[IC] The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

[Pachamac]

Tagress: Hospital: Corridor outside Amy's room

“No! No! Noooooo! Grandma, noooooooo!!!”

The pitiful wails of Trent echoed throughout the entire Hospital, as Selan dragged the Boarder to the awaiting arms of the Head Nurse. Trent’s screams were short lived, as it wasn’t much longer before he was thrown atop the nurse’s lap and given the injection he had so desperately tried to escape. Seconds later, he collapsed, and slept soundly in the Recovery Ward’s room that he shared with the Pride, sucking on his thumb, oblivious to the distressed screams of his friends whom were subjected to Elaine’s soup… a soup so potent in its magical recovery and elixir properties… that it pushed back the Pride’s dismissing from the Hospital by another week.

The weeks would slowly pass... however the Pride became stronger, and stronger, and drew ever closer to one another as time went by. Together, they shared in revelry and jokes, growing as close together as though they were a real family... a family truly united.

And then, four weeks later…

[Pachamac]

Four weeks later

Tagress: Guild

Four weeks had slowly… slowly passed.

During that time, the Pride had recovered to the best of their abilities within that time. Those with minor injuries had fully recovered, including their spent magical abilities. Those whom had suffered far more worse, physical injuries, such as Celeste, Don, Marcus and especially Estelle, still suffered to various degrees. Estelle was still covered in a mishmash of bandages across her arms, legs and chest, but she looked less like a mummy now, and none obscured her face. She was able to leave the hospital and walk freely, but her body still ached and her muscles felt stiff. She was instructed by the hospital staff to take it easy, with her companions ordered to help with any of Estelle’s needs… but all involved had little doubt on what would inevitably happen.




“Yahoo!!!” Estelle screeched, her arms thrust high in the air, celebrating her first day of freedom from the Hospital. Sitting at one of the Guild’s tables, before her was set a bevy of courses and dishes, all set to be tucked into and readily devoured by the hungry Estelle, who had grown tired of eating the same boring Hospital food and Elaine’s poisonous remedies. "All of this looks so, so yummy!" Estelle grinned from ear to ear, before picking up her cutlery and voraciously digging in to the soup and meat.

She was seated with many of her friends, including Marcus, whose portions were considerably smaller and more respectable. He gave Estelle a happy, content smile, before he and their friend’s celebrations would begin.

Nikki and Celeste quickly and enthusiastically dived into their portions too, as Julius quietly sipped on a cup of tea.

Tiberius had said to the Pride, that everything they ordered was to be on his tab. He’d join them later in the night and explain what their next destination would be with regards to Rize and Kara’s whereabouts, however… he would likely not expect exactly how much the Pride had ordered.

Not all of the Pride were in the Guild, however. Don had quietly excused himself as soon as the Pride was discharged, heading for somewhere quiet and alone to think and brood. Despite a month passing, he had still not gotten over what had happened between him and Selan. How he had hurt her, how he had fallen for Drusilla’s wickedly wiles and been turned against her… how he should have known and did better… and how much, despite all his resistance, he was treading the same path as his father…

Trent was currently nowhere to be seen either…

[Taerinn]

Tagress Guild

"Go easy, Estelle..." Selan frowned. She was of the mindset that if anything, Estelle had been released too early from the hospital; as eager as they all were to leave, Estelle still looked pretty banged up.

As for Selan, her bruises had turned from shades of indigo, to purple, to blue, and finally to a peculiar yellow before finally healing. As of the week before, she was good as new and had even begun practicing her dancing again.

Lisette on the other hand beamed at her friend's appetite, as she herself shoveled blueberries into her mouth as if they were popcorn. Every so often she would drop one down into Kapi's open mouth. She almost didn't mind that Estelle's meal included s-s-so much meat, she was just happy to see Estelle happy.

After watching Estelle gorge herself like she had been starved for her duration at the hospital -- which she most certainly wasn't -- Selan couldn't help but smile too.

"What else do you want to do today, Estelle?" Lisette asked. They had some time before they had to meet with Tiberius later on, and she wanted to have some fun, darn it!

[Dannyel]

Tagress Guild

Dylan had been hungry but watching Estelle shovel food into her mouth the way she did was actually a bit nauseating. Leaning back in his chair he settled on nursing his cup of coffee. He had been denied all caffeine in the hospital, which wasn’t the worst since he might have been slightly addicted, but he did miss the stuff.

"What else do you want to do today, Estelle?"

“Yes,” he echoed, “that’s a very good question. I think we should all do something fun, get out of the town.” His eyes lit up. “Oh, I know! Let me grab a canvas and paint and we can go out on a picnic. It’s a sunny afternoon and we can bring some wine and snacks. I can paint, Lisette can play with Kapi, and...you all can chase butterflies or something.”

Turning about, he searched the Guild for Don. “Where’s Big Bro gotten too? He’s been down lately, I’m sure he’d love this!”

[Bunanigans]

Tagress Guild
"Hey!" called out an obnoxiously loud, booming voice from behind them. "Nobody touched my food did they?"

Moira loomed behind a couple of seats, a drink in each hand... of the alcoholic variety of course. For once she was quite covered up, with the jacket Don chose for her before they set off to Vandrell, and a pair of opaque tights under her skirt. In fact, she looked pretty much in full health... which is pretty much what she was aiming for. After all, the bandaging she still had on one forearm and her shoulder did not do her tough persona any favours. No, she was hiding that shit. Just as long as nobody patted her shoulder, nobody would be smashing through any windows backwards. It was all good.

She weaved between the two seats before plonking herself heavily in the seat which much like Estelle had some pretty massive portions laid out in front of it. Well, she couldn't eat without something to wash it down, right? And boy, had she ever taken advantage of Tiberius' offer. That's Moira for you.

Syed, by her side as ever, gently eased himself in the seat between her and Marcus. In contrast to her he appeared to have healed up almost completely, with his worst cuts now hair thin, dotted lines of scabs which will probably dissapear over the next few days. Even his worst bruise, the one which at one point had practically covered half of his chest was gone. Shame the injury under there was still present. And probably will be for some time more. At least he was getting used to working around it.

To a stranger it might look like Moira was carrying both of their drinks to the table. But no they were just for her, her drink which was to accompany her food already downed before it even got to the table.

Moira almost immediately started wolfing down her meal, while Syed stared at his comparitively tiny serving of fries for a second before cautiously giving it a sniff. The events at Vandrell, followed by Elaine's toxic soup had really knocked his confidence with food for six. He's make his own food if he could. If other people weren't likely to spew fire at how spicy he made it. He didn't really know what he was looking for... sniffing for though. His sense of smell was decidedly average after all. It smelt good enough?

He remembered Trixie sniffing around her food at the manor. Oh geez was she rubbing off on him? That's a bit embarrassing, considering everything. But maybe she could smell something in it? She does sniff around things a lot.

Urgh, just eat it already before you get a complex.

"Now this is more like it!" Moira cheered, holding a glass in the air before chugging at the dark coloured liquid within. The food was better than that bland, tasteless hospital crap. Not that it stopped her scoffing her face with that too.

"Yeah, I think I'd have gone mad if I had to stay there any longer," Syed nodded. "You know I ended up counting how many ceiling tiles that room had in it. Twice." He turned to Marcus with a grin. The wind mage was looking towards Estelle, but he hoped he wouldn't mind him saying his piece. "Still, at least we're all back together. I don't think I ever got a chance to properly thank you for that, Marcus."

Suddenly his eyes widened, and his voice became hushed as he clapped his hands over his mouth. "Wait... does she know that?! I didn't just blow it did I oh geez I'm so sorry...!"

Moira turned her attention to the others at the table, listening idly to the conversation. Dylan was talking about a picnic, which she was a bit dismissive about for the two seconds or so until he said the word wine.

"Ey ey I'm up for it!" she cheered. "As long as it can go on the tab."

She shrugged at the mention of Don's whereabouts. Sod if she knew.

[Rexcalibur]

Tagress: Guild

Trixie was anything but discreet with watching the redheaded wonder chomp away at her meal. The prankster's own mouth had gaped open as she marveled at this. Supersis' ability to eat must have been another one of her superpowers, right?

The moment her eyes pried away from the swordswoman, she noticed Syed glancing her way after she sniffed at one of her bowl of blueberries (which she ordered after totally not getting jealous of watching Lisette plop them in bugbread's mouth). Seeing as the mage had done the same thing, Trixie cracked a wry smile in return before returning to plopping blueberries into her own mouth, rather gingerly in comparison to the others. After everyone else passed out at Vandrell barely a month ago, they couldn't be too careful, could they? And she wouldn't admit it, but going without a meal until the morning had left her starved. With Amy on her back however, she wouldn't dare go nuts with her craving for real, not-hospital food as Estelle was free to. Oh well. More time to savor the flavor.

Like the others, Trixie's wounds similarly had healed too. A gash and shallow slices across her face and arms were minor in comparison to the injuries the others had received, and with the agonizing time spent "resting" at the hospital combined with her rather questionably high metabolism, they too had healed in their entirety. Amy still never quite figured out why she was obsessed with placing bandaids all over them, even the sticky parts right atop the cuts themselves, but if they made her feel better...



Amy too had recovered both physically and mentally without any lasting concerns. The condition of her most prized possession troubled her more than her own mental fatigue, seeing as its surface retained its scars (it was stupid to trust Trixie that items could heal themselves, no matter how hopeful they were) - but thanks to Tiberius' offer to upgrade everyone to new equipment, she was relieved to be able give it some new protection under an even fancier staff than before. Perhaps one sparking with gold this time. But for now it'd have to do in her uglyass purse.

Like Dylan, Amy too sipped away at a modest mug of coffee. Although Moira's grand entrance more than caught her attention - primarily the two drinks she carried with her. Didn't look like she was offering. In the meantime, she said nothing as Don's whereabouts were brought into question, instead looking in Trixie's direction.

The younger prankster likewise remained quiet, still plopping in blueberries one at a time. She had definitely noticed the string of unhappiness Don had been going through since the incident at Vandrell - which heavily upset her, seeing as he was the one who gave her hope back in Tabul, even as an enemy technically. Her instincts tugged at her to find and comfort the man, like the others had done for Estelle despite her desire to leave the Pride. But after Vandrell itself, maybe the man could do with some alone time for a bit longer... Amy called for her own room and came back to them, right?

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Man this was confusing. As long as he doesn't contemplate leaving the team or something, it should be all right, right?

[Pachamac]

Tagress: Guild

"What else do you want to do today, Estelle?" Lisette asked, after everyone began devouring their food with Moira and Syed’s arrival, the former beginning to devour her food at the same frenetic rate as Estelle was. Dylan, Marcus, Amy and Selan all watched the younger Guilders eating with calmer refinement, drinking their tea and coffee whilst the others eat much more loudly and… messily.

“Yes,” Dylan echoed, “That’s a very good question. I think we should all do something fun, get out of the town.” His eyes lit up. “Oh, I know! Let me grab a canvas and paint and we can go out on a picnic. It’s a sunny afternoon and we can bring some wine and snacks. I can paint, Lisette can play with Kapi, and...you all can chase butterflies or something.”

“Faff sounth greath!!!” Estelle screamed in delight with an engorged cheeks sputtering crumbs of food back onto her plate. Some of her friends recoiled in fright from the wild spitage.

“Estelle…” Selan looked towards her more sternly, hoping to reinforce the young girl on her table manners. Estelle saw Selan’s frown, and suddenly stopped, swallowing the rest of her food and cleaning her mouth clean.

“I also need to get a haircut!” Estelle yelled, lifting the messy bangs of her hair up. The severing of her ponytail, and her prolonged hospital stay had made the fiery mess atop her scalp… even messier. “Selan, would you be able to help me later? Please? Pretty pretty pleaaaase?”



“Syeeeed, you should eat your food~” Nikki cooed from across the table, smiling at the man warily looking at the plate beneath him. A plate that suddenly found a fraction of it missing. “Before it gets stolen~”

Nikki dropped the pieces of food in her mouth and quickly ate and swallowed it all, downing it with more milk and laughing at the same time. She then leaned back to the other side, against Lucien’s shoulder. In the course of their adventures in Vandrell and their lengthy hospital stay, Nikki had taken a shine to the summoner. He was cute and funny and his animal summoning abilities were truly something… and Dylan was quite a catch too! The man was really, really pretty, and his ability to summon anything he drew was really cool~ even if annoyingly the man shrugged off every single one of her advances. And there was Julius too! Boy, the Pride really had managed to recruit some hot guys… although Marcus was still her favourite. “Hey, hey, Lucien, what do you wanna do this afternoon? A picnic sounds cool! You could show us all of your animal summons again, too!”




“A picnic, huh…?” Celeste murmured quietly. “I could do with some exercise, actually… otherwise my body will get all rusty.” She stretched her arms up high into the air. “I wouldn’t mind putting on a show! Don't you think the others would love that, Juju?!”

Julius said nothing, keeping quiet only to himself. He had seen enough of Celeste's performances that, whilst she was good, and there was absolutely no denying that or how much everyone else would enjoy it, he just didn't have the need to see it again. For the hundreth time.

“Where’s Big Bro gotten to, too? He’s been down lately, I’m sure he’d love this!” Dylan added, once it seemed as though everyone was in agreement about enjoying a picnic somewhere. The Pride had all noticed Don’s distancing from the others, even though little was said between them about it. A man like Don, nobody had any doubts he would bounce back from whatever funk he was in with, well, more funk and soul then ever before! Although he had been down for quite a long time too…

“Trent’s gone as well,” Marcus added, sipping on his coffee. “But I’m sure they’re both alright.”

"Yeah, I think I'd have gone mad if I had to stay there any longer," Syed nodded after seeing Moira’s ravenous enjoyment of her meal. "You know I ended up counting how many ceiling tiles that room had in it. Twice." He turned to Marcus with a grin. The wind mage was looking towards Estelle, but he hoped he wouldn't mind him saying his piece. "Still, at least we're all back together. I don't think I ever got a chance to properly thank you for that, Marcus."

Suddenly his eyes widened, and his voice became hushed as he clapped his hands over his mouth. "Wait... does she know that?! I didn't just blow it did I oh geez I'm so sorry...!"

“Hmpf?” Estelle looked up, food sandwiched in her mouth yet again. “Blowth what?”

“Hahaha, I already told Estelle about it,” Marcus smiled. “She… strangled me for quite a while after I did again…”

“Blowth what?”

---

Tagress: Outskirts

In the tranquil woods located outside Tagress, the sounds of exasperated huffing and puffing could be heard echoing. The swift pitter patter of footsteps was followed by a mighty lunge and roar… and then a loud crash and animal squeal afterwards.

“I’ve got you now, you little prick!”

Lying on the ground, Trent gripped onto the backlegs of the writhing Boarig with all the force he could muster, making sure the tenacious troublemaker that had been poaching from the nearby farm was caught and dealt with. Whereas everyone spent their time leisurely recovering and taking a break after being discharged from the Hospital, Trent was already making up for lost time by taking on the first mission he could. The thought of that red haired gorilla already being rank F and he only a G was infuriating! Even if it was only a small, easy H rank mission like this, he had to keep working. Had to keep training, and get better, and better. Even if she did start a year before him, he couldn’t let her keep being ahead of him! He refused it!

“Stop squirming, you little bastard.” Trent stood up, bonking the boarig on the head and silencing its protests for the time being. Now, time to deliver the pest back to the Guild… that was, until he realised he wasn’t quite sure what exactly the direction to the city was. “Er…”

“Mr. Walker?”

“…huh?” Trent quickly swivelled around, dropping the bouncing boarig to the ground as someone suddenly called his name out from behind. Turning, he braced himself for anything, only to be met with surprise at the stranger… “Y-y-you?!”

[Dannyel]

Tagress Guild

"Oh, I know what you mean," he said in response to Syed's comment. "I don't think that nurse ever forgave me for that one little prank." He shook his head, still a little miffed that Trent hadn't come to help him.

Still, he was ecstatic that the others had taken so well to his idea, so he got to his feet. "Well, then, I'll go see about getting some picnic-y food together and…" he leaned forward and continued in a mock whisper, "will make sure it's put on Tiberius' tab!"

Turning from the group, he approached one of the waitresses in the Guild, a large smile on his face. It didn't take too long to arrange for her to get together a basket full of fruits, cheeses, and other snacks, as well as a second basket of alcohol - with a variety that would surely make even Moira happy.

"Okay, everyone," he called back to the group. "We should be ready to head out in about a half-hour. Get ready!"

With that done, he bounded up the stairs to the room he had rented, gathering up his paints and his brushes into a bag that he slung over his shoulder. Though he often worked with charcoal and colored pencils, he did enjoy working on paintings as well. They were just so much less portable. One could easily carry about a notepad, but dragging around an easel and canvas was absurd.

But just this once, the effort might be worth it. Selecting a small canvas, only eleven by fourteen inches, he hefted that in one arm and took the easel in the other.

This would be a very good day.

[Bunanigans]

Tagress Guild
"Well, I'm glad you survived that one," Syed grinned. "I wouldn't want to cross Estelle these days." He looked at Estelle's perplexed expression for a moment, her hair a mess and her mouth still stuffed with food, and found he couldn't hold in his laughter for much longer.

"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! Nobody's blown anything." He leaned back in his chair a little, pushing his fringe back as he looked to the ceiling. Maybe it was just because they were finally out of the hospital. He didn't know. But he was just so happy. "Nobody's blown anything."

Moira looked at him like he had grown an extra head or something. Alright, alright, steady on. Leaning forwards, she grabbed a handful of chips from Syed's plate. He had pushed it towards Nikki as a gesture that she was free to help herself if she wanted, and as far as Moira was concerned that was free pickings.

As she continued to scoff her face, she looked around to the others at the table. It was funny really. How much she was getting used to them just being around. It was like... it was like she was home again. Not the home she left when they began this adventure - when she thought about it, that stopped truely being home when her son moved out. Even Syed's presence did little to lessen that feeling. After all, how could you miss someone who couldn't ever leave your side?

No. Home wasn't a set place anymore. Home was wherever these people were. Even now, despite her nonchalant act, a small part of her mind wondered where Trent and Don were. She knew they'd be fine, but her mind had been keeping tabs. She couldn't help it.

Gods damned mothering instinct. She wished it'd piss off.

Dylan had dismissed himself from the table and already began to make arrangements. Once he had called out to the others how long they had Syed stood up too, taking a couple of the chips which remained on his plate and giving them a nibble. "We'd better get ready too."

"What? Why?" Moira looked up to him with a scowl. "We're already ready!"

"Well it depends if you want to go a shade of tomato or not," he grinned. Moira swung at him, which he narrowly avoided. He had a point though. She was very fair, and hadn't been outside much over the last month at all. At this stage she'd probably burn if the sun so much as looked at her, so it might be an idea to get some suncream on.

"Fine," she spat a little resentfully, shoving pretty much all the food she had left into her mouth all at once. Which was one hell of a feat. Then she downed both her glasses too. "Back in a bit I... actually, do we have any left? I'm sure we've used it up."

Syed frowned a little. It had been so long since they had used any, he couldn't remember anymore. "I'm... I'm not sure. I guess we could nip to a pharmacist really quick?"

[Taerinn]

Tagress Guild

"Ooooh, a picnic!" Lisette clapped her hands in approval, already excited by the prospect of cartwheeling around on the grass and soaking up some nice, warm sunlight. Maybe she could even practice on the flowers again, and finally learn how to do something other than grow vines! Well, she didn't want to get too ahead of herself; after over three weeks of not using her nature magic, she was probably a little rusty despite Marcus's suggestion to train more often.

“I also need to get a haircut!” Estelle yelled, lifting the messy bangs of her hair up. “Selan, would you be able to help me later? Please? Pretty pretty pleaaaase?”

Selan laughed. "I would be happy to help, Estelle. You'll look very pretty with a short haircut," she said, looking over Estelle's choppy, uneven locks. It just needed a little cleaning up, that's all.

“Where’s Big Bro gotten to, too? He’s been down lately, I’m sure he’d love this!”

“Trent’s gone as well. But I’m sure they’re both alright.”

Selan reached for a sip of her tea at the mention of Don and Trent's absence. It seemed more often than not that she was lamenting over that flighty man's whereabouts, and adding Trent to her worries wasn't exactly pleasant either. But Don could mostly take care of himself... She still didn't know how Trent had gotten so far away from home in the first place. It didn't seem like he had gone looking for them, and Marise hadn't mentioned tricking him the way she had Lisette, which made his disappearance all the more confusing. She simply hoped both would resurface at some point, as they tended to do.

[Fox of Spades]

The silly banter, the food, and everything was just perfect.

Lucien was glad to be out of the hospital and like the others most of his wounds were completely gone. The only thing that remained was a pink scar on his stomach, the stitches were gone though and it felt good. He watched as their Leader gobbled down her food then turned to see Moira with her wine and Syed with his plate still filled with food. It had only been a month and a few weeks since Weir and it had only been a month since Vandrell, but to be honest, it felt like he had known them longer.

The shenanigans, the crazy ideas and the weird insults, he'd gotten used to them over the month and now that they were out and about he looked forward to future adventures with the pride.

Dylan suggested they have a picnic and Nikki leaned onto his shoulder. "A picnic, huh?" A bright grin lit up his face. "Sounds good to me and sure, sure, anything for you." He gave Nikki a wink. The casual flirting was something he had gotten used to as well and he found himself enjoying the way everyone just seemed to click. He was happier with the pride than he had ever been at home. It was ridiculous, but lounging around with them, it just felt natural.

Then Dylan asked about Don's and Trent's whereabouts and Lucien had to stop himself from pulling a frown. Ever since they had gotten back Don had been different, not the same person he had been at the train or when they had picked out clothes. The summoner had aimed his best puns at the dancer, but it hadn't worked. "Well, I'm sure they'll be okay." He threw in a dismissive wave and smiled before turning to look at Dylan. The matter artist left to get ready and Lucien took a bite out of his donut.

He was good to go, so he'd eat as much as he could and wait for the others. If Tiberius was paying then he wanted to savor the moment and eat as much as possible. Between mouthfuls he paused to look at the others. "Oh, hey, hey," Lucien suppressed a chuckle. "Do any of you know why the chicken was invited into a band?" No doubt it would be another one of his lame jokes.

[Pachamac]

Tagress: Guild

“Why a chicken was invited in a band…?” Estelle repeated after finishing the last of her food and skidding her chair backwards along the floor as she stood up with the rest of her entourage, everyone preparing to head out for their picnic. She looked towards Lucien with a blank stare, awaiting the answer to his joke. “I dunno! Why?”

A wry smile cracked Lucien’s lips.

“Because he had the drumsticks!”

Silence reigned in the Guild, before Marcus started chortling. Some of the others groaned, whilst Nikki laughed hysterically. Estelle just blinked in confusion.

“I don’t get it.”

“Hehehe…” Lucien giggled, readying yet another salvo of terrible jokes to entertain everyone on their picnic trip.




“Excuse us, guys, me and Juju are just going to break away for a bit and get some stuff. That okay?” Asked Celeste, winking before suddenly breaking off for her room. Julius sighed, bowing politely before everyone and then following after the rambunctious girl.

Selan and Marcus watched after them disappear. Two new, relative strangers, who had joined their family suddenly. Julius was all but an enigma, and Celeste’s arrival had been sudden and intrusive. Neither were quite sure what to make of them… but Estelle had bonded with Celeste to a peculiar extent in their hospital stay. For some reason, the two of them were able to speak to one another fairly easily… a benefit of the two girls being outgoing and lively. Estelle waved them off, all smiles as she and the rest of the Pride waited for Dylan, Moira and Syed to return.

But then half an hour later… Julius returned, to say that they would have to miss going out on a picnic with the Pride. Something had suddenly come up, which demanded their attention… they would catch up with everyone else at the picnic later.

First Don and Trent… now Julius and Celeste…

Hopefully no one else would suddenly need to leave…



“Guys come oonnnnn let’s gooooo!!” Nikki wailed, grabbing Trixie and Lucien’s wrists and yanking the two Guilders forwards. “I wanna go out and enjoy the sunshine and eat a picnic with you all~”

“Yeah!” Estelle fistpumped, yanking Amy out of her seat too. “Let’s go!!”

---

Tagress: Docks

The sound of seagulls cawing droned on and on and on, the surface of the rippling sea reflecting the beauty of the bright sun hanging overhead. Sitting on the cobblestone floor, his back against the brick wall of one of the many warehouses located in the Tagress docks, Don continued to lazily stare at nothing as smoke wafted from his cigarette up into the sky.

He watched the sailors and longshoremen frantically work the day away. Unloading and uploading new shipment after shipment of goods imported from, and importing to the nearby countries of Aestar and Landoria and exotic delights from further countries such as Exandria, the docks were a hub of multiple delights. All of which were currently lost on Don. Even though he watched these things happen, he didn’t really process any of it. At least, not until…

“Hey, buddy, you okay?”

Don was snapped out of his furlong gaze by a man towering above him. A broad, muscular man, drenched in sweat and garbed in a bandana and striped vest, carried a mass of timber over one shoulder. He held obvious concern for Don, but as soon as the depressed man looked up, the sailor exuded a bright, genial smile.

“You look kind of glum, fella. Is there anything I can do to help? Let ol’Tobor guess, he’s seen many men look like you before… a woman’s broken your heart, am I right? Buddy… if you need any help… need to just get away from things for a while, then… there’s a free spot on our ship. Our captain’s always looking to recruit hardy men like you. Well, minus the funky hairdo…”

“Whaddya say? Get away from it all for a bit… join me on the seas and work a bit? It’ll definitely keep your mind away from whatever thoughts are eating you up!”

[Bunanigans]

Tagress Guild
"...Moira, this is the opposite of what you needed..."

"Eh, it was on offer," Moira shrugged.

"Was it??? Moira I was there!" Syed tensed his hands at either side of his head as they walked. "I just think this is a bad idea. I wouldn't even touch this stuff."

Moira sucked through her teeth. "I just want to try and get a tan, just this once you know? I mean I've gone the colour of sour milk. It's gross." She sighed. "I probably look about dead."

Syed snorted. "But this is pretty much cooking oil!"

"It says tan enhancer, actually," Moira said with her chin raised a little. Although the effect was lost when the person she was speaking to was well over a foot taller than her. "I'll have a lovely golden hue in no time!"

"You shouldn't be ashamed of what the Gods gave you, you know? They have their reasons."

"Says you."

"Says my mum, actually."

Moira stopped stared at him incredulously with her lip slightly curled. Still, she saw no reason to repeat her stance on the matter of the gods yet again. They just had to agree to disagree on that one. Either way, it looked like they had just managed to get back in time. And without getting lost! She did her usual trick of kicking the door wide open, causing Syed to start at the loud noise. He'll never get used to that.

...And they nearly went crashing straight into Nikki.

"OI!" Moira yelled, sounding almost offended. Only for a second though. "You weren't going to up and run off without us, were you?!"

Syed glanced around, spotting Dylan was still absent, along with now Julius and Celeste too. Well, they sounded pretty enthusiastic about it earlier. They must have been getting ready too, right? "Patience is a virtue you know," he laughed. "We aren't even the last ones back!"

"Good! Gives me a chance to put this stuff on," Moira huffed, before promptly snatching the bottle from Syed's grasp and about dousing herself with the contents. "Nobody wants to borrow this right?"

Syed firmly introduced his face to his palm.

[Taerinn]

Tagress Guild

"Nobody wants to borrow this right?" Moira said, although it seemed like a hypothetical question by the way she smeared the liquid over her skin.

Lisette had Kapi in her arms and was following everyone else out the door, but stopped in curiosity of whatever Moira was applying. "I've never seen sunblock that looks like that..." she said, tilting her head sideways to read the label as Moira repeatedly smacked the bottle against her palm. She wasn't one to use sunscreen very often; despite her lightly freckled and fair complexion, she'd always gotten tans rather than burns. Except for the time she fell asleep outside in full sun, in the middle of summer...

"Are we going?" Selan asked, frowning at the group's blocking of the exit. Sunlight wasn't quite her friend, and she was looking forward to getting out of it and finding a nice, shady tree to sit under. She brought a silky white shawl to cover her bare shoulders, and her skin smelled faintly of her own sunscreen, blended into her makeup and lotion.

"Yeah, let's go!" Lisette called, squeezing her way between Moira and Nikki, sprinting out the door, and hopping down the steps.

[Fox of Spades]

Lucien was tugged along by an energetic Nikki, and Trixie suffered the same fate. The summoner feigned a look of terror before flashing a grin at the prankster. "Oh no," he said cheerily and with a laugh. "It looks like she's taken us prisoner, oh no, what on earth can we do—ah!" Before he could say another word the door was kicked open and in walked Moira and Syed. The summoner nearly crashed into them but managed to avoid that. "Hey, boss, syed." He gave them a salute with his free hand, "no,no, we wouldn't leave you behind." the summoner was rather chirpy though there was no mistaking the mischievous tone in his voice. It was going to be a long day with everyone and he'd try to have some fun later on.

Moira began applying odd looking sunblock and Lisette walked past them and out the door. Julius and Celeste had decided not to join them and it was kind of disappointing because the duo's banter was always fun to listen to.

"Geez," he gave Nikki and Trixie a teasing smirk, "and I thought you guys were pretty speedy, c'mon, c'mon, let's not waste the day." And with that said he began ushering them outside.

The sunshine on his skin felt nice and the breeze was relaxing. Lucien smiled brightly, like a kid high on sugar. "Last one to there is a rotten corpse!"

[Pachamac]

Tagress: Outskirts

“T-t-t-t-t-t!!” Trent’s eyes bulged wide, his feet taking uneven steps backwards, his grip on the boarig slipping loose until it popped out of his hand and made a mad, frenetic dash away from Trent, and into the nearest bushes. The boarder, left oblivious to the creature’s escape and instead completely focussed on the individual in front of him.

“You’re almost there…” The voice replied.

“Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti…!”

“Warmer, warmer…”

“TIBERIUS REX!” Trent screamed an ear piercing screech. His hands clutched his cheeks, and he began to hop up and down on the spot as he took in the giant man’s full appearance. Tiberius grinned at the much smaller man, taking confident measured strides forward… until Trent was suddenly upon him, circling the Guild Leader about.



“Oh my gods I can’t believe this it’s Tiberius Rex oh my gods oh my gods oh my gods!!” Trent was in full fanboy mode. During his stay at the Tagress Hospital, he hadn’t seen Tiberius once – on the day the Guild Leader arrived, Trent had been busy trying to escape from the brutal Head Nurse and her ass shot syringe of death. And in the interim month, Tiberius had made no further appearances – instead the man had been busy with a variety of duties. At the time he visited the Pride earlier, as they were being discharged, Trent had already vanished, and so now was the first time the two had properly met. And Trent, with all of his love for famous, legendary Guilders… he could hardly contain himself. “Oh my gods I can’t, I can’t breathe, I just… TIBERIUS “THE WOLF” REX!!!”

Trent started fistpumping madly at being able to see one of his heroes in the flesh. Tiberius meanwhile, just looked back not knowing what to think. The adulation was of course nice, but… “You’ve really been taking your vitamins, huh?”

Tiberius’ face recoiled when Trent’s hoverboard was suddenly thrust into his face, inches away from colliding with his nose. Over the top of it… a marker pen, and Trent’s sparkling eyes.

“Please give me your autograph, Mr. Rex! Pretty please!!”

A laugh escaped his lips. “Sure, Trent, sure…”

After a quick, ineligible scratch of an autograph was marked onto the board, Tiberius urged Trent to calm down and take a seat next to him. Tiberius had left the Pride with the promise to visit them later because he was actually looking for Trent. He had business with them. And Trent could hardly believe it when Tiberius told him as such.

“M-m-me?” Trent stammered. “You were looking for me? W-w-why? Did I get in trouble again?”

Tiberius reared his head upwards and laughed heartily. “I don’t know. Did you?”

“N-n-n-no! …I don’t think so?”

“Don’t worry, kid, I’m just messing with you.” A meaty hand clapped atop the Boarder’s shoulder, knocking the wind out of him. “Actually… I was looking for you because I need you to do something for me.”

Trent just stared back, looking through space. And then: “ME?! DO SOMETHING FOR YOU?!”

A cocky grin was returned. “That’s right. I know all about you Mr. Walker, how you’re searching for that pair of neko thieves… I can admire that. I won’t be stopping you, but… if you’re interested… I also have a mission for you…”

[Rexcalibur]

Tagress: Guild

Trixie's relatively quiet but delightful munchdown on her berrylicious meal was cut short with Celeste's and Julius' sudden decision to break off to their room. The others seemed to wave off their departure as just getting ready for their fun in the sun, but with Superbro and that one guy gone without a word, and Supersis taking off eons earlier that started that whole fiasco in Vandrell... the prankster was getting a bit tired of everyone taking off without explaining themselves.

"You guys better be back," she squeaked, puffing her cheeks as the duo ditched the rest of the Pride. She watched as they disappeared into their rooms, and continued to watch in their direction, as if waiting for them to pop back out.

That was until Nikki snagged her and Lucien by the wrists and kidnapped the two of them. Trixie let out an instinctive yelp as she fought to break away from the evil cat lady - which she managed to slip free before Moira nearly knocked them all down. Then Lucien had the nerve to taunt the two girls.

Trixie reflected his devious smile back at him. "Fine! See ya there, rotten dead guy!"

She took off like a bullet, a puff of dust lingering where she took off - only to backtrack to the Pride members once she had gone off too far. Amy, her arms loosely crossed as usual, hung about the back of the Pride as they all took off. A relaxed smile crossed her lips the moment she stepped foot outside. About time they got to enjoy some peace in the sunshine. Well, as much "peace" as a group as rambunctious as the Pride could muster. But Amy looked forward to it nonetheless.

Naturally the cleric would groan at the thought of walking and walking for spending her freetime, but after being confined in a prison of a hospital, she was more eager than usual to partake in their picnicking adventure. Hell, she even carried one of the picnic baskets - though she brushed it off as just keeping the food away from Trixie's grasp.

Quite sometime had sped by, lost in the Pride's peaceful travel. The minute their final destination, a modest park located nearby the outskirts of Tagress, came into view--

Trixie once again burst forward with her pent up energy. "Here! Here here here, right in the center!" A flock of birds swarmed around an otherwise empty grassy region, though they collectively flew away as the prankster fired stray bullets in their direction. Once her preferred spot had been cleared up entirely, she dove face first into the grass and began to roll around, soaking up the sun like an enthusiastic dog.

"Come on guys, hurry up!"

Though Amy continued to linger in the back of the pride, she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the sight. What the fuck has gotten into me.

[Pachamac]

Tagress: Park

No sooner had Trixie lunged onto the ground, rolling around, playfully marking her spot and urging the others to hurry up and come, did she then start to scream. As something, someone, from out of nowhere, suddenly jumped forwards and landed on her face.

“AH! CAT! CAT! OFF!! AHHH!!!”

Nikki in her feline form then scooted off Trixie, playfully turning around and nuzzling Trixie’s foot before being shooed from the prankster kicking away. She had cat hair all over her face all over her face all over her face!!

“Hahaha, Trixie, you’re being so silly!” Estelle giggled, leaning down and patting her friend on the head. She then turned to look over her shoulder, another infectious smile shining out as bright as the overhead sun. “C’mon guys, get the food out! C’mon~!!”

“Hahaha…” Marcus laughed from behind the others, moving forwards to take advantage of a nice, bench resting beneath a large tree. He collapsed down into it with a deep sigh, his body still aching from top to bottom after the severe wounds he had incurred in the Pride’s battle against the Family. Some of the others had suffered either extreme physical injuries or extreme magical exhaustion- Marcus had suffered both, and on top of his broken arm which, whilst healing nicely hadn’t healed completely, was now taking a longer time to recover. It was a miracle actually he was even still alive. “It’s a nice day, isn’t it?”

“Lucien! Lucien!” Estelle cheered. “Show us your animal summons! I wanna see them all! And Dylan! Dylan! Paint us please and- and- Selan! My hair!!!”

Estelle had far too much energy.

[Dannyel]

Tagress: Park

Dylan had to hustle to catch up to the group - he had stopped to grab a couple more paints and had completely lost track of time - but he managed to arrive on a scant few minutes after the Pride had settled in. Estelle was already breaking into the food, so he took the time to set up his easel and canvas.

“Lucien! Lucien!” Estelle cheered. “Show us your animal summons! I wanna see them all! And Dylan! Dylan! Paint us please and- and- Selan! My hair!!!”

Dylan laughed at her exuberance, the girl's energy was infectious. "As you wish, my lady," he said with a deep bow. "I am at your command. But first, I require a cup of wine."

Moving towards the other basket, he opened it to reveal a variety of alcoholic beverages on ice, slightly chilled. Smiling, he made a mental note to tip the waitress well when it got back to the Guild later. "I think the red will do nicely, this one should be light and fruity. Anyone else want anything?"

[Taerinn]

Tagress: Park

"Selan! My hair!!!"

"Alright, alright..." Selan laughed, reaching into her purse to pull out a comb and a pair of hair scissors. It had taken quite a while for Selan to grow out of her tendency to be very... careful... with money, and thus she had gotten quite adept at trimming her own hair.

They both sat down next to the food Dylan had thoughtfully brought, and Kapi even joined them, waiting for someone to feed him.

"Okay, you can eat, but try and keep your head still, please." Selan said, kneeling behind the swordswoman. She began combing out the back of Estelle's hair, but quickly ran into a few snags. "Ah, your hair's so pretty, but how on earth does it get tangled like this?" she sighed, trying to be careful not to hurt the girl while she worked. Estelle's hair was much thicker than Selan's, and seemed determined not to be tamed by anything or anyone. Selan had her work cut out for her.

Finally, Selan was able to start cutting. Little by little, she'd snip here and there, pausing to make sure it was right. The way her ponytail had been severed, her hair stuck out at odd ends, with none of the lengths being equal. Considering Estelle's personality, she thought that the best thing to do would be to cut it so the front was the longest, and the length gradually becomes shorter in the back.

Meanwhile, Lisette perched herself on the grass just next to the furthest reaches of the shade of Marcus's tree. Her eyes seemed to shine brightest in the sunlight. Seeing as she had just recovered from magic exhaustion, clearly the first order of business was to start using it again.

"Hey Marcus, watch this!" she called over, and she cupped her hands around a dandelion bud. She closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them and removed her hands at the same time. The bud was very slightly closer to blooming, the yellow petals poking out slightly at the top.

She puffed out her cheeks. "Aww, that didn't change very much..."