"...Ooooogh." Aiden groaned, cringing as he returned to consciousness. His head was just about exploding with the constant, almost overwhelming pain of a hangover. It hurt to move, to think, to do anything. "Fucking hell... why did I do that," He hissed to himself. The human continued to lay there for several minutes until the pain started to die down, slowly but surely. Eventually, the painful pressure on his senses had dulled enough for him to push himself up into a sitting position and open his eyes. Initially, his vision was blurred, but it started to clear up over the next minute. His hearing was clearer, though, but what he heard next puzzled him.

There was this... odd noise coming from behind one of the walls separating this room from the next. It was loud enough to be heard through them, and they seemed to have been built pretty thick. The noise was harsh and rythymic, and he figured that it sounded akin to a beast's mighty roar. "... What the hell is that," He asked himself as he slipped out of the bed and onto his feet. He flinched, nearly stumbling forward as his sense of balance recalibrated itself. It still hurt to move, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He then proceeded to look over at Konsa's bed to see if the small demon was still resting under the covers.

Konsa was completely covered by the blankets, he had woken a while ago and had been hiding from the sun ever since he first tried to get up. He listened to Aiden stirring, wincing a little as he heard his pained voice. After a moment Konsa's head popped out from under the covers, eyes squinted in pain as he took in his enviroment. His expression was one of puzzlement, also hearing the foreign noise. 

"Oh, you're up. Good," He stated, taking a moment to rub at his half-lidded eyes. "God damn... drinking 'till late last night was fun, but it was also the stupidest thing I've ever done." He sighed. "Not doing that again... hey, you hear that, right?" He looked towards the wall. "You, uh, wanna go find out what it is?"

Konsa groaned, laying back down again. He was silent for a moment but he pushed himself up, untangling himself from the blankets as he struggled to find his footing. "I guess we should..." The short demon growled, still feeling grumpy. He pushed his messy hair from his face, noticing Conrose was no where to be seen.

Aiden nodded, taking a few steps toward Konsa. "Alright... you were kinda grumpy last night, man." He smirked, though it faltered a bit under the pain. "You alright now? One of the few things I distinctly remember was you insulting my face."

Konsa thought of a snappy retort, but being sober now he kept his mouth shut. "I'm doing okay I guess." He said, looking away as he shuffled a few steps back from Aiden. 

"Hm. Okay." He thinned his lips and nodded once. The demon still wasn't too comfortable around him. He only hoped that would change as time progressed. In any case, it was time to move out. He motioned for the Dalimos to follow and headed for the door, twisting the handle and pulling it open. Stepping outside, he glanced down both sides of the hall to see if anyone else was out there.

Konsa turned and followed him to the door, "Do you think they're up already?" He murmured as he stepped out of their room. 

The rythmic noise from the next room ceased. The hall remained empty, though a light snickering could be heard from behind the door the noise had earlier come out from. Talking could be heard coming from below in the tone that could be distinguished as belonging to Novaus. "Well, it's about that time isn't it... I doubt she got up before Eraslyn... we'll be hearing about it shortly.

"... What the." Looking towards the door the noises were coming from, he slowly approached it, his expression one of confusion. Reaching it, he reached up and knocked lightly, waiting for a response, all while giving Konsa a baffled expression. "... Do you think it's over?"

Konsa stayed in one place, frowning and slightly afraid out the unknown noise. "Errr, I hope so." He murmured, brushing his hair from his eyes as he focused on the door.

The door cracked open, Eraslyn's face peering through the crack. "Ssshhh... you'll wake her," she warned in a whisper. "I'll be out in just a moment boys." Then she carefully shut the door once more.

Konsa was startled by her sudden appearance but relaxed once more when she explained. The Dalimos stared for a moment, still confused about exactly what was happening in there. "I guess we better... go downstairs?" He said as he turned to Aiden.

Aiden blinked, unable to figure out what the hell just happened. "Wha... but... what was... I was starting to think that... what? What is going on?"

Konsa sighed, too tired to care at this point, no one seemed to be in immediate danger. "Let's just go downstairs." He yawned, rubbing his eyes as he headed for the stairs.

Novaus was seated in a chair reading a printed paper from Nexulai as the Blind Seer sat next to him, staring up at the ceiling. "What do you suppose it will be this time" she inquired of her bodyguard.

"You know... I've stopped guessing at her antics, she's pretty good at mixing things up," he replied as he flipped the page. "I wonder how they can make so many of these papers every day."

Konsa took a seat next to Blind Seer, glancing over at the newspaper. "Good morning," He greeted, laying his head on the armrest to doze off once more.

Aiden watched Konsa go, but he didn't follow. He was completely unable to figure out just what was going on here. What was Eraslyn doing, and what was that damned noise? His mind was at a blank when he tried to think of a possible answer. He did hear Novaus' voice from downstairs. It carried pretty well, and Aiden knew what he was talking about. He had to smirk at that; of course, Ceciderunt Dea had never even come up the concept of a printing press.

A scream came from behind the door, but it seemed more distant than it ought to be somehow, as though it came in through a window. But Eraslyn's laughter clearly came from within.

"What." Okay, that was it. Something was going on here, and whatever Seraphina was going through, it wasn't pleasant. He opened the door and stepped inside. "What the HELL is going on here?"

Eraslyn stood at the far end of the room, bucket in hand, dripping slightly as though it had held water just moments ago. The window was not open... rather it wasn't even there, but instead a great big hole in the wall, saw dust laying on the ground before it and a saw on the bed nearby. The portion of the wall that was there wasn't entirely missing... it was leaning against the wall adjacent to the massive hole, the window still intact. The room seemed oddly empty... in fact, the second bed was missing entirely.

"... Eraslyn, what..." Aiden just stared at her, his jaw dropped and his eyelids opened as wide as they could be. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He stepped inside, briskly approaching the Dalimos. "Where's..." He then looked at the hole in the wall for several seconds. "... Oh my god. YOU DIDN'T."

"I think the more appropriate question by this point is... what have I done," retorted the daemoness with a chuckle.

Blinded with panic, he dashed for the hole, shoving Eraslyn aside and leaping out of the building through the hole. "SERAPHINA, HOLD ON!"

Seraphina lay in her bed, her blankets wrapped around her in the street below as she screamed, part of it in panic, part of it in anger, but still quite ear shattering. "I SWEAR I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!!!" Eraslyn simply laughed harder from her spot in the building, doubling over as she did so.

Fortunately, it wasn't a long fall. However, Aiden still wasn't awake enough to be as deft as he could've been. Instead of landing on open ground, he fell into some bushes lining the side of the inn. "Oof! God... DAMN IT!" Aiden let out a yell of irritation as he freed himself from the bushes. He immediately sprinted over to Seraphina's bed and slid to a stop at its side. From there, he grasped the Caelestine's shoulders with a panic-stricken expression.

"Seraphina," He said through his rapid pants, "Are you okay?!"

"I'm alright," she huffed. A small crowd gathering around and Novaus and the Blind Seer stepped out. Seraphina sat up, keeping her blankets tightly wrapped about her.

"She never fails to surprise does she," asked the angel.

Novaus focused instead at the large hole in the wall, "She must have had a big contract if she isn't afraid to cause property damage like that for her little pranks."

Seraphina then glanced at Aiden's hand stil on her shoulder, and her cheeks turned red once again.

"Okay... okay, good, I was-" He noticed the blush, and that was when he realized that he was still gripping her shoulders. "Oh." He immediately withdrew his hands and blushed back. "S-sorry, I just... I was worried that you were hurt!"

She nodded nervously, then got up cautiously and made her way to the inn's door as Novause moved to disperse the gathered crowd. A gust of wind blew past Aiden and Seraphina as Eraslyn's laughter ended abruptly. A large bat winged shadow cast over them by the morning sun.

"Wha-" Aiden froze up as he felt something zip right by him, its shadow being cast over him. What the hell was that? He tried to get a good look at whatever had just arrived.

A Dalimos woman stood over the two, her leathery wings still stretched still from her flight. She wore a polished steel plated breastplate and armored skirt, and the armor on her shins and feet seemed particularly thick. Her skin was dark, and her eyes a cold ice blue. Her gauntlets an ornate combination of Steel with gold trimming with a few inlaid rubies along the knuckles. The fingers were open to allow what were less nails and more like claws extending from her fingers. Her face was sharply defined and her glare was piercing, as if staring directly into Aiden's soul.

"... Oh." Aiden blanched, completely surprised by this woman's sudden arrival. He stared at her much like a deer would stare into approaching headlights. He took an instinctive step back as he tried to regain his composure. "Who... what do you want?"

"Could someone explain what exactly is going on here," she inquired authoritatively, her voice carrying an almost regal tone to it. Seraphina shook a little to the words.

A mouse like "eep" came from the hole above, prompting the woman to place her palm over her face. "Please tell me that isn't Eraslyn."

Fear slowly gave way to understanding. This woman must have been a member of Keranlus' town guard. Sighing in relief, he looked back up at her with a tired expression. "I'm afraid so... you two have a history?"

She let out a sigh, "Indeed we have..." she began, then turned towards the wall with a fierce expression as she began to shout, "AND I STILL HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU!" Shortly following this, the sound of a door slamming came from the hole in the inn... Eraslyn has fled somewhere deeper into the building.

The Blind Seer began to walk towards the woman, "You know it's all in harmless fun though, Elise Unbrek... and you know she's good for paying for any damages her little pranks have incurred."

Seraphina turned sharply towards the angel with an exasperated expression, "You call this little!"

"Yeah... yeah, I'd hardly call this little!" Aiden was none too pleased with Eraslyn's prank either. He stepped forward. "She threw her out of a window. She could've died! What kind of friend does that?!"

Novaus pointed to the bed, perfectly intact, "it is more likely she floated it down with one of her spells seeing as that would be a pile of timber if it had been thrown out."

"I'm surprised you of all people are defending her," stated Elise. "She's played some pretty big ones on you if memory serves."

"And never once was I ever actually injured. She's mischeivous, but she isn't dangerous is all I'm saying," responded the mercenary.

"But it's quite embarrassing," called out the Caelestine still wrapped tightly in her covers.

"Floated? How did... oh, right. Magic." He rolled his eyes. "I still can't quite wrap my head around it... well, I believe you, Novaus. You've known her longer than I have." He was about to continue when something clicked in his mind.

"... Wait." He turned back to Seraphina with a single eyebrow raised. "Let me get this straight, Seraphina. She sawed a hole open in the wall, picked up your bed, set you down on the street... and you slept through it all?"

"Well... uh... I don't know" replied Seraphina, a confused look on her face.

"Don't be surprised," started Novaus. "Eraslyn specializes in infiltration and stealth, among the spells she's learned are a few related to sleep," explained the Mercenary.

"Really, now," Aiden replied, "Heh... and here I was starting to think that she naturally slept like the dead. Man... magic that can make you sleep deeper? Magic scares me sometimes." He then looked back up at the taller Dalimos. "And you, er... Elise, correct? What did Eraslyn do to you?"

"I don't speak of such childish antics," she declared as she turned her fierce expression towards the human.

"She took all her clothes, the sheets and blankets to the beds and even stripped the carpet from the floor at an inn in Ferrocor on her way here," revealed the Blind Seer.

"You know... I swear at times that your worse than that little demon," declared Elise.

"...What." Aiden immediately broke into hysterical laughter, doubling over a bit and taking a step back towards Seraphina. "Good lord... ha ha! That's good...hooo. Man. Seriously, though, what is that woman's problem? What compels her to do that?!"

"She never quite grew up," answered Novaus. "She's been this way since her days at the orphanage at Kanas. Still, she's responsible to pay for any damage she causes to the properties she tears up."

"She truly is a free spirit," He said as he laid eyes on the hole once more, "Though maybe a bit too free at times, heh..." He then turned back to Elise, "And I imagine you're gonna go kick her ass right now, aren't you?"

"Knowing her, she's probably well on her way out of here," replied Elise. "She's quite good at getting away as well, otherwise I'd have had her locked up some time ago to teach her a lesson... between her illusions and her ability to summon favorable tailwinds, it's virtually impossible to catch when when she simply wants to disappear." The tall woman then brushed past Aiden and towards Seraphina, still a little intimidated by Elise's presence. "Come then, lets get you back inside... at least you have something to wrap about yourself... I had to wrap a mattress around myself when I was the victim of one of Eraslyn's pranks," she said, partially wrapping Seraphina with one of her wings.

"I see... to be able to confuse the mind so easily, that's remarkable... so she's long gone, huh? Shame, I never got to say goodbye." He nodded slowly, eyes flicking downward for a moment. Elise's short recounting of her own prank brought an amused grin to his face, though, and he tilted his head curiously once she wrapped a wing around Seraphina.

"The way you wrap your wing around her... is that a common gesture in Ceciderunt Dea? I've had it happen to me before by both the Seer and Eraslyn. I'm sure it was in my studies, but the details escape me..."

As the pair vanished into the door, Novaus stepped up to Aiden, "Among winged Caelestine and Demons, whilst not in active use, the wings will sometimes mimic the gestures of the arms," he began to explain. Additionally, it is sometimes used as a sign of respect or endearment."

The Blind Seer then cut in, "in this case however, it is to minimize the dangers of the wind blowing on the sheets that the daughter of Galric has as the only means to remain decent at this time. Has the thought really not occurred to you?"

"Ahhh. I understand." He nodded sagely, only to stop after hearing the Seer's statement. "... Wait... she sleeps in the nu-..." Aiden's cheeks immediately turned beet red. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Seraphina slept in the nude... and there was the very real possibility of him accidentally pulling away part of the sheet when he rushed to check on her. "Uh..."

"Is one dressed as a noble of Akreaus and fancies himself a gentleman having impure thoughts," inquired the angel.

"That's enough," stated her bodyguard as he placed a hand gently on the angel's head. "I do thank you for rushing to her aid young Aiden."

"What's all this commotion," shouted the Artificer as he stepped out from the tavern, carrying a plate with him as he continued to shovel scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Konsa followed shortly after him, obviously still only half-awake. He shielded his eyes from the sunlight, stopping by Novaus. "I assume this what you would call a shenanigan?" He grunted, crossing his arms over his chest as he fully took in the scene.

"Nothing!" Aiden said a bit quickly, "Nothing at all, Conrose. Don't you worry, the situation's under control..." Really, he was surprised that he didn't come out earlier. Did Conrose really miss everything that had just happened?

The man raised his eyebrow, swallowed his food and pointed a foork at the explorer, "You know... you should stay an honest man, because you are quite lousy at lying," he said in a demeaning tone. "I'm going to take a guess, something happened in Eraslyn and Seraphin'a room because there is a hole in the inn's wall at about the area their's would have been, and there is a bed sitting in the middle of the street. I don't see Seraphina being the type to cause trouble, so I'm willing to wager that the Daemoness is responsible."

"... Yes." He sighed in defeat. The human really didn't want Conrose to get involved in this, but there was no way to avoid it, was there? "It was a mess, but ultimately, a harmless one." He rubbed his eyes. "This is not how I expected to wake up in the morning. Oh well..." He started to head back into the tavern, walking past Conrose. "I need some water."

The Zalphyrene shrugged, then followed Aiden back into the Tavern, the Blind Seer following the two, using their souls as a guide as Novaus went back into the inn.