Yankee

Forsaken

Outside of the inn, the girls (and that otter, Flick noted, in a different direction) dispersed. While the ladies headed toward the Garrick Estate, the menfolk were heading forwards the sheriff's office. Flicker thought it was probably just as well that the "estate team" was comprised of the fairer sex. There were probably still some broken hearts over there, mourning Garrick's wife. Gentle words would be better suited for that investigation. Although... Flick couldn't exactly say he got a "gentle" vibe from any of them. Maybe volatile instead. Maybe not such a good idea after all then. Oh well, they can sort it out themselves I'm sure.

A genasi, a kobold, a warforged, and a man with a giant skeleton made up the other party. What could go wrong?

As the group made their way down the next street, something seemed to catch said kobold's nose and he scampered away. That was no skin off Flick's nose, out of everyone the little lizard was... well. No need to get into that.

So that left Flick, Nemorad, Graves and... companion. Flicker turned to Nemo, who'd answered his previous question.

"Newbie huh? Welcome," Flicker said to the warforged, flashing him a warm - if somewhat sarcastic - smile. "I'll have to show y'all my favorite over priced, under stocked shops. Or dens of filth! Though it sounds like we won't be in town too long, judgin' from how eager some of us are."

Whatever the Forsaken-native's issue was with the town, he didn't elaborate. He thought that soon enough it would be apparent to anyone that spent time there anyway. Down a dirt trail that widened at the end, Flicker slowed his pace to nodded in one direction.

"Morgue's down there," he told the others, though he expected that Graves probably knew that already. "Can't miss it. Sheriff's ain't too far. Don't know what exactly you're lookin' for, but it's not really my scene anyway. So, er. Good luck?"

He shrugged with one shoulder, making the motion awkward. "We'll meet up again here, or if not, meet up all together with the girls."

In another direction was the local sheriff's office. It was a bit too small for a town of this size in Flick's opinion, but then, he had a lot of opinions. There were a few people hanging around the little porch area outside of the building, deputies and brown-nosers Flicker guessed. "This is it, nice place huh?"

Fate/Iliou Persis

Checking in!

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

I've fallen behind!

^Bonus:
Feeling kinda weird

Cacophony Concord

aмeℓιa

aмeѕ
 aмeѕ

_{HP: 55/110 - MP: 100/100 - SP: 80/100}
^{_________________}

Inspect User

I want a space here.

CHARACTER

Avatar Appearance
Username: Ames
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 176cm | Weight: 69kg

Classes: Warrior (+10% HP | +10% STR | +10% END)
_{Weapon Proficiency: LVL 1}

Attributes:
HP – 10 (110)
MP – 10 (100)
SP – 10 (100)
STR – 22
AGI – 19
END – 22
DEX – 20
LUC – 21

Abilities:
Power Attack _{Actively consume SP while preparing for an attack; unleash for increased damage on attack.}

INVENTORY

Funds: 0
Item Pouch (Common):

• Fa Trung's Talisman x2 ^Equipped

Current User Experience

Perception: Fantastic
Gore: Pixelated
Pain Setting: 40%
Clothing Damage: On
Nudity Censor: Personal
Profanity Censor: Off
Combat Action: Stylish
Spell Incantations: Stylish

aмeѕ
 aмeѕ

^{_________________}
The battle was a lot more intense up close, on the cusp of Magpie's sandstone and ocean territory. The smell of the salt water met Ames' nose as she continued her lap around the outside of the circular space where Mags, the frogman, and Klein were fighting. The three of them traded uneven blows, and a particularly powerful let out a shock wave and sent Klein flying high. Ames spared her sky bound companion a brief look of concern, but when he burst into a ball of flame she recalled his cool special power and refocused on the enemy. The enemy that was wiggling his way out of Mags' grasp.

The frog slipped away, landing on his hands and - Ames assumed - was about to complete a handspring when the warrior took that chance to move in. Her eyes widened and she moved forward with purpose. There! She lashed out with a kick. If she could get the frog off balance, just give the group more of an opening...

When the frog creature retaliated, it was so quick that Ames didn't know what hit him. Suddenly there was a sensation of limbs behind his head, then a weightless feeling as Ames was lifted off of the ground.

Huh? Huh?

The opponent had been right in front of her, but now all Ames saw was the landscape, upside down, before she was smashed hard into the sandstone. She grunted in pain, the sound quickly turning into panicked sputtering when water rushed into her nose and mouth. She turned her head, lifting it out of the water and squinted her stinging eyes.

"What - what the fuck," she coughed out. She couldn't move, and she couldn't see the frog. Further, there was something warm pressed to her body. Something... slick. Damp. Slimy.

When her brain caught up to her, Ames shrieked and thrashed around in the amphibian's hold with all the strength she could muster. "Groooooooss!" she cried out. Fighting a giant frogman was one thing, but she never wanted to be this close to it! Ames barely even registered Klein or Magpie above, but there was a little voice in the back of her head that said hey girl, that spear is coming in quick. In theory, this could be a good opportunity for the party. If Ames thought she could hold the frog down and escape at the last minute - as she thought was perhaps the frog itself's plan - then maybe the could do some serious damage with Klein's spear.

...but the problem was she didn't think she could escape at the last moment. So the only option was to escape as soon as possible, even if it gave the frog further opportunity for survival.

"Klein if you fucking stab me and I die like this with this frog I - I - !" Ames hissed to herself through clenched teeth, struggling in the frogman's hold.

Windfall ☄ A Character-driven Fantasy

---

Eliza, Ori, and Kayliss find themselves in:

Midland Pass

---

It was just long enough to ensure that their paladin was asleep when the final person in their little wagon made herself known. With Kayliss now out of the crate, the inside of the wagon was all the smaller. The canvas stretching overhead kept the sun from beating down on the passengers, but in these close quarters it would soon get sweltering either way.

Donna and her daughter moved aside to make room for Kayliss. Jessie looked excited to have yet another person to talk to, while her mother seemed more surprised than anything. Perhaps she thought that their secret stowaway would hide out in that cramped little box the whole trip, which certainly would have been miserable. Still, Donna smiled at Kayliss even if her face had grown a bit pale.

"Ah, good morning Miss. We're just passing through into the Scrublands now."

True to her word, the wagon trail began to open up wider and straight ahead was Kayliss' last major checkpoint before she was free of the Midlands. Midland Pass was frequented by many people coming and going from the region, but now especially the town was filled with hopeful merchants and tourists looking to celebrate in the capital. There were a couple of guards posted on the town's perimeter, but they hardly paid any attention to one plain little carriage coming in when a wave of more colorful ones passed in the opposite direction.

"Missus Kayliss, this is Mr. Ori!" Jessie piped up, taking it on herself to introduce them to each other much like she'd introduced her family earlier. Then, she cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered to the runaway woman, "Momma said to be nice, he's blind."

The girl sat back and beamed at all of the cart's occupants. Proudly she lifted up her bandaged leg. "He helped me when I hurt my leg! Also, that's Ms. Paladin Eliza!"

She moved to point at the sleeping knight, but Donna caught her daughter's hand and pulled the girl closer to her. "Jessie, please. We don't want to wake her up."

"Yes Momma..."

Donna cleared her throat. "We're going to take these two west with us, Kayliss. They're headed to the Highlands - "

"Looking for treasure!" Jessie squeaked.

" - so we'll make a little detour. Er, you never told us where you were headed, but I hope that's no trouble."

Ahead, their cart's already slow pace slowed even more. There were men wrangling the swell of incoming people into a more manageable mob, but until then it made leaving town feel like wading through molasses. Far to the south, there was a similar congested scene.

_{@stone@Aviaire@Psyker Landshark}

---

Cassius, Nea, Jason, and Tala find themselves in:

Cropland Pass

---

Among the din and bustle of the crowd, not many even noticed two men approach the teenage girl. Those that did quickly turned their eyes away, minding their own business. Only two bystanders stepped up to get involved in the suspicious looking scene, cutting quite the heroic figures.

"Untoward?"

Of course, not everyone appreciated the intervention. It was tough to say if even the girl appreciated it, as stunned and red faced as she was.

The man holding her puffed out his chest, trying to measure up to Cassius' height as he looked both the mercenary and the farmer beside him in the eye. "Untoward...!? I dunno what that means but if you're accusing us of something you best walk away quick like. It a crime to ask a girl where she's going?!" The man quickly got defensive, scratching at his patchy salt-and-pepper beard with his free hand while the other still rest on Nea's shoulder. "I'm just asking where she's going!"

The man's tanned skin was beginning to match Nea's red as he sputtered, but his partner walked up and patted his back. Smoothly the second man moved around, putting himself between Jason and Cassius, and Nea and the first man. This man, shorter with paler skin, smiled happily at the do-gooders. When he did, they could see one of his teeth was missing, and some were replaced with cheap crystal implants. It was around this time that Nea's voice was finally heard, and it spurred the crystal toothed man into speaking.

"Folks, you might have got the wrong idea. We're just looking for someone, okay? If you don't get a move on you're gonna lose your spot in line, huh?" He gestured back to the mass of people looking to get in through the gate, assuming both men were on their way into the Croplands. "We ain't hurting anyone! Right sweetie?"

He turned his gaze on Nea. He appeared to be making quite the effort to come off as non-threatening. "We're all friends here, huh?"

–——————— ❂ ——————–

In town, people continued to file around Tala, giving her space as best they could while still trying to get to their own destinations as quickly as possible. The horrible off key cacophony was still playing somewhere close by, and once or twice bold street hawkers approached to peddle their product directly to the woman.

At one point a group of people passed with their heads turned to look back to the city gate, whispering about some commotion outside.

"Some guy yelling about crimes, didn't hear him very well. Think it's bounty hunters?"

"Probably. All kinds of riff raff come down this way, let's just stay out of it..."

One of their group strayed a little close to Talanashta, and the bird on her shoulder squawked at the poor woman loudly. She yelped in surprise and hurried on.

_{@PrankFox@Anza@ERode@Crimson Flame}

---

Kendra and Derrick find themselves in:

The heart of the Scrublands

---

With the touch of an expert, the axe head flew up and dragged the handle behind it. It spiraled neatly and cut through the heavy air until it landed with a thunk, it's blade sinking into the packed earth and it's handle and knob pointed directly west. It seemed like his hero's magic was pointing Derrick further down the road. In that direction, the West, beyond the Scrublands, lay the Tidelands and the very tip of the Scorchlands. Both options on his quest. Of course, Derrick was after monstriest monster. Between both leads, that could only be one.

On the way out of the region, most people didn't recognize at all "The Scourge of the Great Swamp." After all, having traveled the length of the Lowlands, he was far from Indiga. And though there were people who would be eager to meet and aid the local legend in town, Derrick instead went around any settlements he came across, including Lowland Pass.

All in all it was a very uneventful trek. In the Scrublands, most people worried more about men than monsters. Slayers of all kinds drove the largest beasts away from the area a long time ago. Not to mention it was much harder to avoid populated trails in the Scrublands, when humans touting the spread of civilization endeavored to make the whole region one big giant road. Still, the longer Derrick traveled, the less people were around, until eventually it appeared that he was the only human among the landscape that stretched out so far in each direction....

...until the sound of a horse approached from behind, and astride it was a woman with two swords strapped to her person.

–——————— ❂ ——————–

With some new provisions and the same determination, mount and rider rode over the dusty trails heading north. Today it felt nearly as hot in the Scrublands as it did in the Scorchlands yesterday, though Kendra was well used to heat. Others she passed were no so much, and they wore themselves out trying to rush ahead to find shade, and ended up parked on the side of the rode sitting in the shadow of their own steeds.

Closer to the borders of the region, the roads were friendly and it never took long to pass a stranger. Some that were traveling the same direction as Kendra stopped to chat with her, although when the topic of the Ivorydawn Company came up they shook their heads in ignorance. Eventually the land grew to look lonely, with other shrubs for company. Trails spread out and snaked in many different directions, and the wide expanse featured no other travelers besides Kendra. Rarely a sunbathing lizard would scurry away from the steady beat of her horse's hooves, but otherwise the Scrublands grew quiet once the woman reached further towards the center. It was a strange contrast to the bustle of the border towns that lined the region's edges.

The Midlands were a little ways off, and Kendra could reach them by the end of the day on horseback. Midland Pass was further still, but being the central area of Sedaia, there were other towns that were proud to serve as passages into the region. Towns that posted knights with keen eyes at their gates. Small streams of smoke off in the distance implied that one such settlement was within reach.

Continuing down the current path, there was finally another human to be seen. They traveled on foot, headed in the same direction as Kendra for now. Swaddled in tough fabrics and carrying weapons and equipment of all kinds, the man certainly seemed well prepared if not well traveled.

_{@Cu Chulainn@SilverPaw}

Cacophony Concord

aмeℓιa

aмeѕ
 aмeѕ

_{HP: 86/110 - MP: 100/100 - SP: 80/100}
^{_________________}

Inspect User

I want a space here.

CHARACTER

Avatar Appearance
Username: Ames
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 176cm | Weight: 69kg

Classes: Warrior (+10% HP | +10% STR | +10% END)
_{Weapon Proficiency: LVL 1}

Attributes:
HP – 10 (110)
MP – 10 (100)
SP – 10 (100)
STR – 22
AGI – 19
END – 22
DEX – 20
LUC – 21

Abilities:
Power Attack _{Actively consume SP while preparing for an attack; unleash for increased damage on attack.}

INVENTORY

Funds: 0
Item Pouch (Common):

• Fa Trung's Talisman x2 ^Equipped

Current User Experience

Perception: Fantastic
Gore: Pixelated
Pain Setting: 40%
Clothing Damage: On
Nudity Censor: Personal
Profanity Censor: Off
Combat Action: Stylish
Spell Incantations: Stylish

aмeѕ
 aмeѕ

^{_________________}
Crack! The frogman's rubbery heel connected with the side of Ames' face. The warrior leaned into the blow, letting the momentum spin him out of further harm's way, the fluid action once again the result of the game's settings. Ames swiped her knuckles over her jaw, deeming it to be a glancing blow. Sometimes it was hard to tell with the reduced pain, although after everything that already happened to her in the game she wouldn't dream of raising it even a single percentage higher.

Speaking of pain settings, their ranger looked to be absolutely ass blasted. Where Klein offered the man a sympathetic gesture and quickly moved on, Ames spent a little more time beside Raime who was actually the closest to dying. It was either that, or continue chasing after that damn frog anyway.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked Raime, even though it was pretty clear he wasn't. "Unless one of those weeds can heal your HP, maybe don't stuff your face with them? And - " the redhead paused to check the man's user settings, " - Jesus, you're playing on 100%? Turn it down! At least turn it down for now so you can walk away before you bite the dust! You don't have any broken bones, right?" Besides your nose maybe! Ames prodded at Raime's legs, making sure they were in working order. When first starting the CaCo, Ames had mostly gone in totally blind. She had no idea what happened after death. What if the game forced you to make a new character, building on it's realism? That would totally suck! She didn't want anyone to have to start over, even this early on. "I'm serious, don't let pride make you stupid, okay? You still got your crossbow, so shoot it from a safe distance or something." Yes, the frog could catch bolts, but not every single one, every single time, right?

Ames left the broken scout on the ground to his own devices, only hoping he took her advice as she moved to rejoin the battle. Somehow, Mags summoned shimmering blue waters around herself. The frog was closing in on her from the air, and Magpie was rushing to meet it. That could easily go terribly for her, so the other party members should be around just in case. The group didn't have any strategy whatsoever besides mindlessly wail on the frogman, but it was working at least a little bit. No reason to stop now, not until someone came up with a better idea. So Ames circled the crystal waters, looking for any opening to dive in and strike the enemy.

World of Light

Word Count: 378 (+1 exp)
Level: 6 - Total EXP: 14/60
Location: Edge of the Blue

Despite the robed woman's clipped response, the Cadet took her words as a straight up win for Blue Team. There was wiggle room in the stranger's plan, if they decided to go through with it. It seemed that at the moment, commandeering the ship was the popular choice. The hunter couldn't say he had much experience with that (in fact he had none), but he was more than willing to give it a try. It couldn't be much different from what the group had been doing up until then, he thought. Even if it wasn't, there was a first time for everything, right? Some members of the team were just learning that not all firsts were easy when the robed stranger gestured to the ship that would take them to Limsa.

"I actually did want to look around town," he laughed, but Hat Kid, Sakura, and Link were already headed aboard. It sounded like Limsa was a much larger city, it would probably have everything they could find here in this place and more, but there was something really nice about seeing someone in their natural habitat, so to speak. It felt great to hunt in the Coral Highlands, as brief as it had been, and he recalled Banjo and Kazooie's stunned emotional response to the valley with the spiral mountain in the center. Cadet was definitely looking forward to the Cuphead tour around the little island, but Sakura was right - it would probably be more fun on the way back when they weren't busy mulling over the mysterious 'Maw' and what to do about it. "Aw well, it's Ya-cool. Next time buddy," the hunter told Cuphead. Ace Cadet folded his arms behind his head and wandered up the gangplank.

The captain was fun to listen to, with his exaggerated speech and mannerisms, but of course the most interesting thing was the ship itself. Ropes and masts moving on their own was one thing, but the steady movement of the boards on deck was another. The expressions of the princess and the few others still on land drew the Cadet over to the boat's rail, and he leaned out as far as he could, peering down at an expected pair of giant eyes. "Whooooa! Is this thing alive?"

---

Word Count: 451 (+1)
Level: 1 - Total EXP: 8/10
Location: Sandswept Sky

As the stranger in white stood up and even seemed to float, Primrose quietly steeled herself for anything. Her muscles tensed and her eyes grew sharp. Once more her delicate fingers found their way around the pommel of her family's dagger, though she kept it concealed beneath her own stolen cloak. Then... the stranger did nothing but motion. If they did anything more, Primrose couldn't see it from this distance. When no spell came flying in the car's direction, Primrose gradually relaxed again. Not a foe, then. At least not yet.

The dancer tilted her head at the stranger, but her attention was drawn by Panther's exclamation. The colossus she was pointing at was, thankfully, far off in the distance. Primrose couldn't tell if it was a living beast or not, although Poppi clarified that right away. Although no one had come out and said it, Poppi seemed a little less than human, which would explain how she could see that far. That wasn't a problem at all, considering the current party line up was a dragon man, a fox man, a giant insect, a shadow imp, a fluffy bunny-like guy and a cat-car. Include Poppi in that and the non-humans nearly outnumbered Primrose and the three codenamed kids two-to-one. Once again Primrose's time in the Alcamoth had done wonders acclimating her to weird situations like this.

Skull waved over at Primrose and Midna, but before the dancer moved back towards the car she once more gestured for Midna to go ahead of her. "After you," she said, with the barest hint of a playful smile on her face.

Once they were back aboard their unusual ride, Primrose paused at the front. She laid a hand on the back of the driver's seat, her eyes flitting down to the boy sat in it. And he was just that, a boy. Still, he seemed to fancy himself the leader of his own little group. Besides, at his age Primrose herself had already gone through hell. She didn't judge him, although she looked like she wanted to give him some words of advice. For a few moments she said nothing, feeling like she wasn't in any position to comment. Eventually she just sighed to herself. The desert can be a dangerous place for the hasty. It takes back whatever it offers two-fold. But if these children are determined to get through it with the rest of us, I suppose I can keep an eye out for them.

She moved on then, finding the same space she'd claimed earlier and sitting herself right back in it, next to the cooling little bug and the warm window she went right back to gazing out of.

『BLANK PAGE』 Manga Magazine Slice of Life

Why do so many cool interest checks go up when I have no time to join them! Good luck with the project!

World of Light

Word Count: 344 (+1)
Level: 1 - Total EXP: 7/10
Location: Sandswept Sky

It was hard to make out any details of the person in white. If it was even a person that is. Though even from this distance, Primrose thought that it was. They were garbed in a cloak or coat, unless someone thought it would be funny to dress a scarecrow up and stick it in the shifting sands. That seemed unlikely. Primrose kept an eye on the mysterious person, and soon enough Midna appeared beside the dancer again.

Her impression of Midna hadn't changed much in the short amount of time Primrose had known her. She did learn that she was apparently a princess, which was surprising. It also turned out that Primrose's earlier thought that the imp might have been shy was way off base. In fact Midna seemed a bit forceful. That suited Primrose just fine, though the dancer was still a little put out by the whole "hitching a ride in her shadow thing." If it wasn't already apparent, Primrose Azelhart had some deep seated trust issues.

Whether Primrose thought or not that eventually she and Midna would get along swimmingly, she'd already thought not to hold this particular grudge too long. Besides, maybe by spending time with the imp and her shadow magic, a little of Primrose's own dark magic would manifest again. It hadn't worked with Ashley, but then they'd been spending their days idle around the Alcamoth. Not exploring a region with the intent to free it's inhabitants.

With all these thoughts in mind Primrose nodded her head in the direction of the white cloaked person, a few hundred feet away from the car, without taking her eyes from the stranger. "There. Down the dune. A person, I think. Though it's impossible to tell if they are friend or foe."

The car hardly made a stealthy approach, so it was most likely safe to assume that this person had spotted them already. Although she wasn't particularly keen to approach, the dancer supposed that they would find out whether they were looking at an enemy or not soon enough.

World of Light

Word Count: 839 (+2 exp)
Level: 6 - Total EXP: 13/60
Location: Edge of the Blue

Another jaunt through the painting and across Lumbridge saw Cadet and the rest of the Blue Team in Inkwell Isle again. The hunter restrained himself from making a detour to the forge, channeling his inner Ace Lancer to continue on with the party (at which point he joined in with Sakura's Blue Team cheer). Those sisters worked fast, but it hadn't been that long. Besides, the Edge of the Blue was now just a hole in the floor away. If anyone needed anything, they could just take the lift back into town.

Seeing the little town and the big ocean properly rather than through the grimy doors of the casino, Ace Cadet was impressed. It wasn't often that he got to see the ocean. The Ace Hunters being based in Dundorma, at the center of the continent, most of their missions took them inland. Mountains, valleys, swamps. Deserts as well, and though the Great Desert might as well have been a sand ocean - completely with sailing ships and leviathans moving beneath - it wasn't quite the same. Rarely they Ace Hunters would visit larger coastal cities like Port Tanzia, but for the most part they stayed in the area around the Hunting Guild's Headquarters. The Cadet didn't wonder if he'd be more suited to joining Team Yellow instead, because just breathing in the salty air only the sea could provide was worth it. Oceans were so cool. Plus it was a beautiful day in the Edge of the Blue. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, there was an evil looking moon hanging in the sky...

"Is that always there?" The Cadet asked, blinking down at Cuphead.

Like most of the others, Ace Cadet chose to walk down to the coast as part of the group. As far as he could tell, the town was a charming enough place. It definitely seemed to fit Cuphead perfectly - or rather, it seemed Cuphead fit into it perfectly. He wanted to explore it a little, plus get a look at that weird misty forest a little further off, but for now the Cadet was content to walk along with everyone else. Once they were close to the water, the young man let out a low, drawn out whistle.

"Nice, it's all water for miles around. Guess that's in the name, heh, but still cool."

He stared out at the ocean for a little while, until a stranger in familiar clothing approached and struck up a conversation with the princess. Ace Cadet looked over his shoulder at the black clad stranger and frowned. That organization's whole deal was confusing. Some were helpful, some were bad guys masquerading as guild masters. The Cadet was much more used to straight forward threats, ruses were frustrating. He crossed his arms and turned back to the sea, thinking to himself as the conversation went on behind him.

The Maw, huh? Sounds spooky. That lady is pretty much asking us to trick a bunch of people onto boarding a dangerous ship. Junior's got the right idea.

The Cadet found himself nodding along with Sakura as they offered alternate suggestions, all of which were shot down. Was it not enough to take a sturdy ship full of heroes and take their chances crossing the sea? Did they really need this "Maw?" Was this mysterious woman just trying to push them into some kind of deadly trap while acting like she was doing them a favor and giving them advice? Man, at least monster hunting doesn't make me think in circles.

It was about the time that a deflating Sakura starting moving away from the group and Geralt started chastising her that the Cadet offered what little was on his mind to the group.

"Hey, lay off her," he started with, pointing his words towards the Witcher. Sakura was just trying to help after all. The redhead looked at the cloaked woman then and continued. "So what makes 'The Maw' so special? If it's just sea monsters that make the waters dangerous, I'm pretty sure we can deal with them," he said, pointing a finger between those that specialized in that kind of thing: Geralt and himself. That, or he was sure if they could come up with the materials, they could commission a dragonator from Lumbridge and lug it back here to attach to any other ship's hull. "Or what if we got ten really strong people instead? People we think can handle it inside. Can whoever crews 'The Maw' really tell the difference? And after all that if we still have to find ten guests like the ones you described, couldn't we just, I dunno, save them after we get on the ship?"

The Cadet folded his arms again, tilting his head from side to side. Perhaps the gesture helped him to think. He looked around at all of Team Blue gathered there. "I mean, even if we look into everything else and this is the only way, we still have some options working with this plan, right?"

---

(Ft. Midna)

Word Count: 1442 (+3)
Level: 1 - Total EXP: 6/10
Location: Sandswept Sky

Once teams started breaking away from the large group and leaving the Alcamoth for their individual missions, it was all to easy to see a few of "Team Yellow" were not part of the princess' chosen heroes. That included Primrose herself, of course. Before they got too far, the dancer introduced herself to put the rest of them at ease of being around a stranger.

"My name is Primrose," she said,

”And I would be Midna”, added a floating imp that materialized out of her shadow before attempting to lean nonchalauntly on her shoulder.

Primrose jerked away from the sudden voice and touch, and in a flash her dagger was in her hand. She hadn't expected any tag alongs besides herself, let alone whatever kind of miniature demon "Midna" was.

With one hand holding a blade defensively in front of her, and the other pressed to her chest to calm her panicked heart, Primrose glared at the imp.

"Where did you...?"

”Aw, what’s the matter, scared of your own shadow?” the demon replied mockingly, having lethargic floated away from her when she’d jerked away.

”Now put that thing away,” the imp said, waving a hand at the knife, ”I’m here to help. Completely uninvited of course, just like yourself.”

Primrose couldn't exactly argue with that. Slowly she tucked both of her arms back into her cloak, although she kept a tight hold on her dagger. One could never be too careful after all. Plus, Midna didn't exactly look helpful. Although neither did the dark scaled draconic man who was already part of the princess' royal entourage.

"I don't appreciate being used as a free ride," she told the imp.

Midna shrugged her arms widely in indifference to this opinion ”Not like I weigh anything, you didn’t even notice me after all. Don’t you want someone watching your back?”

”...” The dancer would be lying if she claimed that having someone she could count on wasn't a comfort, after living so long without that privilege. After a moment of continued glaring Primrose relaxed, just a little. She moved to one side of the rocky trail and motioned for Midna to float ahead of her.

The imp cocked her head at her silence, and then shrugged her shoulders and drifted ahead of her. ”Fine fine. I’ll get my own ride” she said, before snapping her fingers. The ground beneath her a circle of teal with angular veins flaring out of it formed, then a portal swirled within the ring, briefly blakening the ground beneath the teal rune. Out of this portal a wolf with unnaturally dark fur, a golden aura who was wearing a stone disk as a mask hopped before the portal vanished as quickly as it appeared. The imp dropped down onto the wolf’s back, riding it like it was a horse. The entire operation had taken only a few heartbeats, and now Midna had a new ride.

She pett the sides of the wolfos’ back and told it ”Hup-up, let’s go,” causing the creature to begin padding forwards ahead of Primrose, obediently carrying the imp up the trail with zero complainet.

She could do that this whole time? Primrose thought with a hint of annoyance. Although it was in the dancer’s nature to hold a grudge, she decided to try her best to let this one go. Under that strange appearance, maybe she’s just shy. That thought humored Primrose.

As they moved up the hill, Primrose wrapped the cloak a little tighter around herself. The closer they got to the passage into the desert, the hotter the air was getting - and though the fabric wouldn't protect from heat, it would shield her skin. Just like the others, Primrose shimmied through the opening in the rocks and came through on the other to an endless sandy sea.

When Primrose first left the Sunlands, what felt like years ago now, at the time she thought she'd never want to go back. Was sick at the thought of ever returning. Now, under the burning sun of the "Sandswept Sky," she only felt vague nostalgia. This landscape of sand wasn't the same was the Sunlands, it lacked the large red rocks natives came to rely on as landmarks, but in the end a desert was a desert. It was familiar if nothing else. Well, save for the huge flying serpentine creature, it was familiar.

Primrose was prepared to hoof it all the way to that distant, shimmering mountain when that bobble headed cat transformed. Normally that might have shocked the young woman, but there were a lot of crazy things in the Alcamoth. You got used to "weird" pretty quickly. As the rabbit-looking guy spoke with the cat vehicle, Primrose inspected it's tires. It was tough to drag a cart through the desert, but... she had to admit she was unfamiliar with this kind of wheel. It seemed wide enough. She followed Tora quietly onto the bus, sitting as far away from the rest of them as possible in the cramped space. A bit awkwardly she patted the interior walls of the bus in thanks.

The dancer leaned her head against the warm glass. It looked like this desert wasn't quite as featureless as she thought. The vehicle passed by stones of some kind, carved and decorated. Memorials? Primrose thought, turning slightly to get a better view as they drove by. Senseless. The sand will cover them all in time.

Coolness spread in her lap, and Primrose looked down to see a strange little bug getting cozy. Gingerly, Primrose lifted the antlion off of her and set it on the seat beside her instead. "That is very refreshing," she said softly to it, then went back to staring out of the window. Complaints and introductions were thrown around the inside of the "catty box with wheels," as Tora put it. Primrose couldn't keep a smirk off her face at the gripes about the heat. Although she wondered what made those clearly unsuited to the desert choose this area for exploration, she also took the time to repeat each name in her head. The three youngest of them, "Joker," "Skull," and "Panther" were clearly aliases, but keeping their true names concealed was their business.

There was a lull in conversation and Primrose sighed through her nose and let her eyes slip closed. My turn, is it? She took a few moments to think about what she wanted to tell these strangers, if anything.

"I mentioned earlier that my name is Primrose."

She would have been content to leave it at that, before she ended up traveling in a group back in her own world. Primrose thought about Alfyn and Cyrus, the chattiest among them, patiently extracting personal information from each of the travelers. She recalled Sir Olberic using some of that information to the group's advantage, explaining battle strategies that used their individual abilities to the fullest. It made fighting against the nastiest creatures in Orsterra a lot easier. It might help here, too.

"...I have... a particularly invigorating skill set," she told the Yellow Team, choosing her words carefully. Personally, Primrose wasn't ashamed of the life she'd lived until now. Frustrated with it, maybe, but not ashamed. However, it wasn't exactly the kind of thing you let slip while making your first impression. "And I'm familiar with traversing a desert."

It wasn't as friendly an introduction as Tora's, but it was at least more than just a name. It was all Primrose was really willing to give the ragtag team. Until she could find a way to unlock her magic, there as no use in including that either. There, official meetings over.

When the car came to a stop, Primrose elegantly stood and stepped out. Their destination, the mountain with the shimmering peak, was... still pretty far away. To be expected. Everything was farther away than it looked in the desert. It was part of the reason Primrose hadn't liked living there.

Who's to say this mountain isn't a mirage? the dancer thought to herself. Her eyes swept over the sky, which was naught more than sand, and the sand, which was naught more than... also sand. The sides of Primrose's mouth twitched slightly. She'd felt nostalgic at first, but now she was wondering why she hadn't chosen the ocean for a new adventure. The professor would say something like 'we are all but creatures of habit.' Maybe that's why. Creatures moving among the dunes caught her eyes and she watched them for a few moments. There was something else too, standing white against the dark stone totems.

And what do we have here...?