[Hider=Post-discussion home-coming]

Ashara offered no input to the conversation that had gone on back at the Climax Hour. She merely listened to what the others had said, and it seemed only three of their allies had spoken up - and none of them had done anything to improve the situation. Criticism, berating, off-handed insults, [i]I-can-do-better[/i] suggestions... It was the first meeting since they came to the world, in repeat, but with less participants voicing their opinions. The fox merely closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Once Rodias called the meeting to a close and dismissed everyone, Ashra turned to look at Gromgard.

"I believe our mission is done, sir Gromgard. We should return home." She said, a certain melancholic ring to her otherwise pleasant voice.

She did not like this. Not one bit. Their lord was in pain and had become upset, both from the suffering his subordinates had suffered, and because of his own inability to carry out his role as he wished. Yet none of the others seemed to be able to see this, none of them were even trying to emphatize or understand him. Instead they hurled their hurtful words and selfish ideas at him, when he so graciously gave them permission to speak freely and without fear of reprimand, they all just took advantage of it.

It was not often Ashara felt outright disdain for others - not even her enemies. But in this instance, at this moment, she felt incredibly disappointed. Not in her Master, no, but in the Chapter Keepers and other members of the Chateau. That included herself of course. She had not spoken up to defend or encourage her Lord, even though he must've been in so much pain. She was angry, a rare thing indeed - but more so at herself than anything or anyone else. Perhaps if she hbeen able to deal with the cutlists faster, she could've returned to aid her Master? Or if someone else had been sent instead of her, she could've defended the Castle?

Shaking her head, her white hair flowed gently. Regret was pointless. You could agonize over mistakes and what you hadn't done for an eternity, and it would change nothing. For now, all she could do was return to the Chateau and do her best to help the others recover from the aftermath of this whole ordeal. Not that she could offer or do much, but surely there was something she could do, for someone.
[hr]
[i]Meanwhile, at the Climax Hour...[/i]

Mikoto and the other priestesses had stood silent and immobile during the entire meeting. They had said nothing. Done nothing. Merely observed and listened. When Rodias dismissed the entirety of the present individuals, the golden-haired three-tailed fox turned to her peers and clapped her hands twice to garner their attention.

"Alright,y ou hear our Lord. Himiko, Kyoko, Akiko and Reiko, help carry the little ones back to the Shrine. The rest of you, hurry back ahead of us and prepare the grounds and beds." She ordered, all of her fellow miko responding with a firm 'Yes!', in almost perfect unison.

As the four oldest shrine maidens scooped up and gave the yuongset ones piggy-back rides, Mikoto stayed behind to watch all of her fellow maidens leave. Once they were all out of the Climax Hour, she cast a glance first at Salem - her ruby-red eyes showing a great deal of contempt as she gazed the doll's way.

"I don't know how your Creator treated you, [i]Lord[/i] Salem." She said. "But our lady treasured and treated each and everyone of us with love and care. So please don't try and find skeletons in a closet that's empty, simply because your own maker didn't cherish you." She closed her eyes and sighed, her expression softening slightly, though remained stern and serious still. "It's rather rude to make assumptions about those you never deigned to interact with." She finished.

She then threw a judgemental look at both Graft and Kaldorna, but said nothing to either of them. Instead, she merely bowed, as was customary, and excused herself. Unlike Ashara, who could keep her composure and thoughts clean and serene, Mikoto was a far more open and expressive person. Unlike the head priestess, Mikoto had a sense of pride and love for both her family, her creator and the Chateau as a whole, and did not appreciate when ill things were said about any of them. Still, as the second-in-command of the Shadowtower Shrine, she still managed to maintain her cool and probably hadn't said everything, or what she actually meant, she meant to say.

Meanwhile, the eight ESPER Wings still present in the room hovered silently above the ground, their magiaclly ccreated wings humming softly like fluorescent lights. Once it became clear that nobody else was going to do or say anything of importance, one of them turned its head to the others.

"Unit Mjolnir will now assume command.  All units return to the Chamber of Imaginary Numbers to resume regular operations."

The other seven merely nodded, and then they were off. Like a stream of azure light, they zoomed out of the Climax Hour's open window and returned to their own Chapter without any further interactions with the others. 

The one ESPER who had been gravely wounded by Morgan's attack much earlier was now, with the help of one of the Cleric-leveled ESPERs, making their way back to the Chateau. Of course, further repairs would be necessary to fully restore it, but for now, it had miraculously survived, thanks in no small part to its sister-automaton.[/hider]
[hider=I sat, I listened, I pondered]
Charme let out a jet of white smoke from between her lips, drumming her fingers of the other free hand against the rough surface of the shoddy nightstand in their crummy inn-room. She stared at the night sky outside, with eyes that seemed to be drifting off and looking into space, not focusing on anything in particular. However, even if her gaze seemed distant and aloof, the fact that she was drumming her fingers in a fixed rhytmic fashion, and the fact that a scowl as well as a small, pulsing vein on her left temple, seemed to indicate that she was very much still present in the current world.

[i]Crapyy-ass doll.. I should melt it and that whole junkyard down with some acid once I get back... And Kaldrona, you foolish girl, what good would a council do? If you children can't play nice with one another as is, what good would giving you all figure-head positions of power do? You can't even follow orders and instructions, you go about doing whatever you please and you plot and scheme for yourselves... Morons.[/i]

These were the kind of thoughts that occupied Charme's mind for the most part, after Rodias had dismissed the collect-call and meeting. Of course, the homunculus was a sharp one, and she had picked up both on Ashara's subtle voicing of her opinion, as well as Graft's grumbling, self-gratifying sulking about his own pivotal importance. Had she been a lesser woman, the alchemist would likely have thrown a fit and thrashed this shitty excuse for a room in a violent outburst. Luckily, she wasn't the kind to do so, not to mention Kath was here with her... For all the great help that one was... You'd think with all the books and tomes she had poured over for years on end, she'd be a bit more capable and brainy than she actually was. Charme shot her roommate a discontent glance, before returning to stare out the window.

Now, there were two paths she could take. The smart option was to ignore Rodias' orders about exploring the city, learning about it and finding a way to make money, and return home to the Chateau. Charme could easily surmise that, given how the meeting had gone, the ones staying at home were not going to take the situation all too well. In fact, now more than any other time, they were likely to make stupid decisions and get foolish ideas in their heads. They would perhaps lash out or begin trying to spin webs and ploys for themselves. It was the natural course, after all, since they were all imbecilles who wouldn't see the bigger picture.

Her other choice was to honor Rodias' orders, and remain in the city with Kath and do her assigned duties. This task was the less bright option, as it would serve no further purpose than to satisfy Rodias' curiosity. However, it did hold one, superior merit that defying her Master's orders did not. It would serve to reinforce her loyalty to Rodias, and the Chateau. If she took action and did as she pleased, even if it was the objectively better option, she wouldn't be any better than the groaning, moaning and selfish children back home.

It was a shame really. Had she had access to more resources and materials before she left on this stupid errand, she could've set up counter-measures or some kind of preventive measures to keep the others in check while she was absent. Alas, she had neither had the resources nor the time to prepare any such matters, and she certainly hadn't expected the Chateau to come under attack so soon and so suddenly. Now everythign was a mess and those idiots back home were just going to make matters worse. She sighed and tapped her pipe against the window-sill.

"Kath." She said suddenly, her voice dry and serious. "What'll you do now, dear?" She asked. "Will you rush back to the Chateau tomorrow? Or will you carry out Rodias' orders, despite the situation at home?"  She asked, slowly turning her head to look at the dragonoid librarian.

Unlike her usual appearance, Charme's face was looking rather strict and perhaps even a bit intimidating - although that could just be attributed to the poor lighting and overall mood of the situation.

"... Think about that, will you? I'm going to sleep I believe." She said, a sour tinge to her voice, ashe closed the window after putting out her pipe. She then proceeded to lay down on one of the itchy, prickly hay-lined beds with shoddy, burlap-like sheets. Yep, this was a bad night that was just getting worse. Likelihood of getting any sleep tonight? Close to zero.[/hider]