[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]
[sub][i]Thursday Afternoon[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 1308 (+3 exp) 
[u]Level[/u]: [b]8[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 325/80 
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Pools, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
With plans to secure some lodgings for Pit's team later after they left the Pools tier, angel and demon headed for the other side of the Mortal Kombat area. They followed the rough stone pathway around, headed for the location of Sareena's last match of the day. The Seekers had barely spent two days in Esaka, but Pit was already starting to find the Pools to be a very familiar place even if he couldn't say the same for the rest of the city. It basically meant then he started to notice things about it, what was the same and what was different from earlier, and the first difference was...

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Is it just me, or are there a lot more yokai around now?"[/color]

The early impression of the Pools was that they generally didn't draw much of an audience. Competitors gathering info on rivals in their bracket, people supporting their fighting friends, and die hard fans that would never miss even one match featuring their bias were the bulk of the individuals on the side lines - so the fact that this particular area seemed to be packed with Esaka's ethereal populace stuck out to Pit. Ashrah too, as the woman narrowed her eyes slightly at the chattering crowd as it began to thin out. There were yokai of all types, but in particular there were [i]tengu.[/i] [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/f4b5c5a382ab.png]Large[/url], [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/ec383f137d34.png]medium[/url], and [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/35a689864fe1.png]small ones[/url], with varying features but enough similarities that it was easy enough to tell they were the same type of creature. They raised their fans or shook their staffs jubilantly as they began to take off, fading back into the stream or rising into the air.  

"...I believe I know what's happened," Ashrah said after a few moments, recalling the opponent her sister was slated to fight against. 

They weaved around the crowd. Most of the arenas on this level, besides being all obviously water-themed, were pretty wide open with plenty of natural light; but when possible the MK section seemed to be a lot more shaded. Idly Pit wondered if that was intentional, because of the tournament's whole 'theme.' It was a little silly if it was... though it did make for some decent areas where participants (or spectators trying too hard) could stand in shadow and brood. This was where they found Ashrah's fellow demon, her back to a pillar and her arms crossed tight over her pinched face. 

At this point it wasn't hard to guess what might have happened, but it was made obvious when a fuzzy gray hand landed on Pit's shoulder and he looked up to see a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/2c9108318b10.png]buff tengu[/url] with its beak-like mouth curled up happily. 

"You got here too late to see the mistress win!" it told him, its wings jittering. "She took both rounds one after the other, same as the first match! Ah, what a glorious return to the tournaments!"

The tengu gave Pit a shake in its excitement, but after feeling his head rattled around Pit wriggled out of the yokai's grasp. It didn't seem to mind, wrapped up in its celebratory mood as it was. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"'Mistress'? What are you talking about??"[/color] he asked somewhat impatiently, which earned him a confused tilt of the tengu's head.

"Huh? Y'know, the mistress! The princess?" 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I know a lot of princesses, you gotta give me more than that."[/color]

The yokai's eyes trailed from Pit's face to his wings and then back again, failing to put together that he was not in fact speaking to a fellow tengu. It took a another few seconds for Pit to realize the misunderstanding himself, but before he could correct it another hand landed on his other shoulder, nudging him forward once more. A lighter touch, belonging to his kameo partner who'd found him again among the leaf fans and feathers. 

"He meant our next opponent for tomorrow," Ashrah clarified as she led the two of them to the edge of the area. Both her face and her voice were impassive, but Pit picked up the slight hint of both surprise and regret in them. He glanced back at the buff tengu, though it only rubbed its thumb over its chin as it hummed in thought, then shrugged and turned away from the retreating pair. 

The angel traced the shape of the tournament bracket in his mind. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"So Sareena really lost?"[/color]

The woman in question had already spotted them and met them halfway, her dark eyes glinting with muted fury. 

"I underestimated her in the first round; a foolish mistake that I paid for," Sareena explained, clenching her fists at her sides. "By the time the second began, the momentum was already with her. Never before has the Order of Light been eliminated so quickly! I should have transformed..."

Ashrah laid a palm on her sister's shoulder. Sareena glanced at the gesture of comfort, her eyes flickering over to meet Ashrah's briefly before she made a [i]tch[/i] noise and turned away. By now the three of them were standing in the open, part way between the arena-side and the lip of the tier as a whole, and the gathering of yokai had really thinned out. Only a few of the more playful ones still remained, poorly re-enacting their princess' moves from the fight. Frustration practically oozed off of Sareena at the sight. Pit knew from experience that it would be lingering for a while and there was little anyone could say after a loss that would ease it, but he spoke up anyway, gesturing to himself and Ashrah.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You still got us! The Order of Light and Seekers of Light crossover team!"[/color] He smiled at Sareena, shifting to rest one fist at his hip. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm [i]technically[/i] repping Fight of Gods, but since Ashrah's my partner we're kinda fighting for your dojo too. And we're going all the way, so don't worry - we'll protect your pride!"[/color]

It was a moment before the sisters replied. Ashrah was the first, returning Pit's smile gingerly. "Well said."

Sareena let out half of a sigh before nodding once. 

"I suppose that's true. The rest of us in the Order will support you while we continue to look for other ways to strike at Shao Khan."

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Deal!"[/color] Pit chirped. 

It was nice to know that it wasn't just Ashrah in the Seekers' corner, but her fellow fighters as well. If push came to shove extra help might be useful, especially when it was four separate bosses that the Gold Team would have to face.

But that would come later. As the afternoon wore on, the people gathered at the Pools grew fewer and fewer. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Let's see who else still fighting, then we'll move on. Wanna come with us, Sareena?"[/color]

"No. I'll return to the Order of Light and suffer the embarrassment of filling them in on my loss," the demoness replied, the clench of her jaw signalling that she really was taking it hard. "I was looking forward to facing you, but... stop by later with Ashrah and I'll tell you what I know about your new opponent."

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Sure, maybe, gotta see what else is going on first,"[/color] Pit said. He might not remember to do it after checking in to see what the other Seekers were up to, especially with regards to the meeting about G-Corp that he'd missed. Not to mention that when it came to getting the low down on fighters, Lady Palutena was always eager to share what she knew.

"See you later then," Ashrah said, bidding her sister a farewell. Sareena parted from them, making a solitary bee line for the nearest lift up to the Mid Tier.

Once more Pit and Ashrah were left to their own devices, not that the angel intended it to remain that way for long.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Alright, let's go see what everyone else is up to!"[/color]

[indent][/indent]
[center][abbr=Octopath Travelers][img]https://i.imgur.com/vqBbCJL.png[/img][/abbr]
[sup]____________________________________________________[/sup]
[color=D34C25][u]Level[/u]: [b]11[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 313/110[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 364/100[/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=lightgray][sub][i]Thursday Afternoon[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 984 (+2 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: Esaka's Pools, the Forbidden Kingdom[/color][/center]
When the dancer arrived at her destination, she was one of a few bystanders who had gathered to watch. The stone paths circled a wide pool of water, forming a raised ring. In the pool's center, a circular concrete arena held an angular stage with bright red strips of light forming the border. Primrose rested her arms on the railing that stood around the ring of water, leaning against it as she cast her eyes down upon the arena.

Nadia's match had already started, but if Primrose had her timeline right it couldn't have been very long. She was not a fighting connoisseur, so the intricacies of the four women's technique or their skill in stringing combos together was mostly lost on her - but she had not come to watch a match per se as much as she'd come to support her friend. 

...not that she couldn't get some entertainment at the same time. That was what this spectacle was for after all. She watched the fight with interest, following every flip, dodge, and thrust. Idly she wondered what Olberic might say if he were there spectating with her. He would probably appreciate that dagger wielder's expertise if nothing else.

The first round of the match ramped up gradually, and it concluded in the double Fortunes' defeat. Primrose's brows rose up when the golden flow of the Principles declared the round, nearly as surprised as Nadia herself when Maya pulled the win out with a quick turn at the end. She did not cheer or boo though, simply watching the pairs recover and start gearing up for round two.

Soon after the beginning of the second round, Primrose heard a soft buzz in her ear. She murmured back and settled in to continue spectating, and it was not long before the current round hurtled towards its conclusion that she turned her head to find her expected guest.

Before the impromptu luncheon had wrapped up, Therion slipped out a little early. He'd said what he wanted to say and heard what he'd wanted to hear; if anything important came up after the fact he was sure he'd hear about it soon enough, but he doubted there would be any huge revelations. He was still sorting out his own thoughts, but he really hadn't found much reason to doubt the 'United Nations' other than the fact that, well, the Seekers didn't know them. He was planning to help out, though healthy suspicion sat in his stomach as he made his way back down a tier to do as Primrose had asked and fill her in.

The thief leaned on the railing next to her, his ears flicking toward the battle below. He quickly recognized Ms. Fortune based on her unique fighting style, just in time to see her dunk her opponent into the ring of water. This was the first match he'd seen in person, and he found himself noting the wounds on both fighters as they regrouped.

[color=D34C25]"It's one and one at the moment,"[/color] Primrose said. Therion hadn't asked, but it did satisfy his faint curiosity. 

[color=BC8DBF]"Not going to give her a 'hurrah'?"[/color]

[color=D34C25]"No, I don't want to spook her, especially now that you're here."[/color]

[color=BC8DBF]"Spook her...?"[/color] 

Therion glanced at his fellow Orsterran, though a moment later he connected the dots with Primrose's train of thought. Right, the whole reason part of the team was even thinking about running off after G-Corp in the first place. Still, he scoffed. 

[color=BC8DBF]"She's not a wild animal, she's a grown woman."[/color]

Primrose turned to him, lowering her head to rest on her hands as she gave him an enigmatic smile. [color=D34C25]"And what would you know about women, Therion?"[/color]

He clicked his mouth shut with a [i]tch[/i] noise. [i]Can't argue with that.[/i]

He left the topic alone, shifting to rest his back against the railing instead. What would be the final round of the match was about to start, but he didn't have much interest in watching the rest. 

[color=BC8DBF]"Whatever. I just came to tell you about that meeting."[/color]

Primrose had already turned her eyes back to the arena.

[color=D34C25]"By all means."[/color]

Therion spoke quietly, relaying everything. The dancer hummed in acknowledgement as he continued with recounting his opinions alongside the facts. It wasn't a long tale.

[color=D34C25]"Seems like a sound plan... and I don't mind lending a hand,"[/color] Primrose said. [color=D34C25]"What were you planning to do?"[/color]

If she were to guess, then perhaps the thought of getting away from the city even for just a few hours would lead Therion to join the assault team. However, he minutely shook his head.

[color=BC8DBF]"Not sure yet. It's easier to find someone here than it seems, so looking into those celebrities night be quick. The group that goes after the reinforcements is gonna need preparation though."[/color]

[color=D34C25]"I agree, although considering the distribution of people already... what they might actually need is some patience."[/color]

[color=BC8DBF]"...ah."[/color]

It was definitely not only possible, but probable that the assault team could have already gotten started. Therion pushed off of the railing and scooted off, most likely to check things out on that front.

At the same time, Nadia's match had gotten more vicious. But it was soon to be decided, and in dramatic fashion. When the cat burglar took hold of Maya and began to spin with the woman in her clutches, even Primrose could tell it was over. The impact only drove the point home. A few seconds passed after the official declaration of Nadia's win before Primrose moved, circling around the arena to try and catch the victorious cat girl before she disappeared into Esaka's belly. 

[color=D34C25]"Ms. Fortune~"[/color] Primrose called once she was close enough, loud enough to be heard but not too draw more attention than she wanted. She didn't have a plan thought out, but she was hopeful that she wouldn't be rebuffed based on their earlier meeting, however brief.