Bamboo Debriefing
Word Count: 2098 (4 xp)
Jr complained as he clambered up out of the hole that had been cut in the base of the APC, before adding as he slid down it
”Doesn’t seem to have been any driver though, so guess it musta been one of those Jack bots””How are they looking anyway?” Jr asked his sister, who was using the spine blades of her halberd as a saw with which she was cutting into one of the Jack-5 units she’d dealt with.
”Dunno. They’re not spirits though, so there’s that, but I’m not sure how much any of these random bits would be worth to anyone” she explained, before reaching a gauntleted hand in and ripping out an orange painted box from within the machine before showing it to her brother
”There are these weird boxes in all of them. Real tough things. Probably not the bombs or they would have set em off, right?”This question, while somewhat rhetorical, was also directed at the even shorter than her woman who had seen the explosive variants of the Jack-5s in action.
“Most likely,” Yayama commented, kicking at the downed Jack-8 a bit to double-check that it was actually down. “The boxes are probably some kind of power source or control center, based on my experience with other warmachina.” She looked up from the robot to glance over the team. “Everyone alright, by the way? I can patch you up if you need.”
Relatively unfamiliar with healing spells like the Afflatus Solace that Junior used on her, Darli needed to check herself over for a quick moment before giving Yayama the thumbs up. “I think I’m good! I was hurtin’ after a couple of ‘em ganged up on me, but it looks like whatever the li’l guy did to me fixed me up!” She went to give Junior a genial pat on the head, if the young Koopa prince would allow it. Dolores looked like she wanted to intervene, figuring that Junior probably wouldn’t appreciate the attention, but she decided to let Darli learn that lesson for herself. The lady herself seemed relatively unharmed thanks to her elusive fighting style.
The prince was initially confused by the incoming hand, and when it was about to make contact ducked his head down into his shell while his cat tail puffed up in a threat display. From within cham a muffled
”Hey! I’m not a cat!” while the prince jabbing blindly at Darli with the butt of his paintbrush to ward her off.
Although he kept a stiff upper lip, Anji looked substantially worse off than his colleagues. The fresh lacerations, bruises, and indentations on his bare, muscular chest made that obvious to pretty much everyone, despite his nonchalant manner. Even the spectacles perched upon his nose had a couple cracks; his eyewear must have been knocked off in the melee, found, and placed back in its proper spot. Few could go toe-to-toe with Jack-8 and come away unscathed, even if just for a couple moments. “If you’d be so kind, I could probably use some medical attention,” he admitted to Yayama, offering her a polite bow. He did not ask if he needed to crouch down to get on the lalafell’s level for treatment, but he was ready to adjust his posture however she asked.
”Only took a scratch here, so I’m good” Rika said, as she tried to pry the orange box with a knife drone, only to accidentally slip the blade deep into it with an
”Oops” as she punctured something inside. Fortunately, the thing didn’t explode, and instead the entire assembly dissolved, leaving a spirit behind in her hand.
”Huh. Weird”Not far away from her, Therion was crouched by a different fallen robot. Thanks to his evasive tendencies (but mostly Anji taking it upon himself to keep the Jack-8's attention), the thief was fine following the battle's conclusion. He'd dismissed his wraith blade once it was clear all the androids were done for and had taken to inspecting one up close when he was sure they wouldn't be getting back up. He was not mechanically minded in the first place, so these advanced robotics were far, far beyond him... but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little curious about their value too. In the end though, he doubted anyone would be buying broken 'warmachina.'
He rolled the term that Yayama had used around in his head, finding that he sort of liked it. To the point and easy to understand, even if a little vague. He'd have to remember it and slip it into conversation with Cyrus sometime in the future when everything went back to normal, or whenever they saw each other again.
When he stood up again, his tail swishing around his legs like an oversized feather duster, he cast a glance over towards the ship girl.
"What's weird about it?"The fact that it had taken so long to dissolve, maybe? Or maybe that meant they weren't actually "dead"...? Therion's eye flicked back to the Jack on the ground next to him suspiciously before it returned to the group.
"If you're not gonna use any of these, why not send a few back to base?" He suggested casually. He didn't know how much Yayama knew of the whole 'behind the scenes' stuff going on, but he didn't elaborate either way. The royal siblings would know what he was talking about if nothing else.
"I'm sure a few of the eggheads there could get some use out of them, and it'll be a hassle to try and drag any around with us, even in pieces."He really doubted they could fence something like this anyway.
”Guess so” Rika replied with a little sigh. No treasure for them, it seemed. Still, she set about having her white whale bulldoze the robo-junk into a big pile by the apc that they could send back to the avenger via armory portal.
Meanwhile, Anji was spared the need to crouch as Yayama simply stretched an open palm toward him. “I’m not exactly an expert healer, but this should help a bit until you can find a chirurgeon.” Gentle waves of healing aether washed over the diplomat, closing a couple wounds with each pulse. It only took a few moments for him to, at least outwardly, be in fighting shape again. “I mean that, by the way. This is a battlefield patch, not a real medical treatment.”
“I see.” Anji flexed his pectorals experimentally. He could still feel the damage done to his muscles deep down, but the injury had been smoothed over, as if he’d taken a painkiller. Still, he treated Yayama to a kind smile. “You’re a woman of many talents.”
She shrugged off the praise. “More like a woman of many conflicts, really. I picked up a bit of conjury out of necessity, and that transferred well once I began practicing red magic. Really, you're just reaping the benefits of my physical therapy.” After explaining, she flashed her own smile. “You put in a lot more than I was expecting out of a diplomat, too. Guess those muscles aren't just for show.”
Her response seemed to tickle the man. “You’re too kind! While the original United Nations may have been formed of diplomats, the current organization is comprised of skilled operators. In Esaka, there’s little room for those without fighting ability.” He tapped his fan to his chin in contemplation. “Your mention of ‘red magic’ intrigued me. Where I’m from, magic adheres to the five-element configuration. I myself am a practitioner of wind magic. Although, I’m well aware that things are very different here.”
By now, Darli had already left to try sawing down some bamboo. Dolores seemed torn between staying with the others and supervising Darli, which might be sorely needed. The carpenter did seem to have a knack for getting into trouble. “Where do you plan to go from here?” she asked the others.
One of Therion's ears flicked toward Dolores, but he didn't turn to her right away. Taking a moment to let the bamboo's forest ambience sink in for him now that the battle was over, he found that being out of the city felt good. Though he didn't outwardly show it, he did still worry about the rest of the group being in Esaka with Consul B, but if it was unlikely that the red armored woman would try anything this early... then some extra time away from the tiered city would be nice.
"...if there's no rush to get back, then getting a better sense of the general area is probably a good idea," he said, pulling his checkered scarf up a little higher. He expected that he was not as adventurous as most of the people here, so hunting down some legendary monster was not high up on the list of things he wanted to do. And though it might have been prudent to follow the path that Jack's transport vehicle had taken and disable the factory they'd likely been manufactured in the first place, he didn't relish the thought of tangling with more of them on their home turf. Hopefully they'd be out of the area by the time they could make more.
Which, in Therion's mind, just left traveling east or west. He glanced both ways, considering which might be better to establish some safe house in case the Seekers had to scramble out of the city quickly. Go where the forest thinned and gave way to mountains, or where it thickened into mist choked pathways?
"..." He squinted at the mountains that they could see through the bamboo from there. Though he could tell that his anti-bias for cliffs had been fading lately, it would still be a while before he would be totally comfortable with them. So the thief then jerked his head lightly towards the east.
"I vote taking a look around that way."The fact that he'd be left without a ride if he struck out on his own was not lost on him, so if ultimately the crew leaned towards a different course of action there wasn't much he could argue over without risk of being left to walk back.
“Seems pleasant enough,” Dolores remarked. As the sun began to descend toward the horizon, rays of golden sunshine gave way to jagged shadows where the tall, rocky spires cut through the daylight. Whereas the forest itself seemed fairly uniform, the combination of mountain, bamboo, and riverways gave the land to the east a tantalizing beauty and fascinatingly unpredictable character. “Once Darli loses interest in the bamboo, I imagine we’ll be on our way. Safe travels.”
While Therion and Dolores conversed, Yayama was giving Anji a brief explanation of magic as she knew it. “I'm familiar with six elements and two aspects, personally. Red magic isn't an element, but a discipline that itself combines two older methods of spellcasting, white and black magic, while adapting them to draw on the wielder's own strength.” To demonstrate, she held a wisp of swirling green wind energy in one hand, and a tiny ball of purple lightning in the other, before combining them into a larger, roiling sphere of crimson power. Anji watched closely, his black eyes drinking in every detail with polite interest.
“I'll not bore you with a deep explanation of the history of Eorzea, but suffice to say, a war between white and black mages - both of which use environmental aether - caused a massive calamity due to the imbalance. The practices were banned, and red magic emerged in response to those lessons. ‘Course, most of that's irrelevant to me,” she said with another shrug, reabsorbing the aether stored in her readied Jolt. “I just need to recirculate my aether regularly, and that's how red magic amplifies itself.”
The gentleman pursed his lips thoughtfully as he nodded. “Intriguing.” When the Koopa Kids began to speak, though, his and Yayama’s chat trailed off.
”We were through here yesterday, but it was kinda a rush. Lots of ‘pandas’ that liked to get into fights, so keep an eye out for anything white, black, n comming at you fast” Rika informed the rest of the team after finishing the magical scrap delivery, before adding
”But sure, we could take a look around?” with a glance at Jr. The prince, who’d evaded and then complained about head-pats, shrugged in indifference, so the princess took it upon herself to more decisively say that
”Yeah, let's take a look.” 
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