Raithica

"I'm not your friend!" Duster retorted.
"Besides, I could easily kill you. The problem would surely be the dog." Duster said, somewhat pathetic at the statement that he couldn't attack because of a walking bunch of scrap metal.
"God damn." he muttered, while lowering his gun slightly, still holding it in case the alchemist was lying.
"What's wrong with your kind anyways?" he asked, looking at the bunch of beat down people.
Two of them lay in the grass... was that the chimera that'd been chasing him wild a pair of minutes ago?
He looked at the whole bunch. Surely none, of the people assembled would be able to do much.
Duster sighed.
"Have any of you seen Alderic?" he asked, hoping that they knew where the giant was.

"You see, there's the problem," said Adam. "You're arbitrarily hostile. We haven't done anything to hurt you, at least not until you attacked me, but here you are waving your gun around and making demands. You're not looking that good either; that wound you've got in your leg'll definitely hinder your ability to get away. Also, am I the only one who still remembers that this forest is probably full of soldiers? I'd really rather not have Silf maul you, but if that's what I need to do to escape that's what I'll do. So let's all just calm down and catch our breath, yeah?"

Hatsune had placed her hand on the chimera's forehead, moving the matted hair from the sweat that had ended up there. He must have been worn out. The alchemy would heal wounds, but not restore energy. She'd been so out of it, lost from using up so much of herself that she hadn't noticed the tiff happening almost right in front of her. When she heard Silf growling she looked up and her brow furrowed at the gun, the soldier holding it, and the tension in the air around he and Adam. She come back to reality right at the end of Adam's sentence and nodded her head in agreement, but she was still confused.

"What in the hell is going on?" Looking down she spotted Tora on the ground. "When did you get here?" Her green eyes, dull from using so much of her alchemic energy, were narrowed. "And why does he have a gun?"

Duster looked at the girl, who seemed to be at her senses now.
He then looked at Adam. A deep sigh came from Duster.
"Why does this allways happen to me." he muttered grumpily.

He then raised his head.
"Why are you people even out here!?" He asked, sounding more accusing than anything.
"I understand that you fled from the inn, but why have you gone this far into the woods?"
He lowered his gun a litlle more, it seemed that the dog was keeping its distance.

"Not so fast, friend," said Adam. "It was my turn to ask a question before I had to run off. One question, one answer, remember? So here's my question: if you aren't from Alkara, where are you from?"

"If you are all that interested. I'm from Hovernia.
And I got a gun, because I feel like it!"
He retorted, first to Adam, then to Hatsune.

"Now please tell me! Have you seen Alderic? He's ... very big..."

"He wouldn't happen to be a chimera, would he?" asked Adam. "Cause if he is, I don't think he's the safest person to be around right now. See, he's the one who busted up our friend here," Adam indicated Cale, "as well as Silf. Last I saw, though, this Aldric fellow wasn't looking too good himself; Silf did quite a number on him. If I was you, I'd stay clear of your friend."

"By the by," Adam added, almost as an afterthought, "if you work for Hovernia, what're you doing pointing a gun in my face? I'm Kestren, and last I heard Kestre and Hovernia were on friendly terms."

"Uhhhhh" Duster started, clearly indicating that it was indeed the chimera Alderic he was after.
"Well, he and I have a mutual need for eachother, although I can't see how. Now please, where did he go?"

Duster opened his eyes wide at the statement about Hovernia.
"Who said I work for Hovernia?
I said I was Hovernian, that's all." Duster said, grinning deviously.
"And Hovernia allways stay neutral. They never take side in any other matters than their own."
He brought his gun down, sure that they were done fighting.
"I point a gun at you because your damned dog attacked me, and you impaled my leg."
Duster said, poking softly at his bandage with his new walking stick.

"Who said I work for Hovernia? I said I was Hovernian, that's all."

"To be fair," said Adam, "it's really not that hard to tell that you work for the Hovernian government; your movement and the way you hold yourself all suggest military training. That, and you pistol is standard issue for Hovernian special agents."
"I point a gun at you because your damned dog attacked me, and you impaled my leg."

"Yes," replied Adam, "I stabbed you in the leg because you hit me in the back of the head with your gun. Silf's currently growling at you for the same reason. Like I said earlier, I didn't do anything to you. You attacked me.

"Any way, you asked your question and now it's my turn-" Adam was about to ask, but was interrupted by voices shouting from the direction of the town.

"Looks like you're gonna owe me an answer, friend," said Adam, laboriously getting to his feet. "Looks like those soldiers have regrouped. You coming with us, or are you going off to look for your friend?"

"First! I don't owe you an answer you owe me one.
I answered your question about why I was pointing a guun to your head.
Second, I could've shot you dead, but I only sent you out black. Don't be a sissy.
Third... Do you know how many of these that are produced? That doesn't count as a question, for surely you have no clue.
But there's enough in every weapon depot of Hovernia to equip an army. Far enough for me to steal without getting noticed.
Also... I cut ties with the Hovernian government long times ago." He said.

Duster looked at the others, then at Adam.

"Do I look like I
'm in any kind of shape to go anywhere?" He retorted in mock over Adam's question.
"Surely you must've noticed that I am limping." He said, scowling at the man in front of him.

"First," replied Adam, "you were the last person to ask a question; you asked me if I saw your chimera friend. Second, you attacked me for no reason and yet you're complaining that I'm leaving you here with an injured leg. Give me one reason why I should care if you live or die."

Adam turned to Silf. "Stay here and make sure he doesn't follow us for a few minutes, then catch up." He reached into a pocket, pulled out a flask, and took a small sip. He soon found energy returning to his body. He offered the flask to Hatsune.

"Just take a small sip," he said. "Doctor friend of mine gave me this to test out. It's a stimulant, but a damn strong one. Don't know what'll happen if you drink too much, but I wouldn't take my chances."

Tora laid on the ground listening to the arguement going on. The fall hadn't hurt that much. He could have gotten back up with some effort. But a 240 lb mechanical dog jumping off his back Had. Everyone seemed to be ignoring him so he kept quiet, rubbing the top of Sparky's head. He decide to speak up when Adam started to talk about continuing on their way. Raising his other hand up and waving it he said, "Can someone please help me up? My legs decided not to listen to my brain."

"Why should I even care where you go?
I got my own orders to follow, and my own ways to travel."
Duster said, shifting so he could get a hold of his bag, grabbing a compass from his bag, and looked at it.

"Alderic might remember what I said... I hope he'll make it to the station..."
Duster muttered quietly, and then began limping off in a northern direction.

He stuffed his gun into its holster, and waved a hand back at the weird pack of people, shouting to them.
"I hope our ways won't cross again! For next time I'll be out killing, not finding!"
He then countinued into the woods, eyes and ears open, hoping to catch a hint of where Alderic was.

Adam glanced at Tora over his shoulder.

"He drop any hints about why he attacked me while I was gone?" he asked. Adam handed the stimulant to Tora once Hatsune was done.

"This is still experimental," he said, "but a little bit goes a long way. A small sip should give you enough energy to get out of here." Adam reached into his pocket and produced what appeared to be a pocket watch. He pressed a button on the side of the device and flipped the lid open.

"North's that way," he said, pointing. "And I've been living to the north for a little while now. If we can lose the soldiers, we can rest at my place and then..." Adam's face took on a puzzled expression.

"Tell the truth, I hadn't really thought about what to do next," he said with a little chuckle. "At any rate, the three of you are welcome to stay until you figure out what you want to do next. It'll be nice to have some company."

Once Tora was done with the stimulant, Adam took the flask and placed it in the pocket it came from. He picked up his duffel bag after returning his journals to their rightful place and began walking north.

"Hope we don't run into that angry bloke again," he said to no one in particular.