger sister finished her glass of juice with a satisfied sigh before frowning slightly. [color=f6989d][b]"Well, with everything going on, we can't verywell leave him here, can we?"[/b][/color]

Krissandria's eye shifted to the male for a moment, lips straight, eye locked. [color=82ca9d][b]"I was instructed to-"[/b][/color]

[color=f6989d][b]"Take your family."[/b][/color]

All he could do was grin and wait.

He stared at the two females, sisters and kin, in hopes that someone would explain what exactly happened. He turned down the offer for the night of his life to rush his ass here with haste. [color=#d12b3e]'Sisters, twins they were!,'[/color] he thought briefly before sighing and draining his own glass of juice. It was refreshing, ever so on a day like today. Bright skies above, not a cloud to be seen for miles. 

He wanted answers and they were wasting daylight however, so he intervened

[color=#d12b3e]"Oh no, don't worry lil Alice. I am not family anymore, I see how it is. No, nononononono~! I don't matter, never did to begin with."[/color] He tossed his glass over his shoulder with a roll of his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. [color=#d12b3e]"It isn't like I fought beside your big sister here in the first war. Sure I made a mistake and hurt my direct family, but I can't make mistakes. I have to be perfect after all."[/color]

He could hardly keep a straight face as he ranted however. He grinned as wide as ever, shiny white teeth on display. It didn't last for long however. He stopped ranting after a brief pause. 

[color=#d12b3e]"What happened anyway? You are usually attached to the Queen's hip these days."[/color]

Ali seemed frantic to stop Jinn from talking after he asked what happened, and she ended up looking at her elder sister with a sad look. 

[color=82ca9d][b]"For the good of Barcea... She..."[/b][/color] eye shifted toward the ground and she turned. [color=82ca9d][b]"She's with the H'kelans.[/b][/color] her tone dropped from serious to sad in an instant. Breaths deepened. [color=82ca9d][b]"I.. I couldn't stop her. She made her choice. Now I'm tasked with telling the prince and princess... You understand we must be off."[/b][/color] 

[color=f6989d][b]"I think he should come with us, Kriss!"[/b][/color]

The elder sister gave the younger a look that said no, but with the sad eyes staring at her, along with their cousin's reaction she let out a soft sigh, and flicked her head to the side. [color=82ca9d][b]"I can't say no to her..."[/b][/color]

[i][color=82ca9d][b]"For the good of Barcea... She..."[/b][/color] [/i]

That was all that Jinn had needed to hear. He painted the picture in his mind's eye and figured the rest out for himself. He shared in Krissandria's sigh, though it wasn't as personal. He felt a weigh climb up on his back and he realized the gravity of the situation clearly now. He placed a hand on Kirss's shoulder and nodded. [color=#d12b3e]"Whatever you were tasked to do by Kori, we will finish it together,"[/color] he said briefly, a small smile coming back to his face. [color=#d12b3e]"Come on, buck up. We are going to get this shit figured out."[/color]

Krissandria gave him a small, fake smile before turning to ready her steed to start going again. [color=82ca9d][b]"Yes... yes I'm sure we will."[/b][/color] her tone didn't seem very convinced, though it could've easily been how tired she was becoming.

He lowered his hand and rubbed the top of Alice's head, fluffing up her blonde air. [color=#d12b3e]"Now, I was gonna ask your big sissy, Kirssy, if she has been taking care of herself, but I think that you will tell me a bright truth. Since she got you, has she slept at all and has she been eating well?"[/color] 

[color=f6989d][b]"Nope.. I've been asking her to this whole time.. but even when we stopped so I could rest, she didn't take the chance."[/b][/color] Ali opened her satchel and pulled out a small biscuit, holding it out for Jinn. [color=f6989d][b]"She's had a couple of these, along with some water, but not a lot. I think once we reach Lady Renata's house she may relax some.. So I guess it's best to just get there."[/b][/color]

She looked over to her sister who was climbing back onto her horse and gave a crooked sort of look before her eyes widened and she smiled. [color=f6989d][b]"You two can ride together!"[/b][/color] 

[color=82ca9d][b]"What..?"[/b][/color]

[color=f6989d][b]"You can sit in front, but let Jinn steer! Then you can rest!"[/b][/color]

[color=82ca9d][b]"Alice, please, I-"[/b][/color]

[color=f6989d][b]"Then it's settled! Great! Let's get going! time's-a-tickin'!"[/b][/color]

Jinn's eyes widen at the sight of the biscuit, though he managed to contain himself for once. He still took the biscuit, pocketing it into his red leather jacket. He wouldn't be caught dead without this thing.  

[color=#d12b3e]"You know, I don't really blame her. But I got something slightly better than a biscuit, if only for what it does for your body."[/color] 

He went back over to the wooden crate he left laying on the ground and took the lid off. Most of his equipment was inside, folded neat and nice for easy travel. He reached in and pull out a small shack of rations, nothing too flavorful or anything special really. He took a few sticks of dried meat and offered two of them to Alice. [color=#d12b3e]"You both need your strength so eat up,"[/color] he said as he lifted his sheathed blade onto his back. [color=#d12b3e]"Kriss, you look like death sweetie. No offense, but I could probably take you and tie you up right now. Besides, do you want me to run along side you guys and slow you up?"[/color] 

[color=82ca9d][b]"Try me..."[/b][/color]

He grabbed Alice underneath her arms and lifted her up onto the other horse, winking at her. [color=#d12b3e]"Smart thinking,"[/color] he whispered quickly before moving away. He climbed onto the other horse and gripped the reins in one had, while the other offered some meat sticks to Kirss. [color=#d12b3e]"Let's get this party started!"[/color]

As Jinn climbed up onto her horse after helping Ali to her own, Krissandria was clearly trying not to lean into the man for support. Her back stayed straight, and she looked quite uncomfortable, and as though she could pass out at any moment, though she let him take the reigns, and she even took the food he offered her, beginning to eat it, slowly. [color=82ca9d][b]"We'll continue down this trail... It's still a fair ways to go, and we can't delay any longer."[/b][/color]

Though Jinn had the reigns, she gave her horse a quick nudging kick to the side to get it going, Alicandriella's following at their side.

[hr]
[i][h3]The Renata Household - The Next Day[/h3][/i]
Once more, time passed. As the previous day went by and time for typical meals happened, Richard would find and appear in front of all of them, summoning them to the dining hall to eat if they wished to. Other than that they were left to their own devices, allowed to wander as they pleased.

The second day would be the same way, at least to begin with. News was rapidly approaching, though none of the group was aware of it just yet; however, the days of rest would soon be ending.