[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]: 343/110[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 413/100[/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]: 370/80[/color]
[sub][i]Friday Afternoon[/i][/sub]
Word Count: 1256 (+3 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: Ashwat Village, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
Not every Seeker stationed in Esaka planned to make their way out of the city just then. Fighting Consuls was important, but their main strategy of accessing the area's Guardians without an all out assault on their towers was still to earn the right to face them through the city's tournament series - and missing just one scheduled fight meant their chances of winning were so much slimmer. That some prioritized their matches wasn't surprising, and few could blame them.

Of course those that weren't fighting could be expected to show up, such as Primrose and Therion. The former had gone to Esaka's Mid-Tier to collect the group of Seekers that had been playing around in the Power Stone Games, awaiting their emergence from various stages at the park's main entrance (which also happened to be its exit as well). Therion, Rika, Bowser Jr., and Yayama were then collected and filled in on what was going on in case their activities had distracted them from the chatter through their linkpearls, or if they had simply switched the devices off. With her ability to make herself invisible, it was hard to tell if Juri had decided to come with them or not. Thanks to Junior the group that [i]was[/i] visible didn't look too worse for wear, but the presence of the two spirits in their possession was very telling. 

[color=BC8DBF]"G-Corp is hunting us back,"[/color] Therion told her when he spotted the question in her gaze. There was little inflection in his voice; just plain fact. Primrose tipped her head lightly just to indicate that she'd heard him. The Seekers' situation in Esaka, which had seemed so simple when they'd first arrived, was quickly headed for a complicated tangle.

Therion himself had the same thoughts. He also identified his own shortcomings when it came to facing down the types of people that called Esaka home. He simply was not well suited for one on one fights, especially when they were against martial artists and the like which excelled at them. Neither he nor Primrose were what one could call frontliners, at least not their original selves, but the thief especially had benefited less physically from his fusions than his fellow Orsterran. Before he had tried to mitigate one of his new weaknesses with more spirits, and while it hadn't worked the way he'd actually wanted it to the results were still helpful. There was no reason he couldn't do the same now, make the odds a little better for himself. 

So when the Travelers arrived to Ashwat Village, one of them was a little different than they'd been that morning.

[center][hider=For Therion]Skill Inheritance: [b]Sergi Dragunov[/b]
Grants a color palette with black hair, pale skin, gray eyes, gray-white outerwear, a desaturated green top, and de-saturated purple pants. Confers the skill [b]Samozashchita Bez Oruzhiya[/b], or 'Sambo', an unarmed fighting style derived from Judo. Specifically Combat Sambo, it focuses on a variety of strikes, locks, and holds handpicked for raw efficiency. It is a brutal art that demands strength from the practitioner.[/hider][/center]
Once the rain had stopped Primrose tucked her umbrella away under her arm. She didn't waste time touring the village, though she did note that this much calmer atmosphere must be what it was usually like. Therion wasn't far behind her (and she behind Yayama who was faster than her small legs implied) as they made their way towards Big Band. His size really made him a natural landmark for the Seekers to gather around. 

Though the Orsterrans were not lost in thought like their lalafell acquaintance, so they caught bits and pieces of Band and Fortune's conversation as they got closer. Primrose gave the both of them a smile in lieu of a greeting. 

[color=D34C25]"Nice to see you again in one piece,"[/color] she told Nadia, despite having met with the woman the day before. Of course she'd heard the feral's voice over the linkpearl a little bit ago, so her appearance at the village was not a surprise. 

Therion's complete lack of reaction even to her new outfit implied that he had seen her in it at least once already, though he'd never approached Ms. Fortune since the whole incident at the motel. Being a thief himself, Therion had always been on Ms. Fortune's side in this mess (save for thinking she should have put more thought into her targets), so the only part that really concerned him was what she said about Kazuya.

[color=BC8DBF]"Once we're done with R,"[/color] he said, going right to business talk, [color=BC8DBF]"we'll have to track him down again, get all of this over with."[/color]

And maybe even get a shot at B too, if his assumption about the bounty reward was correct... if it was even a real reward in the first place.

Speaking of Consul R, that was the reason they'd all gathered here in the first place. Arriving only a little afterward was another group out of Esaka, consisting of half of the Seekers' rep team in KOF, a white haired woman unfamiliar to most of the others, and the Gold Team's captain himself. 

Pit's final match of the day, which also happened to be his last match in Pools for Mortal Kombat, was scheduled for the evening. He might have been thinking optimistically, but he thought that he had time between then and now to take down a Consul. Plus he was acting as the group's interim leader while in the Forbidden Kingdom - he pretty much had to be there. If something went wrong and he wasn't there, he'd never forgive himself.

...not that anything would go wrong! The Seekers had beaten Consuls before, and with Pit in charge he was going to do his best to make sure everyone came out of this operation safely. And if things did take longer than expected, he had a secret trick up his sleeve that he could use to get back to Esaka in time for his match: beg Lady Palutena to use her Power of Warp to teleport him.

After waving at the Seekers already gathered and jogging the rest of the way to meet up with them, Pit was the first to respond to Yayama's inquiry. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Not that I've heard,"[/color] he said. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But they say no news is good news!"[/color]

The shift in focus had definitely helped him get past the strange melancholy of the late morning, so now in the cloudy afternoon Pit was as chipper as he normally was - although there was a hint of the commander that he technically was in his voice and body language as he went on, considering Yayama's considering.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Until we know more about our target, we gotta plan something that has a good chance to work no matter who we're up against. Since it's an ambush -that we're pulling off for once!- it'd make the most sense to blitz him and then trap him before he can respond while he's confused."[/color]

Pit punched a hand into his open palm as he said the last part. It was a fairly basic plan, all things considered. He didn't elaborate though, instead looking around at the Seekers first with a somewhat critical, searching eye before his gaze softened up. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"We can talk about it on the way though! 'Cause first we got a road trip north, right?"[/color]

They'd have to find a good spot from which to launch their attack after all. Nothing too close to Esaka, lest the Consul currently stationed there jumped in to throw a wrench into the Seekers' plans. Although with a group on the larger side, it might behoove them to find some other form of transportation besides their feet if they wanted to make decent time.

And if the traveling group might eventually turn out to be just a little bigger than previously thought due to a tail presently keeping some distance, the Seekers would find out soon enough.

[hr][center][h2]...& Kayna![/h2][b]Location[/b]: Tyrannian Plateau: Warfang, the Forbidden Kingdom[/center]
In many stories in many worlds, dragons and humans were enemies. Whether one side saw themselves superior to the other, or one betrayed the other, or one was relegated to being simple violent beasts that needed dominating, the two races generally stood opposed. But of course that was not always the case. Especially here in the Tyrannian Plateau, where the number of humans nursing old grudges over past battles of Warfang was rivaled by those that had no quarrel with the city's current rulership, as it didn't matter to them which side was in charge. People that lived alongside monsters, dragons, and dinosaurs and treated them as kin. People like...

"To the Beastmaker Guild base, Avmar! That way!"

A tanned young woman with tribal lines patterned on her skin. She was not wearing much besides a few pieces of painted and lacquered armor, which included a feathered mask - currently perched on her forehead rather than her face, which showed off bright green eyes and a friendly demeanor. If the team from the Avenger knew what to look for, they would certainly find that locating their oblivious [url=https://www.monsterhunter.com/stories2/assets/images/character/chara05.png]contact[/url] was going to be a lot easier than expected. Like so many others there was also a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/3c7ccc5279b9.png]scaly beast[/url] accompanying her while she walked. Standing about twice as tall at its head and more than three times as long from nose to tail, with saddle harness and head piece affixed, it was easy to assume this particular monster was normally her ride as well as her friend, the latter made obvious by how she talked to it.

"We did get here kind of early though... let's stop for a quick lunch first!"

They both made a beeline for a personal favorite establishment until they were leaning over the Chomby's food cart, the Velocidrome practically salivating. Kayna herself studied the options very seriously, her chin tucked in the crook between her thumb and forefinger. "It'll be a while until we head back that way so let's get a few! What are you thinkin', Avmar? Bacon again?"

The raptor made a hoarse chirping noise, and Kayna nodded. "You're right. How about the fishy one!"

A more drawn out half-roar this time, which was apparently a noise of agreement. Kayna grinned and patted the monster's head.

"Sounds good! Two of those, please! And one meat feast, aaaand one tangy tigersquash!"

She seemed satisfied with her choices until something suddenly occurred to her, and she turned to Avmar with a curious look. "We should get one for Master Kol too, don't you think? Something he can split with that old Canyne. Hm... well, you can't go wrong with ham and cheese!" 

If dinosaurs could bark, that was pretty close to what Avmar let out this time. Three barks and one wag of his long tail, which threatened to knock over any tourists that weren't used to walking through Warfang where one [i]always[/i] had to keep an eye out for stray tails to avoid tripping over.