[center][abbr=Ace Cadet][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190924/544c85ab5c75bc61a4bb5ce40dc0caa6.png[/img][/abbr]
[color=salmon][sub][i]Friday Midday[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 1108 (+2 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]9[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 620/90
[b]Location:[/b] Moon Mountain, The Frozen Highlands[/color][/center]
The conclusion of the Fred story was swift, thankfully. As worn down as the Seekers were now, if the face stealer had been allowed to transform into some paint-made monster (if it even had an ability like that in the first place) then things would have gotten messy, fighting on the side of the mountain. Once the imposter was taken care of and the real Fred was reunited with his face, giving the Seekers many teary thanks, Ace let himself relax again. He stowed his weapon and gave Frederic a wide smile, genuinely glad that they'd been able to help the man. He was also pleasantly surprised to hear Sandalphon invite the painter aboard the Avenger. It might be good for him, Ace thought, even leaving aside his stated ability to make copies of equipment. 

It was an interesting ability though, and definitely not a reward that the Seekers should ignore. While Edward stepped forward to offer a suggestion on what should be duplicated, Ace thought about some options himself. If Frederic wouldn't, or couldn't do weapons then painting a new shield wouldn't work... and the hunter's cold weather armor wouldn't affect the others the same way it did him. Maybe another copy of the amulet Edward had crafted for someone else to use? An extra Focus Sash for when one of them was inevitably used up? Honestly what would probably benefit the Cadet most was a whole other backpack. Probably best to leave the duplication decision to the boss and everyone else.

[color=salmon]"It'd be good to have you along, if you decide you want to join up,"[/color] Ace told Frederic. [color=salmon]"The base is a pretty cool place."[/color]

While the painter thought it over, the Seekers spread out as much as they could while still keeping relatively close together. The little pillar of warmth was joined by Sectonia's red antlers, making sure that the group wouldn't freeze while they regrouped and took a breather. 

Now the Cadet decided to do his inventory. He found a relatively flat stone after brushing mounds of snow off of a few and took his pack off to place it down. At the same time, the one-antlered cat hopped onto the rock and curiously pawed the hunter's equipment as he began setting it out, at which point Ace realized that she was probably going to stick around since she still hadn't scampered after the rest of the refugees. She wasn't the only one, which meant more mouths to feed and more pets to look after. Ace turned to properly look at the cat, squinting his eyes slightly, and sensing his eyes the cat met his eyes with her beady black ones. That dopey face... Ace sighed fondly and reached out to ruffle the feline's head, which she seemed to enjoy. [color=salmon]"Welcome to the pawty, I guess."[/color]

Ace released the Humbee to occupy the cat while he worked, the two creatures cautiously smelling each other before the latter hopped off of the stone to try and catch the insect in the air, who playfully zipped in and out of her reach. As for Ace's inventory... he'd run out of rations, only had a couple of potions and one lifepowder remaining, had used up a huge amount of ammo including all of his flame and water shots, and his shield still had a bite taken out of it. He frowned. [i]I could ditch the Master Bang and make some room, but...[/i] but he did have some sentimental connection to it. At the very least he'd prefer to retire it in his boarding room on the Avenger or melt it down to use in the creation of something new. 

As for replacing the ammo and rations, it was possible with his Alchemy Barrel - although he'd have to sacrifice some slightly more useful items to make the former. The rations would be tougher considering he only had a small amount of herbs, fruits, and the like that he'd taken from the ingredients garden. 

It took a bit to reorganize, but after it was done Ace slung the backpack back on and came away equipped with Gough's Greatbow and the Frilled Claws for now. That did leave the pile of spirits too, none of which appealed much to the Cadet. Then again, he should probably take a page out of Heismay's book and bind something as a striker even if it was unpleasant - their usefulness really couldn't be overstated. He would prefer to just turn them all into items, but maybe...

While he was thinking about it, Heismay approached the larger group and see what their next move was. Before seriously replying, Ace glanced down at the two toms trailing close behind the eugief. [color=salmon]"Heh, you got adopted too?"[/color]

At the same time Edward was gearing up the group with his scouts and, surprisingly, a new vehicle to use. Sectonia then gave her opinion, and at that point Ace weighed in too.

[color=salmon]"We'll have to keep moving,"[/color] he said, dismissing Sectonia's first option of resting. They [i]would[/i] have to rest, but they couldn't right now. [color=salmon]"We can camp if we find a good place once we get to the top, but we're gonna need to get to a more stable place-"[/color] -the narrow path on the edge of the mountain with weathered ruins that could collapsed under their own weight was hardly safe after all- [color=salmon]"-and..."[/color]

Ace spread his hands, his usual optimistic smile tighter than normal because he was about to bring up a problem that had plagued the group since setting out in the Frozen Highlands. [color=salmon]"...we have to find food."[/color]

They also hadn't been able to cure Sandalphon yet, which was going to be rough on both her and her team. Keeping her strength up was imperative, in addition to the rest of the Seekers that needed to eat. 

[color=salmon]"I found a portable stove earlier while we were climbing, and I've got some mushrooms and berries, but that's all. So unless we resort to eating some of the group animals,"[/color] which he seriously doubted any of the other Seekers would be keen on doing, even if they did have that huge reindrix somewhere they could portion up, [color=salmon]"we gotta hope there's some game or a frozen orchard up here, and keep going to find it."[/color]

The Ironclad, as Edward referred to the summoned vehicle, would most likely scare away anything living up at the mountain top - or draw more aggressive things closer. So it'd probably be best to have one or two scout parties accompany a few of the man's drones once they got going so they could procure some sustenance as soon as possible.