[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]

[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's High-Tier ➜ Esaka's Mid-Tier[/center]
Skyworld's lead angel spent the most of the rest of the afternoon getting a crash course in all things Kombat. As Ashrah agreed, she gave Pit all the information she had, from the basics to the complex, and now that she wasn't under Galeem's thrall she was able to point out some of the more odd happenings she knew of too. How quickly people came back to life here, how a fighter's natural style was altered as soon as they stepped into the ring for an official match... things she once took for granted, none the wiser of what was actually going on. Of course, Pit filled her in on how the World of Light worked in return. To her credit the demoness took it better than many others in her position, though she relayed that in the universe she hailed from, inter-realm travel, godly forces, and mental interference were all par for the course.

They'd traced the edges of the high tier as they spoke, with that little dog Yappy trailing after them, until the sky overhead darkened and the clouds swelled with rain. By that time, the chattering in Pit's ear from the linkpearl had shifted to a decided meeting place, so it was as good a time to split up from his new partner as any.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"One last thing!"[/color] Pit said as he and Ashrah rode the elevator back down to the Mid-Tier. He produced one of the pale gold pearls Primrose had given him and held it out to the demoness, who took it and held it up for inspection.

"If this is meant to be some kind of payment, rest assured I don't need any," she told him, but the angel shook his head. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"It's to communicate! You put it in your ear like this..."[/color] he explained, showing Ashrah how to use the magic device. It would make getting in touch with each other easy, should they ever need to outside of the tournament. It also meant that Ashrah could keep up with the Seekers' conversations should she wish to. Maybe, Pit thought, after everything was said and done in Esaka they'd even end up with a new member.

Tomorrow they'd meet back up again for the start of Mortal Kombat, but for now the two of them split up once the lift touched down to let them off. Pit hummed pleasantly to himself as he looked around for the Seekers' lodgings, feeling pretty accomplished. He'd gotten a kameo partner and had learned a [i]ton[/i] of stuff, so he felt more than ready for the tournament. Now just to find the hotel (or whatever it was) and check in on everyone else!

[i]Northeast side... next to a park... square with a wrestling belt...[/i] he thought to himself, repeating the description he'd heard Band call out over the pearl. With those directions in mind it wasn't a very long search, and soon enough Pit came upon what had to be Banishing Flats. 

[hr]
At the same time, his kameo partner stood outside the door to her dojo. Ashrah stared at the sign proudly reading [i]Order of Light[/i] in bold caligraphy, the letters raised above an emblem showing a silhouette of a loong's head not unlike the official Mortal Kombat dojo's own icon. It was not so late that the building would be abandoned at this hour. With the tournament looming, she was sure there were more than a few members still inside, just as there had been when she'd left earlier. Members that were still under the spell of an otherworldly deity... 

Ashrah gingerly touched the center of her chest and closed her eyes. With a little concentration she felt warmth begin to physically manifest under her fingers, just as Pit had showed her. She took a breath and dispelled it. Another breath and she opened her dark eyes once more, hard determination showing in them. 

She summoned the Kris to her hand and stepped inside.

[hr][center][h2][color=D34C25]Primrose[/color], [color=BC8DBF]Therion[/color], [color=gray]&[/color] [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]Pit[/color][/h2]
[color=D34C25][u]Level[/u]: [b]11[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 279/110[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 337/100[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 287/80[/color]
[sub][i]Wednesday Evening[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 2572 (+3 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Mid-Tier, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
Yappy did not look pleased in the transition from High to Mid-Tier, his fur fluffed out and half a snarl on his face. He was a well-to-do dog! Well, he had been once. He didn't look the part now. But still! He should be afforded a certain level of luxury! He'd thought that following around the nice looking pair decked out in gold would at least lead to some gourmet table scraps, but so far nothing! Had he chosen wrong in following the boy when the duo had split up? Because right now he was outside some crappy looking wrestling hostel! 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Nobody told you to follow me!"[/color] Pit told him as he pushed open the door to Banishing Flats. Since Yappy didn't have a collar or anything, he had no way to try and find the animal's owner, if he even had one. For all Pit knew Yappy was some kind of battle dog or something, given the city they were in. Despite his displeasure, Yappy slipped into the building after the angel - he didn't want to get caught in the rain on the way back up to the richer parts of Esaka.

When they entered the lobby, Pit found a few of his allies already present. He beamed at them all, especially when he noted a pair that had been absent for most of the day.

Primrose and Therion had shown up to the establishment fairly soon after the call and lounged in a couple of arm chairs as they caught up with the others. There was only so much information they could gather in a day, and touring the entirety of the city was a tiring affair. Now, though, they had a good mental map of Esaka and its immediate surroundings. This being the eve of the latest tournament series they'd picked up a lot of rumors as well, and had been able to corroborate the information with what the Seekers' detectives had learned. 

It was fortunate that they'd stopped in to meet with everyone before finalizing any plans to leave the city and strike out to the Forbidden Kingdom at large, as the one thing they'd been missing was information on the region's Guardian - which had been given to the bulk of the Seekers at lunch. Once informed of the four-in-one nature of Esaka's Kings, the Orsterrans shared a glance.

[color=BC8DBF]"Those guys again..."[/color] Therion mused of the Organization members. He didn't have any particularly strong feelings about them, besides the fact that they did seem to share the same goal, thus he didn't think the Seekers were being lied to. The thief sighed. [color=BC8DBF]"This makes things more complicated. I think I prefer one nasty thing locked away to four celebrities that all need to be beaten within a day."[/color]

Primrose hummed her agreement, gently tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair. [color=D34C25]"I suppose the two of us will be staying in the city then. Now that we know where and who the Guardian... or [i]Guardians[/i] are, the more hands the better."[/color]

It also didn't escape her notice that with Bowser Jr. gone for now, and Sandalphon and Blazermate both part of the Seekers' other contingent, the Gold Team's healing options were... rather limited to say the least. The dancer had one healing spell to her name, and a way to spread its effects to all of her allies, but besides that she wasn't sure if anyone else had any options whatsoever. She'd heard that the Heavenly Principles healed fighters between match rounds, but what about afterward? Or if they decided to forego the tournament and take the fight straight to the Kings instead, which the dancer was already conceiving some ideas about...

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You know, I've been thinking that if they're all one part of one Guardian, wouldn't that make them all one fourth as strong as other Guardians?"[/color] Pit said, crossing his arms over his chest with a nod. It made sense to him. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"So each one'll need less people to beat them! We'll probably be okay with the team we've got now!"[/color]

Which wasn't to say he [i]wanted[/i] Primrose and Therion to go off on their own adventure like Rika and Bowser Jr. had, but if they needed to for any reason maybe they could spare the time. And speaking of time, there was plenty before the final showdown with the Kings at the tournament season's end anyway.

Neither Orsterran looked convinced. 

The majority of the group filtered in after that. Upon seeing Terry sporting a new outfit (which made Primrose raise a questioning brow at the shredded clothes) and fresh eyes wiped of all trace of Galeem's influence, Pit flitted right over to the blonde man.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Terry! So you did get freed! I mean, you said you did, but still it's good to see you back in action for real!"[/color] Pit said to him. In truth he'd been caught up in the whirlwind of lunch and exploring, so it had slipped his mind to make sure Terry was destoried. Thank goodness the others had been on top of it. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Sorry, I should have been there to help out... but now that you're not mind-controlled we'll get you up to speed!"[/color]

A task that Zenkichi jumped right into, giving the man a summary of the most important parts. Pit nodded along as Zenkichi talked. There were some things left out, but maybe they shouldn't try to cram all the information into Terry's head in one sitting anyway. 

The brown chihuahua that had abandoned Pit and had gotten cozy next to Primrose's chair (who was the classiest looking human so far [i]and[/i] had eventually given him a few pets!) perked up at the mention of food, his ears standing straight up on his head and his bug eyes fixed on Terry who'd offered the dinner suggestions. However, when Ms. Fortune entered and surprised them all with her haul of zenny, Yappy swiftly turned his attention to the feral instead. [i]Money![/i] He was going to get a good meal out of this yet!

The story about how she'd come by so much cash didn't bother Pit or the Orsterrans. It was only the negative responses to it that got any reaction from Therion, namely that his tail flicked and he rolled his eyes. [color=BC8DBF]"Always the types that don't help with an empty war chest that complain about how it gets filled,"[/color] he muttered the saying, not so quiet that he couldn't be heard by the rest of the group. If his fellow thief really was going to do some charity and spot the Seekers then the least they could do was keep their mouths shut about her methods.

He could have brought up the details about Consul B as the conversation drifted in that direction, but he refrained for the time being. Maybe when [i]he[/i] was feeling a little more charitable, or at least when they weren't all sitting in a public lobby. 

When two more Seekers arrived, Pit thought it would be the final missing two (besides Junior and Rika who were sort of accounted for elsewhere); but the woman that Amaterasu had tagged along with was not Juri. He frowned -he'd have to find her then, or else hope she dropped in randomly again- but only for a moment.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Amaterasu! Whose this?"[/color] he asked, as no one had yet mentioned Yayama over the linkpearls. To be fair it wasn't like he mentioned that he'd freed someone he met today either. And she was free, that much was clear in the diminutive woman's visible eye.

And with that eye she could see the eclectic crew she was about to throw her lot in with. Among them the dancer, Primrose, who appeared as a beautiful hyur with peach skin, emerald green eyes, a beauty mark by her lips and a small ruby in the center of her forehead, half-obscured by brown bangs, the rest of her hair flowing from brown to red to dirty blonde and pulled into a huge braided ponytail. She also wore a sleeveless rich red dress studded with small gold beads that matched the jewelry she wore. She sat politely in one chair, and in the seat next to hers with his boots thrown up on the coffee table was a shorter man that appeared to be similar to a miqo'te. The thief, Therion, dressed in a set of purple leather-looking armor with a checkered scarf, the left half of his pale face was covered by a mane of white hair that faded into dull blue with black at the tips, the same way the fur of his ears and tail did. The right side of his hair was tied with beads that gave one a clear view of the single visible eye, gray with a slit pupil. 

And then there was the winged boy who'd approached to greet her. Shorter than most of the others present, but still more than a foot taller than Yayama. Dressed in a few pieces of steel armor and robes of white, red and gold with still [i]more[/i] golden accents, he did look fairly holy - especially with the double whammy of glowing golden pupils and a glowing golden wreath atop the head of fluffy brown hair, tipped in white and blonde with a pair of short braids framing both sides of his face. A face that sported a friendly grin.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Another new recruit? Nice to meet you! I'm Pit!"[/color] The apparent elected captain of the Gold Team said.

At the same time, after a glance at the newest comer, a brief discussion of what was next for tonight was taking place. Harry and Kim were planning to head back out into the city, but one glance out of the window at the pouring rain and Therion sunk down deeper into his chair.

[color=BC8DBF]"I'm done for the day,"[/color] he stated, his ears lowering closer to his head. Even though he still had his comically large umbrella, he wanted to avoid getting wet if at all possible. He'd be parked right there in the lobby until the weather cleared up, or else he might just book a room and retire if it was free either way (whether Ms. Fortune paid or he just swiped a room... belt). 

As for Primrose, she said, [color=D34C25]"I was considering finding a few taverns and seeing what business I could drum up myself. With battle being the main form of entertainment I may strike out, but then again maybe the people are starved for something else..."[/color]

She wasn't above accepting a friend's charity, but her own coin purse was a little light at the moment anyway. Some time to fill it, pay her own way, and maybe learn a little more new information while she did it, would be good.

[color=D34C25]"I wouldn't mind some company. Otherwise... there's an inn just outside the city we found that could be another option. A ryokan, the owner called it. Friendly fellow."[/color] Her tone implied that she was really underselling it. [color=D34C25]"If nothing else it may be worth a visit sometime for the hot springs there after long days of fighting."[/color]

It should have been impossible, but Pit's bright eyes seemed to light up even more at that and he turned his head. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I love hot springs!"[/color]

Primrose smiled lightly at him. She, too, had come to really enjoy them. [color=D34C25]"If the captain approves, then I suppose we really ought to look into it~"[/color]

Although before anything else, dinner really wouldn't be a bad idea.