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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=dc143c][b]Location:[/b][/color] Laughing Worg Tavern -- City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria[/right][/sub][/color]
[hr][color=dc143c][i]'Ah, Jesus, she's a wreck.'[/i][/color]

Graves struggled to keep his composure in the face of Artemis's grief. This was about as far out of his comfort zone as he could get. He briefly glanced over his shoulder, wishing he could delegate this to anybody else, but it proved fruitless. Everyone else was locked in heated argument about their next move. It wasn't exactly a flattering first impression for Artemis, even if it was accurate. They fought often and loudly, over things big and small alike. It irritated him to say the least.

[color=dc143c]"Look, I'm..."[/color] He hesitated a moment before lifting a hand to the woman's shoulder, giving it an awkward pat and squeeze. Smooth, Graves. Real smooth. 

He turned to face her, eyes searching hers for a reaction as he spoke: [color=dc143c]"I'm gonna honest. It ain't easy to lose people, 'specially right in front of you. I've been there."[/color] Memories passed in the back of his mind, heavy as fog from the sea. Pressing on past it, he nodded his head back to the table. Alex had since joined them and Alja had stormed off in a huff to the bar. Maybe that signaled a break in the 'discussion.' He hoped so, for their new guest's sake. [color=dc143c]"Most'a them have, too. Nobody'll judge you for hurtin', n' if they do I'll punch 'em in the mouth. You got my word."[/color] 

[color=dc143c]"I'm not gonna make ya stay if ya don't want to. 'Ppreciate the thanks but it ain't necessary. It was, uh, the least we could do."[/color] That was the best he could manage. He let loose a breath he didn't know he was holding in, taking a step away from her to give her space to think. He hoped he hadn't been too blunt; conveying sympathy was harder than Seele made it look. Silence hung for the moment as Artemis considered her next move.

It looked like she'd made up her mind as she set her now empty drink down and turned to leave, but something caused her to falter. Another freeze, like earlier. Indecision? A final word? No, a hook. Artemis tentatively put forward the idea that she could help with the current predicament. So she did want to stay; she just didn't want to feel like she was in the way. He understood that. Charity annoyed him too. [color=dc143c]"Yeah, sure. Could be we just need a fresh set of eyes on this thing to figure it out."[/color] Graves motioned for her to follow him as he turned, striding back toward the group.

[color=dc143c]"This is the, uh, girl, I told you all about."[/color] He cleared his throat. [color=dc143c]"She's Artemis, and these are..."[/color] He started around the table. [color=dc143c]"Kazuki, Benkei, Alex, Seele. You already met Rael, Alja's the mammoth at the bar, n' I'm Graves. Oh, and those two are Sif and Siegfried- they're from a different guild, but they're cool. We were all knee-deep in a dungeon together when the world got fucked. Take whichever seat ya like."[/color]
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