Aria Delaine's Story

Harper followed the others downstairs, stumbling down the steps as he squinted through heavy lids. It was a good thing the guy in front of him was taking his time, because Harper would have fallen down those stairs for sure. The chair and clothes bundle kept bumping against each other, and when Harper reached the bottom floor he headed for the edge of the group, his flip-flops barely missing Tallyho's fingers (who he didn't notice at all on the ground). Turning the chair upside down, he retied the clothes bundle to one of the legs, and then hoisted the chair up, clothes secure.

"Much better," he mumbled mid-yawn.

Rubbing his eyes again, he squinted around for Haru. Locating the redhead, he cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted not too pleasantly in his direction, "Ey, yo! Is there like a pond or a lake or a swimming hole or watering hole or something around here? I need to take a swim or I'm going to be bitching at everyone all day, tenfold."

Tallyho heaved a sudden cough, an awkward product from choking on her own drool. Then she gave a snort, rolling over as she felt light jabs invading her body like needy puppies. Foreign voices broke through the clouds of her sleep. Her eyes opened slowly, and she realized that she wasn’t where she fell asleep. No the lights were much too strong the hallway, even in the day light. She realized that two of the brunettes were hovering over her, probing her awake.

Tallyho, still not fully coherent gave a slight gasp, her reflexes popped her upright like a meerkat—her eye flashing with terror and shock, her body drawing into itself. Once she regained her composure her body language softened, her eyes regained their familiar lackluster, and her lips pressed themselves into a solid line of indifference.

“Wait… How did I get in here?” She hummed not asking anyone in particular. With a few awkward hums, she pulled herself onto her feet, almost reaching up for one the other girls to help her up, but retracting her unusual gesture as quickly as it came, deciding to clumsily pull herself up onto her feet using the desk much to the dismay of that poor innkeeper. The blond gave a slight nod to both girls before moving from in between them, a fit of social awkwardness overwhelming her mood. Her confusion over the situation didn’t help either. Had they moved her?

Her dried overnight which left her overwhelmed by a head of golden bed (or floor) curls, and boy did she feel awkward. The bedheads of the other girls didn’t seem nearly as unruly. Their hair wasn’t as fine as it was back on the earth place, but it certainly fared better.

Haru gave a deep chuckle as Harper came down barking his personal requests like a celebrity.

“Ah little ass-wiper,” he hummed under his breath, “so much to learn…”

Haru held the door open once everyone finally came down.

“Alright guys, I hope you have some concept of horses, because we are hitting the road like, now.”

He then nodded at Falke, “You. When we get on the road, you ride near me.”

He wasn’t taking any chances.

“Let’s go then,” and with that, Haru was off.

For someone who didn’t want them to get lost and die, Haru moved pretty quickly.

Whatever good mood Harper had at the beginning of the trip had certainly dwindled down to quite a terrible one. Hunger wasn't an issue, since he still had leftovers from last night stuffed in his pockets (which he devoured not long after they started off). His throat was dry, though, having no water, and the sun was not helping. Neither was the fact that he still hadn't taken his daily swim.

The surroundings, though new and different and, yes he'd admit, had a different sort of aesthetic than the concrete jungle he was used to, did little to alleviate his crabbiness. He spent a majority of his time searching the plains and farmland for even just a puddle of water. This whole place couldn't be filled with just corn and wheat...they had to get their water from somewhere.

Whether it was due to his throat being dry or the possibility that he was simply too miserable, Harper didn't complain vocally as much as he could have. True, he did complain about the sun and heat a few times, and did a lot of conspiratorial grumbling to himself, but without much talking from the rest of the group (that he heard anyways) there was little for his irritable self to lash out at.

It seemed like they had been travelling for hours when group came to a sudden stop, and Harper, who was on the outside of the group, around the middle, could only barely hear what Haru was saying. Something about scent and mints...

Unsure exactly why they were stopping or even how long they would be stopping, Harper looked around, surveying their surroundings. Just boring old farmland as usual, nothing n--wait a minute. Was that--?

In the next instant Harper was off the horse--almost fell off--the chair and bundle just barely hanging onto the saddle. He ran as fast as he could, leaving the group behind as he darted single-mindedly to the pond that was less than a half a mile away. He couldn't give one shit about them right now. Swimming was his utmost priority.

As he neared the sparkling water he started stripping, stumbling out of his jeans and flip flops and almost falling onto the grass. It wasn't until he cannon-balled into the pond that he realized he was, in fact, skinny dipping. Not that he cared.

He stayed underwater for as long as he could hold his breath, relishing the cooler temperature and digging his toes into the even cooler mud bottom. He broke the surface with a laugh, shaking his hair. Finally! With a grin wide on his face, he ducked underwater again, diving towards the center of the pond with long, easy strokes.

With tired, careful steps, Gwen slowly made her way to the water's edge. The drawstring bag on her back was bursting from the addition of her sweatshirt; the strings were pulled tight against her bony shoulders. The tattered ends of her layered t-shirts fluttered halfheartedly as a slight breeze passed around Gwen's small frame. She felt very small, at that moment. She was swallowed by the sheer vastness of her surroundings. The sun encased her in heat, eating her alive. Even the most animalistic of desires had consumed her, those horrid beasts that were hunger and thirst.

But at the same time, those drives provided her a different perspective. She wasn't so small that drinking wouldn't abate her thirst, that eating wouldn't fuel her body. Even when everything else loomed large around her, she still moved and breathed an existed--if only it was to continue existing. How was it that she had never felt the shadow of a skyscraper, and yet the deep waters of a lake could swallow her like dark eyes?

A lake containing a naked man. At least there was some scenery she could enjoy.

Gwen crouched at the edge of the lake, drinking the sweet water from her cupped hands. Her reflection was shattered by her movement across the surface and by the droplets falling from her hands. Further out, Harper was swimming lazily into deeper waters. Aria had joined him, though she was wading rather than swimming. And she had her clothes on.

Gwen washed her face and arms, the only skin that was showing. The little scars and bruises were strange to look at. They were from a different world, from a different time. She could barely recall receiving them. It was like remembering a dream. Her pale skin was also reacting to the sun by tanning fiercely. Provided enough exposure, she would eventually burn. But until then, she was only going to receive some intense semi-v-neck t-shirt tan lines.

She glanced across the shoreline at the others who had gathered together. Looking at them, sometimes it was hard for Gwen not to think of them as over-privileged and pampered. It was hard not to see most middle-class Americans that way, sometimes. Even though Gwen knew it was an overextended generalization, they just looked as though they didn't know what it was like. What it was to fight for food, to fight for a place on the street, to fight to survive. They looked well-fed, and... Well, maybe that was it. She just didn't like them because they had food and she didn't.

Tallyho didn't look that way, though. She looked a little beaten, a little hungry, and kind of... strong. A lot stronger than some of the other teens looked. Gwen didn't judge just based on appearances, though. Just what was necessary to survive.

Now that her thirst had been quenched, Gwen could finally think about food. The faint smell of mold wafted from her bag when she removed her sweatshirt; that would be the cheese. But it was salvageable. A little mold was not stopping Gwen. Settling down with her little legs crossing tightly beneath her, she placed the two now deformed loaves of bread before her on the ground. She tore right into the stale crust of the cornbread.

Before she took a bite, however, her gaze was drawn once more to the others at the edge of the lake. None of them had eaten this morning. Poor pampered kittens. But still, Gwen understood hunger, and the sheer quantity of food before her softened the hardness that survival instinct brought to her personality. She suddenly felt rich; she had a power now. It was the power to give or withhold, to be charitable or to watch the hunger in their faces. It was a new feeling.

"Hey." Her call to the others was a sharp, bold little sound. "Think fast." She tossed half the loaf of cornbread toward the girls. Perhaps it betrayed some intention that her throw was aimed at Tallyho. "You owe me, though," she added, though not necessarily with any sharpness. She was feeling rather rich. She had food. That made everything better. This was what Haru wanted, wasn't it? She was being a team player.

She couldn't actually remember the specific instance when Haru had told them that, but it had to have been somewhere down the line. Trying to remember made her head hurt still more, so she shrugged off the thought and bit into the cornbread.

Though he really loved riding, Jason was really getting bored with the pace, and the heat just zapped his energy, causing him not to enjoy it much. He glanced at the others who really didn't seem to be use to riding. They probably felt dead by now. He was thinking they should take a break when Harper jumped off his horse and stripped, jumping into a pond. If so many weird things hadn't already been happening, he probably would have been more surprised.

At Haru's mentioning they should stop here, and tying up the horses, Jason walked his horse over, jumping down with ease and tying the reins around a post. He gave them a little tug to be sure it was secure before heading towards the water like Harper and the girls had. A drink sounded pretty good right now.

He stopped at the edge of the water, a little ways off from the group of girls, kneeling down onto one knee and cupping the water with his hands. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he sipped the water from his hands, and was grateful for its cool feel as it travelled down his throat.

Before cupping more water, he pausing to look back at the horses. "They probably all need a drink too, huh?" He nodded, turning back to the water and splashing some onto his face, drying it with the shirt he pulled off over his head. "Not too much, though." He smiled, kind of in his own little world of thoughts. He stood up, throwing his shirt over his shoulder, and made his way back towards the horses. He untied his, patting it affectionately, "Bet that water looks real good in all the heat. Right, girl? Especially with you do'n all the work." For a moment he wondered how the horse felt having to carry him all this way, then shook his head, laughing. "Oh well. Not something I'll ever know."

He took the reins in one hand, occasionally stroking it with the other as he led it towards the water. "Yeah, that's a good girl." When they got to the bank, just as he'd thought, the horse lowered her head to the water and started to drink.

Jason sat down on the grass, the feeling of the whole scene making him very at ease.
"This is great."
He smiled towards the others. "How ya'll do'n so far?" Though he figured most of them were sore and/or tired. No harm in giving a friendly inquiry.

When he opened his eyes and saw fields and a giant lake, Xabier knew that he wasn't in New York anymore.
One moment he was in a city, the next in some sort of countryside.
He had never felt anything like it. The feeling of floating away and suddenly being dragged back down to the earth. Like he had some sort of purpose that he had to fulfil somehow.
Then the strange gato man with red hair told him that he was one of 12 magical warriors sent from Earth to this world -Aires to subdue dark creatures. This was completely impossible of course. Xabier hadn't believed in magic for a long while. After Haru's little speech about a Goddess and how he had the power of Dark Shadows or something like that, Xabier just nodded cautiously.
With the most self control that he could muster, he didn't say anything to him. His mother had raised him well enough not to show that he was annoyed by this guy.

So when he had been transported to another place in what seemed to be in the blink of an eye, the only explanation he could come up with was drugs. Somehow Haru (if that even was his name) must have drugged him and forced him subconsciously into human trafficking.
It was the most reasonable explanation. Xabier knew in his heart that he'd have to be smart in his method for escape. He was in a completely foreign place with a group of strangers. He'd have to work out the situation until he could find a way to get home.

The more he thought about it,the more he wondered whether gato man could be telling the truth. If he was lying he was stealing a doctor in training from the people who needed him the most. The sick and the old. However if he was telling the truth, Xabier by not helping the warriors, would actually damn everyone back on Earth.
It was a big decision with lots of points to consider. For now he'd stay with the strange people. However if he found out that gato man was lying he'd have a lot of blood on his hands.

Together with the gato man, Xabier walked towards the group of people relaxing around the lake.
Some were swimming,the others were with horses. Ah~ the heat was beautiful!
"Abuela, es muy hermoso aquí." He gasped out. If only his Abuela could see this scenery. She'd probably sit down in this exact spot and never stand up again. For a moment he forgot about the work waiting for him back home,the impossibility of magic and the fact that he was in a strange foreign place and basked in the sheer beauty of it all.

If Haru understood Spanish he didn't let on, however he seemed pleased that Xabier had approved of the world so far.

They approached the closest guy standing beside a horse. Haru was explaining that Xabier was one of their group now.
"Hi." Xabier tested out. Well here goes nothing..


*Gato- cat
* "Grandma,it's beautiful here."

Tallyho hadn’t really expected the sudden attention she was receiving from some of the other girls. But it made a little bit of sense seeing as the first girl to approach, Autumn, inquired about the weather on Solace. And Tallyho, being the token Arian chick, probably knew the answer.

“It’s July,” she hummed, “I’ve felt hotter sensations at this time of year. Nonetheless, you can always hope for lucky breezes.”
Lucky breezes—beacons of hope on this wide, flat, mass of land. There was nothing that Tallyho loved more than the sensation of cool breezes brushing their way through her skirts, and knotting air-bows around her thighs.

Then one of the brunettes approached, Skylar, speaking of her love for Harper. She wasn’t familiar with her “little junior” colloquialism, but she could take a guess at what it meant. Though Harper’s state wasn’t necessarily impressive to the blonde, Earthlings might have found admiration in different places.

“I suppose if that’s what you like,” she said, not quite sure what else to say. The corner of her mouth twitched into a dopey smile. Brief, fleeting, soon overtaken by the indifferent pout she wore so well. Her gaze wandered away from the Skylar, a sign that she was more than a little embarrassed by her change in character. Poker face. She locked eyes with the second brunette, (who actually looked a lot like Skylar), for a brief moment but quickly looked away when she smiled at her. It wasn’t anything against her, but it reminded Tallyho of her own facial contortion of pleasure and she only flushed redder, overcome with shame.

Though, she could always blame her inner scarlets on heatstroke.

Then she saw it, a flying figure that eclipsed the sun—a savior—a cherub. She caught the cornbread, casting a look to Gwen that conveyed a speech of gratitude then she bit into it, savoring every crumb.

As Jason asked about their current moods, the Arian offered a silent nod, her mouth was full and though she wasn’t necessarily smiling, her eyes were. A glimmer of star spangled contentment—the sun’s golden glare dancing on her greens—dear Goddess the bread did it for her. But her joyous expression faded into one of mild confusion when an unfamiliar young man approached.

She studied him. But by the way he dressed, he certainly wasn’t from Aires. Like the silent Falke, and slow speaking Jason, his voice had a slight twang that contrasted the accents of most of the other Earthlings. His simple hello was enough for her to recognize it. They had been missing another warrior besides Dorian… Was he the last of them?

“Who are you?” she asked—her voice not quite as blunt as it could have been. A little food could work wonders.

“You. When we get on the road, you ride near me.”

Falke wasn’t certain that Haru was speaking to him, but it certainly felt like it. The weight and direction the words seemed to be coming from and where directed at, and the fact that in the group no one else seemed to have such a physical ailment (except for some having the possibility of being certifiably insane, but he wasn’t going to go there right now) like his own blindness; so it was safe to assume that the statement was for him. He didn’t see the nod in his direction, that would have told him that it was in fact for him – but to be safe anyway, he briefly twitched his head in short nod in return in answer.
The walk to the stable was less of a danger relatively than the multiple trips made up and down the stairs, Falke reasoned. He personally deemed it a success to become accustomed to attaching to the certain sounds of the group member’s footsteps – whether plodding and staggering because of a team-wide general feeling of having a lack of sleep, or dainty and light against the dirt path lucky to be a more lively morning person. It was make his chances of getting lost less, mostly, or so he hoped anyway. Getting lost in an alien world wasn’t an idea or plan he’d call a well-loved and/or remembered vacation. Frankly, getting lost was at the top of his list of not wanting to ever happen to him, again, right underneath being kidnapped for destiny’s sake.

Now the horse on the other hand, well… Dear Lord, good grief. He stared almost hopelessly at the reins handed, and the horse anxiously tugging on the other end. Falke remembered vaguely the times his mother had a riding lesson with one of his aunts and had taken him along with to get him out of the house and experience new things as safely as she could arranged. They’d halter the ornery pony that ran amok around the place, saddle it up, put him on his back, tie him down unto the saddle without enough rope to make it uncomfortably tight, and then lead the pony with himself tied securely on – his mother would take him on a trail ride before or after her actual riding lesson. That being the extent of his knowledge of horses, and the doubt that someone was going to tie him on so to speak. Bloody hell.

Falke managed to get on by himself without help once he’d found the stirrup to put one foot in, and bounce on his other leg to get enough thrust to hop the rest of the way, well, almost most of the way up into the saddle. It took a few more minutes to find the other stirrup, gently swinging his leg until his toe was able to catch the inside of the loop. His horse stood remarkably well considering the others stopping and starting and getting anxious by their inexperienced riders, and he would have been surprised of his own beast’s behavior if not given that he held the reins tight and steady while he’d been finding that illusive stirrup on the other side. He was aware of the snugness of the saddle from the cantle to the pommel that left a little more to be desired, but at least it was enough for him to tell where he ought to sit and stay when on the move of which he was still silently grateful for. Once secure, he released the grip he held on the reins flicking them forward to ask the horse to move forward, the horse obliging walked forward calmly. “Let’s go then,” Without having to take the need to stop, Falke reluctantly urged his horse into a steady jog to follow the cat-man's own horse. Making the time - not really - go by by clenching the pommel with his rein-free hand tightly to keep his ever-flattering balance, clenching his teeth together to keep from biting his own tongue off later on, and had his eyes blearily floating about clearly uncomfortable but wordlessly dealing with it.

With the much-needed pit-stop of shorts for the group, Falke was grateful to be able to get down out of the saddle (not without a struggle to do so, of course) to stretch sore muscles and screaming joints, and let his right hand that had been his means of balance resume to have feeling again. However, it didn't help with the now lack of a breeze from the movement of riding to his heat-flushed skin that had been somewhat cooling, nor stopped the hunger from a lack of food since breakfast yesterday and the couple sips of the beer from lunch or well dinner the night before, from growing in the absence of his mild-ish sea sickness (or technically horse-sickness) from travel. And how the others seemed to be acting given the break, he'd honestly would've had less of the nonsense from certain members of the group and just resume travel to get wherever they were supposedly going sooner. Perhaps that was his father in him talking? Who knew. Fei..

It was no sooner that he'd managed to tie his horse up on the fence, and kept it from yanking his arm off to eat grass, Haru returned bringing one of the missing members of their so called team (that had apparently just appeared here, he could only guess having the same teleportation issues as Dorian). Xabier, or Haveey as he would likely attempt to pronounce it if he even tried to do so without listening to the other pronounce their name correctly first, seemed by his accent and the way his words were pronounced to be from Spain - making Falke, not the only European stuck in this 'adventure'. Woo? While others greeted the newcomer, Haru made another plain statement that they ought to get a move on again. Great, he'd just gotten off his horse too...

Falke untied his horse with some effort and time to undo the knots, before slipping its reins over it's head and making his way shakily back into the saddle again. Ready to go, more or less, again.

Everyone was being pretty friendly to him. It was disarming at first but made him feel comfortable.
A quiet guy who looked like he had European roots caught his attention briefly.
Xabier wondered where exactly he was from. Since he hadn't heard him say a word he guessed that he was either Nordic or German. He secretly hoped he was from Norway as he could say a few phrases in Norwegian. Three to be exact.
"Hello" "Thank You" "Let go of me or I'll call the police."
He learnt the last one for a laugh, but it came in use whenever creepy old Norwegian tourists tried to "flirt" with him on the street.
He laughed at the memory of seeing the look on their faces when they realised he could understand them. He could only speak a few phrases,but they didn't know that. They had scurried away like mice confronted with a cat once he mentioned the police.
Xabier smiled to himself,but then remembering the person who taught him the Norwegian,his smile faded and he looked down at the grass. Not now, Xabier, don't think about that now.
Back in the present,he gave the quiet guy a nod and a friendly smile. He could think about sad things once he was alone.

Gato man said that they were leaving now and everyone started to get ready to go.
Xabier looked over to see their method of transport. Horses.
Oh dear lord, how was he meant to ride a horse. The last time he was riding anything similar was when he was twelve years old with an old donkey. One of the horses snorted and brayed his head to the side slightly. Well this was going to be interesting...
A dark haired girl nodded as she passed him to get to the horses. He tilted his head to watch her pass briefly before turning his attention to the guy approaching him.

The guy came over and introduced himself as Kyle. He was shorter than Xabier by a little and had an noticeable aura of someone who has had plenty of fun in life. Xabier found himself immediately liking him. If he was in Spain he'd be called pequeño.
He introduced himself back carefully. Americans usually butchered his name so he usually said it slowly or when he was in the hospital he was just called Dr. Sánchez.
"If you need help with anything, feel free to ask me, unless it has to do with horses. I recommend asking Jason.. or Tallyho for that." He had pointed out Jason as the tall guy sitting beside the dark haired girl. Tallyho,he recognised,was the discreetly strong blonde girl he had first talked to.

"Gracias." He replied,"if you need any help... medically-" he looked around at everyone and then back at Kyle. "Feel free to ask. I'm not bad at sorting out wounds." It was a slight understatement,but he didn't want them to think he was full of himself.
Another girl smiled over and said her name was Skylar. She was petite in features and sort of reminded him of his sister, Amaia, in height.
Xabier nodded at her with a fleeting smile. Being reminded of his family just made him long for Bilbao even more.

He wondered briefly how Haru had the foresight to bring a horse for him and then shrugged it off.
As he made his first attempt at mounting the magnificent creature, he was vaguely aware that he was about to make a giant fool out of himself in front of these new acquaintances.
"Aye Papi" he muttered as he foot slipped slightly and he nearly fell off.
Before he could make even more of a fool out of himself he pulled himself upright on the horse's back. Yes! He had did it! He fought the urge to put his fist in the air in triumph.
Xabier grinned to himself like a child.
In his happiness his leg must have brushed the horse's side because it suddenly started to move.
Caught off guard he clung to the reins like a lifesaver. This will be a very long ride.

*pequeño= small one (term of endearment used between friends)

Falke shifted his grip on the rucksack slung over his shoulder, to relieve the slight irritated tension the cord had been slightly cutting into his muscle and bone uncomfortably. His eyes floated blearily about, taking note of the confining crowd swirling about him and not keen on the situation one bit. He wasn't quite able to shake off the feeling that he really didn't belong here, stuck out like a sore thumb, and someone could quite possibly notice something. He just wanted to get this shopping over with, some dinner and resting in the inn afterward away from unwanted eyes and some quiet time (he could hope) sounded absolutely wonderful...

“So fellas. What would you like to get first?”

Falke was disgusted. Primarily from listening to the kid in a candy store after Haru's question – bouncing and waving his arms about like a fool, like he was some fruit-crazed explorer – and another boy of the group saying let’s go this way and explore the shops that a’way. But his rapidly fading normally stoic nature that left his emotions begin to be seen plain as day in a twitch of his lips or at the crease of his eyes because of lack of sleep and hunger, and the headache and minor sunburn across his fair cheeks from a minor case of heat stroke he suspected from the ride here; could both have been affecting his current mood in turn. All the same, however, he was just plain really, really done. “Unless someone has a better idea..." As a matter of fact, he did – he had priorities. First and foremost was getting home, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon because destiny and a ket-man was busy kidnapping him you know; so secondly, he was worried about surviving in this alien world until he could get home – whether it be killing that cyclo-whatever monster king or being able to return to the inn without something blowing up in his face like the recent and not so fond memory of the tavern the night before, surviving was a definite priority.

“Clozes,” The growling brass of his heavily accented voice surprised Falke with its roughness and rather lack of attempt to sound out more proper English sounds to the word he spoke, causing him to momentarily pause – licking his bottom lick idly, in an attempt to hide the faintly annoyed tick at the corner of his mouth. Yes, it was a given that he would certainly mess up because it wasn't his first or natural language: he was already going out of his comfort zone – despite his normally reserved, quiet self that value observing and listening much more than talking – speaking up and talking to them; but in turn he was tired, hungry, etc – and he just really didn’t care to be proper right now, just bloody give him a break. “Trrried foot, somezing forr vater, awnd hygiene… Ten beck to ze inn?” He finished his list short, sweet, and to the point. He really didn’t care to be lollygagging more than what was necessary, clearly. He had directed the question at the end to Haru, more so as a means of gauging that his list was complete enough for their current needs (minus some of them, not himself thank you, wanting to have an “adventure” by exploring) by his approval or disapproval; and honestly the faster that they got moving to grab things by Haru’s leading them through this maddeningly busy marketplace, the faster they got back to the inn surviving out of harm’s way relatively.

*Clothes,
*Dried food, something for water, and hygiene... Then back to the inn?

Listening to Jason fumble about his words, Lux let out a soft laugh. Taking back to her horse once more at Haru's prompt, the brunette fell silent once more. As the group moved on to the next town, Lux kept on humming. Dismounting, following the others, and finally following Tallyho around the market place, Lux still kept on humming. It was as if she was trying to distract herself, from something on her mind.

Straightening her back, her nutmeg optics darted around. Scrutinizing each and every detail of the stalls up in the marketplace, each face in the sea of people, the young Adair found herself more at ease some. Her gaze flickered back to Tallyho, noticing the peculiar stance she was taking. Titling her head and pursing her lips, Lux mused over the possible answers as to why the blonde was doing such a thing. The way she was hiding herself, using the scarf as some feeble dissimulation in the crowd. Despite the curiosity growing inside her, Lux threw out the thought of asking Tallyho why.

"Yeah... we have something similar. It's called 'toothpaste'." She answered, blinking for a few moments. "So, where should we go next?" The inquiry was spoken as she counted out four of the coin handed to her by Haru. Shuffling forward, Lux placed the required amount of currency in Tallyho's hand. A mere smile flickered on her face for a moment, just a moment. Then it was gone.

Tallyho hummed at Skylar’s question. Something that can still be eaten past its expiration would have been nice. Items with milk and fruit probably wouldn’t have been good ideas.

“Bread. Bread and nuts. Maybe small dried fruits?” She readjusted the sack’s strap on her shoulder. Unfortunately all of that food sounded incredibly boring. Tallyho might have been small, but she preferred real food, like meat.

Lux asked where they should go next, and Tallyho told her that they would get food. After all, most of them seemed to want it.

“It is primarily found on the other side of the market, though,” she said, “along with the clothes.”

And so that’s where she led them—a straight cut through the center of the market where a small clearing area was set up for public entertainment. Tallyho froze when she heard the familiar pluck of an instrument that to earthlings might have likened to a sitar. She groaned slightly, and soon the harmonious tones of women and the tinks of bells joined into to create a lively song laden with foreign, melodic lyrics. The February warrior made sure that her hair was tucked back farther into her scarf, and then she turned to the others.
“Alright. So a bunch of women might come prancing towards you, beckoning for you to watch the performance and offer tips. Don’t do it. In fact, don’t make eye contact. Just stay close to me, and stay on the outskirts of the performance area.”

Without offering any more of an explanation, Tallyho bounded off. Cautious of where she was stepping.

The song grew louder and the girls could begin to make out the stage area where dozens of women danced and sang in long flowing skirts, bandeaus, and dresses that were jagged from weathering. Bells were firmly tied to their ankles, and floral crowns adorned their heads. Though they looked poor, they were still swelling with joy as they sang, and they even held and air of grace. Their curls bounced as they sung, and made yellow shimmers in the sunlight.

Men accompanied them, though they did not dance. They wore white cotton blouses and harem pants stained with reds and purples. They plucked away at their instruments, some playing lutes or “sitars”, and others pounding away at animal skin drums. Leis laced of the same flowers the women wore adorned their necks, but they were hard to see for they all wore their hair long and their heads were bowed low in musical passion, golden curls making curtains around their necks and faces.

If all went according to plan, the group of girls managed to make it past the concert without being disturbed. Tallyho sighed as the flung herself to the nearest clothing stand, her face flushed with relief.

“By something comfortable,” she said, “and let’s move on.”


Still pleased with the group’s reaction to his coat, Haru blinked at Jason’s not so helpful answer. To be honest, he pointed too quickly for Haru to pay enough attention to what he was pointing at. The only thing he could put his finger on were the tooth leaves.
“Oh right, we will get those. I mean, unless you’re okay with rotting teeth.”

Then Kyle suggested that they just wandered around.

“While a leisurely day in the market seems nice, I would really like to know about a few things that you can’t live without so that we can get them as soon as possible.”

Then Falke spoke. Haru raised his eyebrows, trying to decipher what he had said. Honestly, most, if not all of the guardians understood a wide array of languages across Earth and Aires. After all, they had all of the free time to learn them. But Haru hadn’t used German since 1988, and quite frankly he was more than a little rusty, even when hearing the accents in English. Although Falke was trying hard. After taking a moment to get his message straight, Haru wholeheartedly agreed. He had the right idea.

“Okay, dried food, water, clothes, hygiene. Okay, nothing special there. We can do that.”

Then there was the voice. Not a voice, but the voice.

Haru turned to see its owner.

“Ryou,” he hummed. Dorian was then pulled into the picture, beat up just as bad as the cat guardian had expected.

“Well medical supplies should definitely go on the list. Where’d you find your…sheep?” he asked as planted a firm hand on Dorian’s shoulder. Apparently Ryou didn’t feel like answering, because Haru was soon taken into a bro hug, which, he didn’t really want to be in at the moment, and desperately tried to pry himself out of.

Then Harper began to ask his questions.

“Yes, he’s a guardian. Ryou Zerinn guardian of March, aka Dorian. His animal is the monkey and he is the esteemed founder of a training academy located in the mountain range east.”

Haru wasn’t really in the mood to deal with Harper for extended amounts of time so his explanation was rather quick and snappy. The only useful thing Harper contributed to the journey was the suggestion to purchase temporary knives until they made it to the mound. Haru silently took note of it.

“Oh, sounds delicious,” Skylar said, a sarcastic edge to her voice. Tallyho’s description of the bland food they’d be eating only made her crave food from back home even more. Thoughts of the pizza they served back in one of the dining halls on campus filled her head, with the perfect sauce to cheese ratio and dough that was cooked to perfection…
She had to stop herself from thinking of food any longer, her stomach gurgling in protest as she followed Tallyho through the crowds.

She wondered why the blonde seemed so on edge, the girl making a point to keep herself hidden and get them through the market as quickly as possible. Despite what she’d been told, Skylar couldn’t help but pause as they passed the dancers, her gaze lingering on the dancers for a moment before she was pulled away. They might not have had much but the women looked so full of joy, seeming to glow as they twirled around in their tattered clothing. Skylar wondered if she could ever be that happy one day.

She was snapped back to reality at the sound of Tallyho’s voice instructing them to pick out clothing. The blonde seemed slightly less uncomfortable now that they’d passed the dancers, however there was still an uneasiness in the way she carried herself- did she know them? She didn’t have time to think about it much though as she was thrust towards a stand that sold clothing, the urgency in Tallyho’s voice telling them not to take too long.

Something comfortable, huh? Skylar vaguely remembered Haru mentioning something about women not wearing pants in Aires, which ruled out the article of clothing that made up 95% of her wardrobe back at home. Trapping her lower lip between her teeth, she spent a few minutes looking through the dresses before deciding on one. The dress was knee length (although considering how short Skylar was it would probably fall a little longer) and made of a soft, forest green material with a sweetheart neckline and off the shoulder sleeves. She might not have been “fashionable,” but it was a nice dress, even if it was more on the simple side. Picking out a cloak for when (if) it ever got cold, Skylar exchanged a handful of coins for her purchases before turning to face the others again.

(Read my OOC post~)

Tallyho nodded to Autumn.

“I’m fine,” she hummed.

She furrowed her brows and began to sift through the many fabrics once more. Her gaze was one of critical appraisal. But had she really cared what color her dress was? Not particularly. She felt like she was perpetrating, actually. No matter how convincingly the wrinkles between her brows were knotted in focus, she could not.

She dragged herself through the trip, however. After the purchase of clothes, she took the girls to an array of booths—securing the need for food, combs, gauze, and any other essentials. She made sure to steer clear of the performance area too, and from her decision she seemed less tense.

It had taken the girls longer to arrive back at the inn. As they approached, Tallyho could make out Haru and his group hanging around the entrance. But there were two men too many. She could see that Dorian—the missing warrior from before—had made it back into the fray. He was pretty banged up, and the bruises and cuts only made him look angrier—well no—he didn’t look like an angry person, just unsatisfied. With the world.

Haru nodded to the girls as they approached.

“So everyone is set?”

Tallyho nodded.

“Alright, well let’s toss our stuff upstairs. The inn we are staying in today actually serves food in the mead hall attached, so we will just wait on their call.”

Tallyho nodded and glided to the door, maneuvering through her peers silently. She fell onto her cot and perched her elbows onto the nearby window seal. The shadows were angled at six o clock. The familiar sound of bells rang from below and the blonde could make out the more familiar band of musicians marching back to their caravan for the night.

The public was a funny entity for them. When they pranced on the stage they were beloved tokens of atmosphere and frivolity. But when they were sprinkled amongst the common grind, the public reviled them. They pressed their bodies away from them. Turned their noses up at them.

-x-

Those mead halls were no different from the taverns. Same grimy men, same grimy food, less alcohol. Maybe they were worse. But there was a hell of a lot of meat in circulation, so Tallyho couldn’t complain. She hadn’t had meat on a regular basis for such a long time—she was actually a little afraid that she had tricked herself into being a vegetarian. Naturally, she was forced to find a seat next to the other warriors. She was not particularly keen on being wedged between two people, so she planted herself at the end of a bench where she’d be guaranteed a little more wiggle room. She hadn’t really paid much attention to her surroundings that night. Haru jabbered on with the new guy, introducing him to the girls as Ryou, and guardian of March. It seemed that the other guardians were beginning to file in. but to imagine their group numbers doubled was quite unpleasant.

She focused on her food. Filling her head with musings about corn-beef stew until it was time to travel back to the inn for bed.

-x-

Haru was very serious about getting down to the mound. Tallyho had always believed that the usual time it took to get down there from the capital was two weeks. But Haru boasted that they could do it in five days. She hadn’t really believed him until she experienced the travel pattern Haru had them on. After making the additional horse purchases, they left Malboro at five in the morning and on that first run they rode until ten at night—only stopping to rest when the horses whinnied from exhaustion, hunger or thirst. Never mind the whining from the warriors—it seemed the cat guardian would only offer compassion to innocent beasts. And she was really beginning to see what he meant when he told them that after the first couple of days, life would be harder. After having them ride on the dry grassy plains from dawn to death he would expect the warriors to be ready to help Ryou and him set up camp by gathering fire wood, berries, anything that they needed for the night.

On the first night, Tallyho was put on wood duty, and with a few others, she wandered into nearby forest groves to hack a meager amount of wood with their bazaar bought machetes. On nights like those, there wasn’t much room for socialization—at least for Tallyho. By the time they were allowed their “free time” most would have been ready to die, or it was to be spent refilling water gourds in small marshes. Tallyho usually slept when given the extra time.

The first two nights were tough, but by the third night, Tallyho had lost all willingness to complain—and it wasn’t like she ever complained out loud either. If you would have asked her back then, she would have told you that she had gotten used to that regimen. But she began to fret—was that always going to be the life of a month warrior? For a group so valued by a global religion, there was a severe lack of glory in their job. Tallyho sort of imagined that instead of sleeping on the ground, people would be opening their homes for the group. That instead of running around with lame machetes, blacksmiths would be custom crafting armor and weapons for them.

But the journey wouldn’t last much longer. Haru was certainly right about his boasts. They had seen the fires of the savage conservation by the fourth sunset, with a fifth day to spare. Haru rallied up the group before they entered.

“Alright guys. You have been month warriors for a week now. Congratulations. I have to say, I’m a little proud of you guys for sticking to it this far. This lifestyle isn’t going to be easy, but we just have to make it work,” the redhead looked out at the camp—a hodgepodge of buildings and tents dotting the horizon, “Before we enter. Let me give you a little bit of a history lesson: The savage conservation is located at the southernmost tip of Solace. Solace is a lot like North America in the sense that it is a country of colonists. Unfortunately, this is the area where the native Solacian population has been pushed to live in isolation from the rest of the continent. And even then, they are not living by their own rules. Monks from the Monastery of the Sun and officers from the nearby military academy impress the religious and societal codes that colonists happily follow onto the natives. The camp is by no means high profile to outsiders. Anyone can walk in. But natives—they can’t really walk out. By consequence, some of you are going to get a few propositions. Natives might try to offer you things—whether they are fake artifacts, indentured servitude, or sexual favors in exchange for leaving the premises with you. You are by no circumstance allowed to entertain any of these tradeoffs. I know that some of you think that you know what you are doing, and that you can do whatever you want—but I’m telling you—we cannot afford to stick our necks in any political scuffles. We are only here to sleep, do you understand? As month warriors, you are supposed to do things for the good of Aires—and you will—but as of now, we cannot let the world know who you are. Until we have been ordained by the Grand Harbinger, we are nothing but imposters, and claiming to be a month warrior without being nationally recognized is a capital crime that is punishable by death. On that note, we will be going for a title appraisal sometime in the future. But we need to get your spirit weapons and begin your training with Ryou in order to make your powers strong enough to be exhibited for a formal judgment.”

Tallyho thought a lot about Haru’s speech. The idea of going to the Rose Kingdom to prove herself to the king and the council and the harbinger was nerve racking, and quite frankly, that was the last thing she wanted to do.

-x-

Haru led the band to the entrance of the camp. Two guards stood—both adorned in native garb, standing like stone men ready to spring to life. White and brown feathers were shrouded in their long dark hair. Their shoulder muscles were tanned and toughened but not nearly as much as their faces which were set in archaic frowns. Behind them was a group of non-native soldiers—two of which held muskets.

Tallyho heard about guns before but she hadn’t actually seen one. A part of her sort of wished that an angry bear would come lumbering out of the woodwork just so she could see it in action. She wondered how hard they were to maintain, or even obtain. They certainly weren’t items that freely fell into market circulation. She heard that most of them hardly ever made it out of the laboratories in Hales. But she supposed that it would make sense if the military had access to them. The other two soldiers stood closer to the entrance, glancing at the group and motioning them closer. They were unarmed.

“Passports?” a guard rumbled. He did not seem particularly happy to see them.

Tallyho looked to Haru with her brows raised. She didn’t even have legal papers. And if she didn’t have papers, there was no way in Aires that any of the earthlings had passports.

“Yes sir,” Haru hummed with a charm. His mouth bent into a sly smile, and the guard caught a glimpse of his sharp K9’s. Haru had pulled many a things out of his coat pockets over the course of this week, but he wasn’t done yet. From his pockets, he pulled a set of fine leather booklets, and handed them to the guard.

“Sorry they are all out of order. Call our names and we will come up if that makes life any easier.”

Having lived for such a long time, it would make sense if guardians knew how to forge legal paperwork. And considering the fact that Arian passports didn’t have photos, the work could be done.

The guard grunted the names of each party member and as they came through, he punched a wax seal onto each of their booklets and handed them their passports. Tallyho gingerly grasped her tiny brown booklet and took a peek inside.

Last Name: Abell First Name: Tallyho
Age: 18
Birthday: 20 February 1673 A.B (After Battle)

Height: 5'4 Eyes: Green Hair: Blonde
Nation: Solace
Seals:

Tallyho pressed her finger against the freshly dried wax seal—the image of two birds at war impressed into its red wax.

All of her information was correct—Haru had certainly done his research. But she wondered how he translated the earthling’s information in order to adapt their backstories to Aires? She imagined that since Harper was older, his birthdate would have been a few years before 1673, and that because of Gwen’s appearance, her nation of origin would have been noted as Eastern Isle. Haru must have done everything right because the guards asked no questions, and soon the entire group was well behind the camp’s timber walls.

“They have some supplies available for purchase so that we can make a little camp. I guess our next move would be to build a couple of tents and head on over to the mound,” Haru said. He perched his weathered palms on his hips and scanned the group.

(For Cirrus: Because of how this post is set up, Haru didn’t get to answer Harper. Assume that he answered no, that there are no gears. :p)

Some of the other warriors didn’t seem very adamant about helping to set up camp. Tallyho—wanting to get the dirty work done, stuck to following Haru and Ryou around. Completing any duties they needed done: holding up tent spines, hammering down stakes. The end products were a little crude, but they looked like they could hold up for a few days.

Haru took a seat behind one of the tents and dug through his coat pockets for a lighter and a carton of cigarettes—both instruments clearly being from earth. The redhead hunched over as he lit this treat. The sudden burst of warmth bringing a brief pleasure. Haru hadn’t really thought much about what other Arian’s thought of his earthly addiction. As long as they didn’t see his lighter he was fine—and besides—it wasn’t uncommon for locals to find a bunch of herbs, wrap them in rice paper, and light them up with wooden matches. So as far as his cigarettes were concerned, the other Airans could just mistake them for very expensive smokes.

Because they were pretty much settled in for the night, Tallyho decided that she would have a walk. The stress of travelling in a large group really took a toll on her. If she were able to handle it, she would have continued leading the life she led years before.
Without much of a warning, she began a slow meander to the forest boxed in at the outskirts of the camp. She figured that she would end her walk once she reached the conservation barriers then turn around. After all, from an aerial view, the natives were only allowed a limited amount of green space, so she hadn’t expected her walk to last for too long.

Haru was very right about the propositions she received from the natives. But she was prepared—bowing her head at every witch doctor’s promise, turning her back on any woman with suckling baby sashed across her chest and a plea for freedom. And though she fully empathized with their anxieties of being restrained in a gross captivity, she couldn’t allow herself to fall into any ultimately misfortunate adventures. When she finally reached the forest area, it was a breath of fresh air—quite literally. The scent of burning sage left her nostrils, and her senses were accosted by the essence of green.

What was green?

Visions of wild ivy laced with elderberry. The scent of freshly watered forest and warm black dirt. An overwhelming humidity that dampened the blonde’s skin until she felt dewy from the outside in.

She slipped off her newly purchased sandals and braced her toes in the soil. The pricks of fallen twigs did not evoke pain, but an open admiration for natural texture. This was what Tallyho liked. She continued on, creating a path that dwindled between oak and stump alike, enjoying the growing quiet. The birds were saying their final goodbyes before disappearing for rest. The February warrior was left with nothing but the wheezes of her rising chest. She found a resting place by way of a large, mossy boulder and strewed herself onto it like a dress out to dry—back falling into a comfortable arc. With her belly towards the rising moon she began to breathe, allowing the air to run its course through her lungs. From hot breath came the stress of the past week.

After moments spent relaxing, the blonde decided to make her trip back to the camp. There was a buzzing in her body. A buzzing that made her feel like her knee caps were exploding with static—that her legs were going to give out like those of a doe shot dead. She bent over and ran firm palms down her shins—a furious massage until the pain subsided. She continued walking soon however, vaguely aware of the leaf crunching going on a distance away. She hadn’t wanted any wild animal encounters and she feared that it was a wolf. When she made it out of the brush the same stinging sensation ran through her legs once more. She wondered if she had been bitten by a snake but she saw no marks. Ignoring it for the moment, the girl made her way back to the camp where she found Haru fumbling over a campfire, a slight limp trespassing on the usual swagger of his walk.

“What happened to you?” Tallyho asked as she approached from the side.

“Lumber on my foot,” the redhead grunted. He hadn’t expanded on it, not really being one to complain about physical ailments so early in the game. He had to set an example—if he could keep quiet with a busted foot, then the warriors could stand to walk a mile without complaining.

“What are we—“

“Chicken.”

Tallyho raised her brow and looked away. Obviously the cat guardian wasn’t in a talking mood so she wondered where the other warriors spent their time. She noticed that they seemed to be breaking off into little social circles over the course of the week, and while she could have argued that she felt left out, she wasn’t very positive that they would care all that much. The friendships seemed superficial to her anyway, friendship was superficial, she didn’t need it, “I don’t need it,” she hummed.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“First chicken’s ready,” Haru yelled—a summon for the group to come eat.

Two things surprised him after or during his anxiety attack. One: Harper behaved somewhat civilly and didn't insult him about his anxiety, but he wasn't sure if it was really a nice thing to say. "It isn't all it's cracked up to be," he mumbled. His record before arriving in Aires wasn't something he was proud of. There were few things that actually did make him proud of himself. So he really had a personal investment in this month warrior thing. He needed to prove himself to himself as well as this strange Harbringer person. The boy swallowed as he got his second surprise in his anxiety attack. Ryou touched his shoulder.

It was a very small gesture, but it did something to him. So far the only person that touched Kyle at all was Jason, and that was the only thing that annoyed him about Jason. The goofy southern kid was fun to be around and nice, but Kyle always wanted to push him away when he leaned on his shoulder. Ryou on the other hand, he didn't want to push away. He looked up to the golden eyes and gave a sad smile and slight nod. Ryou would make sure they succeeded, including the boy who was considered a juvenile delinquent at only eight years old. Kyle hadn't spent any prison time, but for half his life a lot of people were waiting for a reason to lock him up. He could feel it and sometimes even see it in their eyes when they looked at him. Ryou turned away to join Haru and Kyle ran full force into a wall where he could have his own meltdown alone, and do his best not to bother anyone else, unlike Harper on day one.

Fortunately, Kyle's rather erratic behavior kept the natives from bothering him too much, even after he regained his composure. He combed his long hair back and reset his simple ponytail, before getting up so he wouldn't look like a madman. When he finally turned back to the camp, he heard Haru call them to eat, and the shorter blond boy slumped next to the fire. Uncharacteristically, he had nothing to say. He didn't really feel that hungry either, but he figured it was in their best interests to take advantage of what they had. Two chickens and fourteen people. It wasn't much, but he picked one up, by the skewer stick holding it of course, and tore a piece or two off; and then passed it on to the person next to him.

All the synonyms for hate ran through her mind; abhor, distaste, distrust, dislike, etc. The rides were getting too long, the brunette was getting saddle-sore even before the trip was barely up. She was sick and tired and just all around done with putting up the 'flirtsy, cutesy, friendly' act. Now was the time to drop the theater mask, and pick up the face she wore when no-one bothered to care. A scowl etched itself on her face, her lips were covered in sores from all the biting on them she had done. Lux Adair was no more trying to be 'friendly' and work her way around to the top. This was not her high school. This was not her turf; most importantly, this was not her place in the sun. The actress had rested on her laurels long enough.

Sweat trickled down her back, sticking what clothes she wore to her skin. It itched, it stung, and she was certain a rash was going to break out on more than one region of her body. Spitting out what saliva had pooled in her mouth, the brunette stiffly got off her mount the moment she was able. Only to wheel around and face the disaster that was the camp. Her scowl deepened, a sneer twisted up that pretty little mouth of hers, and she was in her full element now.

"Are those piles of cloth and sticks supposed to be our tents?!" The comment was supposed to come as a soft whisper. That was not the case. Instead, it came out as a rough, searing comment, as if it had rested on the tip of her tongue during the whole ride to this dump. Rolling her neck, Lux threw a seething glare at anyone that dared to look at her for the time being. She was supposed to help people like this? Yeah. Right. The young Adair knew that, if she was to keep whatever plot she was brewing up, she would have to play on the 'apologetic, tired' young woman act later. Right now? She just wanted to eat, sleep, and get going on with the training before she decided to rip out someone's spine.

Grabbing what food was offered to her, she plunked herself down on the ground farther away from the others. Not bothering for manners, Lux ate as fast as she could. With each bite, her seething grew. With each swallow, she was certain she was going to plain out burst from having to hide any longer. This was going on long enough. She wanted to scream, to shout, to throw the biggest hissy fit she could. The food tasted horrendous. Lux could feel her stomach churning; upsetting with each meager piece of mashed up matter that slithered its way down her dry throat. She was relentless, coughing perhaps once or twice as god-knows-what slid down the 'wrong tube'. Adair hoped to whatever higher power that was ruling this forsaken land that her 'guardian' or whatever, was going to at least take it easy on her for being a woman. Or, perhaps, agreeing with her on the insidious plot she was formulating.

Lux Adair was going to mark her territory now. Nothing, and literally nothing, was going to stand in her way. Sure, her high school empire would crumble. But this, this was a bigger game. A higher crown. Something that she coveted, and it pleased nothing more than her little black heart to think about gaining. Sure, she'd have to make some enemies, and crush a few views on her. Lux didn't care. She was done with all of these sniveling, pathetic, and lesser-than-her people. A huff let the girl as she mused to herself. Any one who was brave enough to approach would get a severe chewing out. She was done with today.

Skylar wandered over to where the others had begun to congregate, plopping herself down. Placing her hands on the ground behind her, she rested her weight on her palms as she stretched her back out. She proceeded to stretch her legs out, rolling her ankles to help with the stiffness that had resulted from riding all day. Hopefully whatever Haru had in store for them over the next few days wouldn’t involve more horses- she didn’t think he poor sore ass could handle it for even another minute.

From the corner of her eye she could see Lux struggling with the chicken. There was something about her that just seemed off, and Skylar vaguely remembered hearing her make some sort of comment about the tents and their campsite earlier. The girl just seemed to be in a perpetually bad mood, the way she was ripping and tearing at the chicken making it seem like she had a personal vendetta against it.

“Hey, princess- you alright over there?” Skylar said, her voice coming out slightly more sarcastic than intended. Regardless, she wasn’t going to sugar coat anything- if she didn’t like someone, they would definitely know (even if she didn’t outright go and say it).

Sure, they weren’t exactly staying in a five star hotel, but it was better than nothing (even if only marginally). The point was that they had a place to sleep and food to eat- a lot more than most other people had. Growing up in such a big family had taught her to appreciate that much at least, and while things might have been rough she appreciated it.

“Thanks for the food and everything, Haru.” Skylar said as she waited for the chicken to be passed around, glancing over at the cat guardian.