[center][url=https://ibb.co/G7cNWYc][img]https://i.ibb.co/qBkVNqk/Hijinx-a-young-18-year-old-male-noble-ponytail-blonde-hair-blue-d099bb62-6c35-4df4-b6f8-8cba3d8ebba5.png[/img][/url][/center]
[center][h1][u][color=BC3823]Evander[/color] [color=CC5500]Fino[/color] [color=d4af37]Synesti[/color][/u][/h1][/center]
[hr][center][h2]N[color=8D918D]ox and Days: 
Winter Break with Family and Lost Children[/color][/h2][/center][hr] 

[color=d4af37]"You want to what!"[/color] Duke Foscari charged his voice loudly as he heard his son request a ship to sail to a non-existent place on a seemingly fake map. The Duke's chest heaved, inhaling and exhaling deeply to regulate the emotional resistance stirring in his gut. 

Evander firmly stared at his father, [color=CC5500]"I want to go here, with your ships."[/color] He planted his finger down on the map laid out on the family table back home. Evander wasted no time on Winter break to get a set of plans rolling. 

[i]The fucking audacity of this child.[/i] Duke Foscari's nostrils flared, [color=d4af37]"Do you have any idea what you are asking?"[/color] Evander nodded, [color=CC5500]"I'm asking you to trust me."[/color] The Duke jerked his head away from his son, [i]Fuck![/i] His son purposely trapped him between a rock and a hard place. Evander knew he was his father's legacy, and he knew that in order to keep Evander on the path set before him, he'd have to appease the boy to some extent. 

Duke Fosacri pinched his lips together, released, and spoke through his teeth with some restraint, [color=d4af37]"One ship, one crew, one trip."[/color] Evander nodded again, [color=CC5500]"You have my thanks."[/color] He turned to face the door and exit but was stopped by his mother entering the room, "My sweetheart!" Her arms were wide to embrace her only son. Evander reciprocated the hug. She released and stepped back to size up her young boy now grown into the man her husband and she could be proud of. 

[color=30d5c8]"Came back from school with demands and a head on your shoulders?"[/color] she smiled, [color=30d5c8]"don't press your father too much, he's getting older, and his heart needs to rest more often than he'd like to recognize."[/color] Mihaela looked to Foscari as he showed disapproval at her comment but was powerless to say anything. Evander's parents, albeit, luckily, found love in their marriage. 

Evander smiled back at his mother, [color=CC5500]"I wouldn't ask for his help if I did not feel this to be important to securing our family's future."[/color] His mother's face transformed into a surprised look, [color=30d5c8]"Well, if I did not know any better I'd say Ersand'Enise may have taught you to take initiative, but I think that was already bubbling in you before you left."[/color] She looked at her husband, [color=30d5c8]"he sounds like he wants to take on more responsibility, what do you think?"[/color]

The Duke gritted his teeth a little, [color=d4af37]"growing up isn't what I am afraid of, it's this idea he has in his head about a place that doesn't exist!"[/color] Evander turned to him, [color=CC5500]"Let me fall on my own sword."[/color] His father stepped forward, [color=d4af37]"that's what I am afraid of, you're too important to be falling on anyone's sword."[/color] At that moment they shared their respect without words. Duke Foscari pulled out one of the chairs at the table, [color=d4af37]"Fine."[/color] He sat down, [color=d4af37]"What else do you need?"[/color] 

Mihaela and Evander smiled.

[h3][b]Hours Later...[/b][/h3]

[color=ffd700]"Slow down and take it from the top, please."[/color] Celestina sat poised and prepared to listen to her brother's cascade of mental energy pour from his lips. 

[color=CC5500]"You see I arrived in Ersand'Enise, and..."[/color]

[color=CC5500]"Boom! She's ambushed by commoners, the stupid lot, anyways Penny grabbed the kid and we shook him up to find out what he knew about the stolen goods,"[/color] Evander continued while Celestina's eyes widened, her mouth dropping at certain points in her brother's story, and at certain points, she felt annoyed at the fact she had to play house far far away. 

Evander threw his hands at her as if he was casting an electric spell, [color=CC5500]"Thirty-four of these monsters came at us and we survived."[/color] He dropped his head, [color=CC5500]"some of us survived."[/color] He recollected the memory of Manfred being cut down and resurrected, it was the first time he really processed what happened to Manfred, and he remembered watching Manfred die. He remembered... Dory... she spoke to herself, [color=FFFFFF][i]then he was back![/i][/color]

Evander glazed at the realization that Dory might have done something to bring Manfred back from the dead, and not in good way. Celestina pushed him out of his thoughts with her hand on his shoulder, [color=ffd700]"You okay?"[/color] Evander replied, [color=CC5500]"Celestina, do you know anything about Time?"[/color] Celestina was confused, [color=ffd700]"I know it sucks."[/color] Evander laughed out loud at her response. 

[color=CC5500]"I miss your candor, Celestina."[/color] She smiled, [color=ffd700]"I miss your curiosity Evander."[/color] Evander continued to share with his sister about the experiences he had at Ersand'Enise, and she shared her experiences as a princess becoming a Queen. 

[hr][center][h2][color=FFFFFF]N[/color][color=8D918D]ox and Days: 
Synesti's Lost Children[/color][/h2][/center][hr]

Tears burst from Finn's eyes, chomping down on his lower lip. [i]It wasn't manly to cry.[/i] His fist clenched until his knuckles turned white. [color=FFFFFF][i]How dare they.[/i][/color] He felt pain stir in his gut. Nauseous and alone. Right when it appeared their fortunes were rising, [color=FFFFFF][i]those bastards reminded us where we sit in their hearts[/i][/color]. Finn raised his hand to slam it down in the mud. He was kneeling in front of Moli's Emporium, the place where his father lost his life in that horrible fire months ago. 

[color=add8e6]"'ello lad, you okay?"[/color] A hoarse voice scraped at the child's ears. Finn lifted his head from his sunken depression, [color=e6adbc]"No."[/color] He observed a man dressed in garments fit for a pirate step beside him. The man knelt down to meet Finn, [color=add8e6]"ya' know, I know a little something about losing something dear."[/color]

Finn could not help but burst into an emotional wreck as the man said [i]loss[/i]. [color=e6adbc]"I want to kill every last one of them!"[/color] The man raised his hand onto the boy's shoulder, [color=add8e6]"wow boy, who's they?"[/color] Finn sputtered and spit, [color=e6adbc]"the Elites, the Nobles, the problem!"[/color] He shrugged the man's hand off. 

[color=add8e6]"Ahh, you'se think these nobles did this do ya?"[/color] The man asked. Finn tilted his head, [color=e6adbc]"Yes, who else would it have been?"[/color] The man looked the boy in the eyes, [color=add8e6]"Thieves, in fact, commoners, like us."[/color] Finn was confused, [color=e6adbc]"Why would commoners do this, why would our own do this?"[/color] The man stood up, [color=add8e6]"because at the end of the day, there are forces from all walks of life making decisions for their own gain and end up hurting others along the way.... noble... commoner... yasoi... eeaiko.. the whole lot of them."[/color] 

Finn felt even more depressed, [color=e6adbc]"what's the point of all this then?"[/color] The man turned to square his body in front of the knelt boy to give him a few last words, [color=add8e6]"The one you make of it, depending on what you decide, you can one day make decisions and protect young lads like you." He paused to let the important silence set in, [color=add8e6]"I have work for young lads like you, the ones who want to make their life their own, interested?"[/color] 

Finn felt an emotion he had never felt before about protecting others like him, that feeling combined with his hopelessness to help his mother make ends meet due to his father's death, he leaned in on the offer with interest.

[color=e6adbc]"Does it pay?"[/color] Finn asked inquisitively. 

[color=add8e6]"More than any other job you'll find in Mudville,"[/color] the man answered confidently. 

[color=e6adbc]"Ok, what do I have to do?"[/color] The man did not answer, he reached out his hand. Finn snatched it with his own and was raised to his feet. 

[color=add8e6]"Your job is to gather some of your friends who too might be interested in making some coin and meet me back here in four days, will you do that?"[/color] 

Finn nodded, [color=e6adbc]"How many?"[/color]

[color=add8e6]"However many you can bring."[/color] The man answered. Finn turned around to take off running down the streets of Mudville. The man turned in the opposite direction heading up to the Sea Gate until he approached a young man in noble attire and bowed, [color=add8e6]"M'lord"[/color]. Evander replied, [color=CC5500]"Emiliano."[/color] 

The two got right down to business with Emiliano briefing Evander on outcomes from their recruitment plan, [color=add8e6]"My men will be ready to present security when Pelova Fascino's site is completed, as for the children, their frustrations, hopes, and dreams are being redirected as we speak."[/color]

Evander smiled, [color=CC5500]"My father was right about you Emiliano."[/color] Emiliano's hoarse voice crashed back, [color=add8e6]"Eh, I'd be dead if not for your father, my debt was always going to be paid back until the end."[/color]



[hider=Summary]

[list]
[*] Evander receives one ship from his father to voyage to Siraahi land (Misai sp?).
[*] Evander recaps his time at Ersand'Enise with Celestina and realizes there is something odd between Dory and Manfred after witnessing Manfred's death and rebirth in a cave full of titans who killed him.
[*] A loyalist of Foscari works with Evander in setting up security for Pelova Fascino and a child intelligence network in Mudville.
[/list]

[/hider]