Rayne’s initial browsing and chatting proved productive, as she first found out that 1, yes, there were people other than humans out there, and that 2, some of them need the same kind of fit that she did. Just about anyway. The cloth seller offered to do just a bit of tailoring to make things fit just right, with which she happily agreed. Naturally this process involved a fair bit of chatting while measuring and sowing, during which the question of who they were and why they were here, one which Rayne answered quite frankly. Unsurprisingly, having not seen them in action (or straight up appear from the sky in one case), the caravaners were a fair bit more skeptical than the villagers when it came to the whole ‘being summoned from another world by a goddess no one had ever heard of’ deal.

Still, it passed the time, and soon enough, Rayne had a small but respectable set of changes of clothes that actually fit her short frame. A welcome change after a week of ill fitting garbs and repeatedly washing the same outfit over and over.

One of these, a simple cream tunic, she slipped away from the caravan inorder to slip into, returning wearing it, some dark stockings, her belt with pouches, her red scarf and a pair of feathers in her hair. It was an outfit which would have made her bend in with the people of this a fair bit more, were it not for her ears, stark white hair, and the way she casually floated above the ground.

She returned just in time to find what seemed to be something of a standoff between the other wordlers and the caravan guards. Or if not a standoff then at least a whole lot of posturing.

She couldn’t say she was a fan. She’d been hoping to have a chance to take a look at some of the books, a dense collection of info about this world could only help, and it could pass the time while traveling, but it looked like they needed to avoid some kind of altercation. She’d missed the why of why this was happening, but she stuck her nose into the problem anyway, as heroes were prone to do.

“Maybe we could give some kind of demonstration? Or have a friendly competition? Outside of the village, where there’s less risk of, ah, accidents” she suggested on the heels of Anne’s goading. She did not want to know what Fran using her powers inside of the village would do to it, and she wasn’t exactly one to talk to either, risk of collateral damage wise. You couldn't exactly cast a spell called Armageddon when anything you cared about was nearby and expect it to still be standing once things were over after all.

As Lewa approached the inspect the newly-arrived merchant caravan, he found he was hardly alone. It made sense that all the others would head over as well when faced with something new, given how hopelessly monotonous the days had been. Some of them the toa hadn't seen since the whole troop returned from their scrap with the centipedes, though not all of them. The organic called Mokou seemingly shared both his affinity for the wilderness and his restlessness, and passed the time by exploring the nearby territories, so the two ran into one another more than once. Unfortunately, they found very little to talk about whenever chance brought them together, and they soon ended up going their separate ways. Apparently Mokou had a much rougher time with the wildlife in the region, at least in the sense that they attacked her, even if they didn't really threaten her. Maybe the creatures sensed her murderous intent, radiating off her like an aura to trigger their fight or flight instincts. Lewa's own forays had been very different. Though many of the beasts he ran into reacted to his presence with aggression, it seldom took him long to convince them that he wasn't a threat. Perhaps his biomechanical nature played a part in that...or maybe it was his winning smile? Regardless, his encounters with various unknown animals marked the only bright points in those increasingly dreary days.

One other person whose arrival Lewa noted was Joker. Through some twist of fate, the two of them happened to be the only males in the group stolen from various worlds. Remilia, Sanae, and the rest might think this nothing unusual but this made for an unusual statistical anomaly for Lewa, whose own world harbored a predominantly male population of five to one, with only the female Ga-matoran juxtaposed against the male Ta, Po, Onu, Ko, and Le-matoran. Of course, this one thing the two had in common hardly served to bring Lewa and Joker together. For Lewa, the unusual gender ratio formed only the tip of a massive iceberg of things in this world that went against everything he'd ever known. Reaching out to anyone, especially when he spent every other waking moment hoping that he'd be sent back to Mata Nui the next, was a tremendous challenge. And so Lewa had remained in isolation, more despondent by the day. At least the others didn't seem to notice him as anything unusual anymore.

Once the conversation with the traders began, negotiations broke down within minutes. Egos brushed up against one another, and nothing burned brighter than the ego of someone small who got looked down on. After the battles against the Raven Heralds and the Centipedes, Lewa felt rather outclassed by most of the others, but he didn't particularly care what anyone thought of his abilities, and nor did he have anything to prove. All that mattered was that his strength was enough to protect his people--if only it could be applied. Still, some of the others seemed eager to prove themselves, especially Mokou. For a moment it seemed like Remilia wanted to smooth things over, but with her offer of healing she only really served to fan the flames by mitigating a possible fight's consequences. Meanwhile he couldn't make heads or tails of the newest arrival, Fran. At least Anne tried to calm things down, eschewing a fight in favor of some mild probing.

For his part, Lewa didn't know what would theoretically stop him from just tagging along, following the traders at whatever distance was comfortable, in order to reach a more promising destination. To that end, and in accordance with his peace-loving nature, he really didn't want this meeting to escalate into a brawl. "What is this pride-quarrel?" He looked between the otherworlders and the escorts, his gaze incredulous. "We all have a duty, do we not? No time to in-fight."

The fact she'd been pulled into another world didn't matter. The fact she'd been injured didn't matter.

She had to find a path back to Yuyuko-sama's side. That was paramount. Every moment she spent in this other world was a moment she wasn't doing her duty.

At the same time, that didn't mean she was completely unaware of the reason she was called here. As long as she was unable to return home, helping these people seemed like it was the only reasonable choice.

But none of this prevented her from training.

Every morning Youmu departed her sleeping quarters early and spent time training.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

She could always be faster. Even if the injury prevented her from moving at top speed, it didn't hinder the speed of her blades.

But just as her grandfather said, that alone would never be fast enough.

So, she had to get faster. Even more precise.

That was the purpose of a member of the Konpaku family, after all. To hone oneself into an edge that could cut down any foe.

If she couldn't return to Yuyuko-sama's side yet, she would train while she was unable to as much as possible. It only made sense to her.

It was a while after the day's training session that the merchants arrived

This was one of the clearest signs of possible routes to resolving the problems of this world and returning home, and so it was no surprise that Youmu immediately approached with the intent of at the very least asking the merchants about the world beyond the village.

Only---

They didn't believe they were capable?

A frown crossed the petite half-phantom's features, and her fingers found their way to Roukanken's hilt.

"If you require a demonstration of our capabilities, then I would be happy to show you," she said. Remilia's offer was ignored.

Sometimes you simply had to strike until your opponent understood, after all.

@PKMNB0Y@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

Between the merchant's semi-disparaging remarks and the subsequent eagerness of a few of their group's members to prove them wrong, Sanae was left in a mildly awkward spot. While Anne and Lewa were attempting to defuse the situation, it seemed quite apparent that those among them that originated from Gensokyo wanted to go about solving problems in the way that they were usually solved back home.

In other words, a duel.

Unfortunately, spellcard rules obviously did not exist in this world, which meant that there was no guarantee that the people that they fought wouldn't end up sustaining any injuries; not that such a thing would matter when Remilia of all people declared that she would act as a healer instead of joining in to assuage what Sanae assumed would have been a bruised ego.

Ultimately, though, Sanae had no intention of backing down either. If they had to get to the capital, it would be best to do so in the easiest way possible...

Which, again, ultimately meant that a show of force seemed like the easiest way to go about convincing the old man and his peers that they had every right to tag along.

While the merchant was left mildly confused on how to handle the group of young women wishing to pick a fight, the group of mercenaries that Anne had approached seemed to be more amused than not at the pretense of a match. And with Anne's words accidentally inflating their ego...

Well, the outcome was more of a foregone conclusion at this point.

"Hm? Oh, as far as mercenary bands go, we're pretty strong. Nowhere near the strongest in the company, but I think we're still more than capable of handling dangers are lurking on the road," their leader, a man in his mid-thirties decked out in leather armor, spoke as he turned towards the large mechanical being who also tried to talk them down from matching against one another. "Now, I don't think we're going to go try and take anyone's heads over all this, but the green haired girl over there—she a friend of yours?—did basically just call us incompetent. Now, I don't know what sort of level-headed old man must've made you, but we're not the type of people who can afford to just be insulted like that. It's bad for our reputation, after all, and in our line of work... Well, that's all we really have."

With that, the mercenary group's leader walked over to the older merchant and, with a smirk, patted the man on the shoulder.

"How about we take up that halfling's offer?" he asked, gesturing towards Rayne as he spoke. "The trip's been pretty calm, and I don't think it's a good idea to let our blades get too rusty. Might make a good show to watch, too. How about it?"

"...Ah, I swear, all of you people are addicted to fighting..." the merchant finally responded, letting his shoulders droop as he waved at the group of people gathering to give him some space. "Fine! You and your men are free to spar so long as it does not interfere with your duties or leave any lasting injuries on either side. I paid good coin to have you guard us, so I'd like it if you didn't muck up any chance of a good relationship because you got a bit too eager to brawl."

"Perfect!" the mercenary responded, clapping his hands before looking at the group of people more than ready to take them on. "Then how about a few matches outside the southern entrance to the town? If your healer's as good as she claims, we shouldn't have any problems; else, we have one of our own ready in case anything goes bad."

"Duels? I'd be fine with one," Sanae replied, glancing at the others briefly before nodding her head. "You wouldn't happen to have any mages on hand, would you? It'd be a bit unfair for me to go against someone who prefers to fight in close quarters, after all."

"Mages? Of course we do," he said, a slight smirk on his face as he completely misconstrued Sanae's question as a fear of fighting someone up close instead of anything near the truth. "If that's all the questions you have, then we'll meet you after we've prepared all the spare equipment we might need. Shouldn't take too long."

With everyone who wanted to fight more or less in agreement, the mercenaries wasted no time in following their leader's orders to prepare for what they assumed would be a simple match against a few overeager people who needed to be given a reality check.

That wasn't far from the truth, granted, but not necessarily in the way they would expect. Either way, those present had a bit more time to peruse the caravan's wares or get any last-minute things in order before the mercenaries were done getting ready themselves.

@VitaVitaAR@EchoWolff@Izurich@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@Raineh Daze@DracoLunaris@Rezod92

(IGNORE THIS!)

@PKMNB0Y @VitaVitaAR @EchoWolff @Izurich @Lugubrious @Drifting Pollen @Raineh Daze @DracoLunaris





Fran sighed as the mercenaries marched off to prepare for the duels. If she was being honest, things turning out like this was....somewhat expected. Apparently, this world is starting to have a lot of things in common with the world she's from. When words fails and egos are wronged, actions will be taken. Strange how simple that logic can be...

....So, Fran will do just that: Take action.

"....Hmph."

Summoning her battle mace to her side, Fran shouldered her weapon as she made way toward the south entrance. If they are to reach Nieve, then they'll just have to convince the mercs that they are worth taking along.

It's as simple as that.

"Oh my~?" It'd seem that Sanae's little scuffle had attracted the attention of the rest of Lavielle's - unwilling - Champions, and not all of them were privy to the idea of having a brawl break out in the middle of the village, understandable really. "You can relax, good sirs and madame~" Remilia curled a rather smug smirk at Joker, Anne, and Lewa, "Tis' will be nothing more than a simple spar between individuals of martial persuasion. After all, there's no better way to train one's mettle than putting it into practice, no~?" There, that should be enough to assuage their concerns, or affirm that they weren't 'joking around' in Anne's case, she was quite rude really, but fortunately for her, the magnanimous Scarlet Devil was willing to let the half-machine Knight's transgressions slide.

"An excellent suggestion, Lady Rayne," The lilac-haired youkai nodded at the only other person here whom her height could match, "Indeed, though this'll be a competition conducted in good faith, I believe it's still our responsibility to minimize unwanted outcomes." Now that they had participants and a designated arena, the impromptu 'tournament' could commence, although speaking of participants, more would-be fighters expressed their interest to join, specifically the Half-Ghost Gardener and the Reanimated Automaton. "Wonderful~" Just like arranging a public tea party at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the more the merrier.

The merchant was an odd fellow, he should be grateful that the people under his employ were eager to hone the very skill that he hired them for as surely he wouldn't enlist pacifists to defend his caravan. Regardless, now that the stage was set, all they needed to do was prepare and depart, "Oh, you needn't worry, good sirs, after all, I've been vouched as a beloved doctor of my homeland~" Remilia flashed a quick wink at the Toa of Air before she floated over to sit on Fran's mace, using the oversized weapon as her makeshift throne, a not-so-subtle amused grin on her fanged visage.

"...Best of luck, then." Anne sighed and lowered her head, though not without a faintly nostalgic smile. Back in her younger days she might have joined in the sparring herself, but the current her was too old and battered for this sort of thing. Maybe she'd come along and watch—Alvin and Millie would doubtless want to go, given how keen they seemed on people who were 'super strong.' A lot of the other villagers as well, who'd stayed hidden away in the lodge during the battle before. This might be the last chance they'd get to see their heroes in action, an occasion not to be missed.

All the more reason for the Knight to keep an eye on things.

While the mercenaries wandered off to gather their weapons, Anne made her way over to the towering green robot who'd seemed most concerned about this turn of events. "I appreciate the effort, Lewa. Though I don't think we can stop them now, and they don't intend on doing real harm in any case." Even as she said it, however, she couldn't quite hide her concern. A brief glance confirmed that Frankenstein was heading southwards, and her eyes quietly narrowed at the Otherworlder's retreating back.

"The best thing we can do is look out for them, and be ready to step in if anything gets out of control. It'd be good to have someone besides me around to oversee the fight, even if there might not end up being any need for it."

@Lugubrious

Rayna visible wiped her brow in response to the mercenaries taking on her idea of competing rather than fighting, and then gave a silent mime of a scream of frustration when their leader took that idea and turned it right back around to sparing, which as far as she was concerned was basically the same thing. At least it was outside of town and not a mess of a brawl, but she herself was more a practicing vs training dummies than practicing vs people kinda lady, and so the prospect of sparing didn’t enthuse her like it clearly did some of the other ladies.

She hoped just showing off vs some of the left over wreckage would be an option they’d accept. If not? Well, Rayne started mulling over ways she could prove she was strong in a fight without actually hitting anyone with a spell card strike. Maybe dodging in close and ‘tagging’ them to prove she could hit them without doing so?

The thought of not being part of the fights didn’t really cross her mind, probably due to 10 years of impostor syndrome, until she overheard Anne talking to Lewa about overseeing the sparring matches, a thing that would, naturally, involve not actually taking part in said fights, resulting in a little “Oh” of understanding.

With a relieved look on her face she floated over to the other two and said “Hi, do mind if I join the supervising? It’s probably better if the people with non-lethal magic do this stuff. Well and Frankenstine, but she seems to have enough control that even when she go overboard won’t be much of a risk”

True, she’d had to help prevent a few trampling last time Frankenstine let loose, but if she was here to help out again, things should be fine, right. Right?

With no preparations needed on her part, Mokou shuffled out slightly ahead of the others. If the guards were as strong as they thought, then it was best that the most expendable of the misplaced take any damage, obviously. Plus, she was itching to get started, so this way...

Hm, to treat this like danmaku, or just tone down more obvious attacks to safe levels? It wasn't like danmaku was much more on a per-hit basis than a weak punch... but it would definitely assess her opponent's reactions far better, as well as their endurance if those weren't up to snuff.