Uskatelm looked down at Aeryn who was leaning against him. He let out a small sigh to the comment she made thinking that what she said could actually have a small bit of truth, but he didn't bother making a reply to that remark so he stayed silent. He noticed that the others were leaving. "we should go," he said to Aeryn as he moved her off of him, "we wouldn't want to get left behind." He walked off following the other guardians

Aeryn hadn’t been expecting much of an answer from the stalwart Ronso. More than anything, that was the reason that the young woman confided in the large Guardian rather than anyone else in the crew. One would have to be blind not to see what was going on with Bell and Edge. Cynthia seemed to have her heart the right place, but she seemed too…right and proper for Aeryn to really trust. Kamon was a completely different story. He called the shots and that was enough. But the Ronso was someone that, when told something, would keep it to himself. Aeryn liked that.

Jogging to catch up with the rest of the group, Aeryn caught a glimpse of herself in the nearby pool of water. The girl was wearing a tightly-fitted grey shirt covered by a red padded vest that served as light armor along with the light pad armor covering her legs. Everything was built around the idea of speed and agility above all. You can’t hit what you can’t catch.

“So what’s the plan, sir,” Aeryn spoke when she caught up with Kamon and fell into stride with the man. “On the trip to Besaid I heard that the Kilika forest was swamped with more fiends than they’ve have in a long time. Hunting trip?”

While the others were heading on the beggining of their journey, a small crowd had stopped Kotka in his tracks. Full-blooded Guados were a rare sight, especially on an island so isolated as Besaid. Most of the crowd were of young children, no older than a decade, and with their questions firing swiftly and often at the Guado.

"Is this a sinspawn? Momma' told me about them." One of the younger ones asked, with both confusion and a slight amount of fear in his voice.

"I dunno. He looks like a fiend to me." Another replied.

"Don't those Guado Glories look like it? I saw 'em play once when I went to Luca." Said an older boy, but still ignorant enough to refer to Guados as "it".

"You've never been to Luca! Fibber! May Yevon have mercy on your soul". Said one of the many priests in a cheerful way. He looked similar to this last boy, and was most likely related to him. Thus knowing he had never been to Luca. "This is a Guado kids. Gua-do, and yes, they do indeed play for the Glories", he continued, now looking at Kotka himself, who had been strangely quiet so far.

"Yes, I am indeed a Guado, Kotka is my name, and being a guardian is my game!" Kotka finally spoke out. Saying what he said in a rather comedical voice which was to great effect. As the children began laughing, and then repeating similar rhyming sentences to seem "cool" with their friends. They soon dispersed to spread the message, leaving Kotka and the priest alone.

"So, you're a guardian 'eh? That is indeed amusing. It's strange enough to get Guados on Besaid, but a guardian one too? That has to be one to tell the nephews, or the ones you didn't just see running away giggling". Remarked the priest. "Oh, my name is Zuloo by the way. Sir Kot..."

"No need to call me sir, Zuloo. Kotka will do, and pleased to meet you. However, I really should be heading out. Before I'm a guardian no longer. Then again, I may break a record, first Guardian to be fired on the first day, ha ha." Finished the Guado, who quickly nodded a quick bye, before jogging away, and despite Kotka's age, he appears to do it quite well.

"See you, Guardian! We must do brunch!" Shouted Zuloo, and after giving off a quick chuckle, he returned to his duties...

Kamon had paused a few strides up the street to look back to where the Guado was. Edge had gone on ahead, running full-tilt towards a destiny that even he was nervous about.
But then... he never slowed down, so he ran full-tilt towards everything in life.
"Kotka," He called quietly, "We don't have time to dawdle. If we're going to get out on the ocean before Sin notices, we've got to move."

Edge gave a sailing laugh in reply to Bell, but he did slow down, turning around and jogging back to her side. His grin was blinding as he fell into step with her.
"Isn't this great?" He laughed, "Finally leaving Besaid!"

Aeryn shrugged off the fact that Kamon didn't bother to answer or even acknknowledge her question. She was used to not being taken seriously. The other "children of the docks" in Luca often overlooked her as younger, small and a girl until she stole something they'd never been able to take after weeks of trying. The other children that had become wards of the Temples living in Bevelle didn't take her seriously as an Al Bhed and an outsider to the faith of Yevon from her childhood -- that was until she earned her right as a Guardian. Now, she had a feeling that she probably wouldn't be taken seriously again. She wasn't a childhood friend of Edge and didn't have the connection to Besaid inherent with the rest of the group. And again, she'd do everything possible to prove them wrong.

Taking point with the group and leading the way for a while, the thief focused in as they neared the boat that would carry them to Kilika. The boat was completely different than the one she'd grown up dealing with. Ferries that ran from Besaid to Luca and all points in between were simple and plain whereas the ships created and used by the Al Bhed were complicated and powerful pieces of machinery capable of so much more. Still, this was a fact of life now. She may be an Al Bhed, but she was also a Guardian of a Summoner chosen by Yevon.

"Wake up little girl, there's no going back now," she muttered to herself in absence of anyone else to talk to.

"Talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity," Edge observed from where he had popped in directly behind her. He stood there, grinning broadly, as always. He looked perfectly at ease, and as ever, overwhelmingly friendly, "You alright?" He asked energetically, "You've seemed a bit down since this morning."
He skipped lightly around to stand in front of Aeryn, grinning.
For all the world, he did not seem like he was about to start a quest to the temples of Spira.
For all the world, he did not seem a summoner.

Aeryn forced a smile onto her lips as she shifted the small bag thrown over her shoulder with the few possessions that she bothered to keep with her for a trip like this. She'd grown up in a setting where everyone was too poor to have anything and then raised in a world where material possessions were frowned upon. As a result, the young woman had learned to travel light and didn't need much to get her from one place to another. She thrived on the idea of independence, one of the reasons that she knew her soul was the type that could have never made a Summoner even if she'd wanted something like that.

"I'm shocked! The high and mightly Lord Edge disdaining to talk to such a small and insignificant person like me," she feigned with a teasing smile, lightly pushing him on the arm with an open palm before speaking again. "I'm just trying to get my bearings on all of this. Being a Guardian when it comes to fighting to protect my Summoner or solving a Cloister of Trials -- that's all easy. It's...being on the pilgrimage with everyone that I'm having trouble wrapping my head around. That probably doesn't make sense," she said, staring off out into the ocean for a time.

"But you, you never change. And I know that you've got to be happy that Bell is here. Don't try to lie about it."

Edge laughed lightly, ruffling the hair at the back of his neck.
"'Course I'm glad she's here," He agreed brightly, "She's my best friend. But I'm glad you're here, too."
He laughed, dashing a few steps ahead of her and walking backwards as he talked, "And I get what you're saying. Protecting someone can be pretty easy. It's getting along with the other people protecting them that's the problem."
He nodded.
"Believe me. Kamon complains about it all the time." He gave his eyes a generous, teasing roll.

Uskatelm looks at Edge hearing his comment. he said "that is true, but for you its the exact opposite, it is much harder protecting you than getting along with you," smiling at Edge after saying it. He liked edge because of he can do anything attitude and didn't back down from a challenge, but he feared with that attitude it would cause a lot of trouble for the group. "don't you all agree to what i said," he asked the group.

Kotka just mumbled to himself like the withering old fool he is. He had only knew Edge for a few hours, and to be honest barely knew anything about him. He admired his determination and need to help the people, but apart from that. He had no clue what to believe. So he simply smiled awkwardly at the group, and awaited their responses.

As they reached the boat, Aeryn turned back to look at the dock. Off in the distance she could see the path that would lead back around to the village and the temple. For a moment, she was jealous. No doubt the core members of the pilgrimage would be feeling some sense of emotion here. After all, they were leaving home and preparing for parts unknown. Their ties to this place were embedded in the sand and the rocks, the trees and the people. It was hard to leave such a picture-perfect place especially knowing the hard road ahead.

Aeryn wished she could feel something of the same. But where was home? The Al Bhed trawling ship? Luca? Bevelle? She'd been moved around so much that she stopped keeping track.

Leaving Edge to himself and knowing that there were details for others to deal with, Aeryn stowed away what little she'd brought with her and then made her way down to the engine room of the boat where the Chocobos were enjoying a moment of rest before having to begin working the ship again.

"Poor boys," she said, reaching out and petting one of them. "If only these stiffs would realize that machina isn't so bad," Aeryn spoke to the animals.

"You're right, of course,"
Kamon had followed Aeryn down into the engine room. Now, he leaned against the doorframe, watching her calmly through his silver eyes, "I don't understand this belief that machina are accursed things. Personally, I've met more summoners who were evil than machina." He shook his head calmly, "But then... some people have no logic to them. Some people put too much faith in the teachings of Yevon."

Edge grinned around at his guardians, shaking his head fiercely.
"Let's get going!" He laughed, "We've got a long journey ahead of us!"
And he sprang up onto the ship, dashing across the dock to stand at the very tip of the prow.

The ship looked familiar to Kotka, and the Guado noticed what it was immediately, it was the ship he arrived to Besaid in 6 years ago. He already knew of the layout of the ship, and gladly climbed aboard. He then began heading for the ships deck, and was pleased to see a human merchant as soon as he peaked through the door. With a warm smile on his face, he approached the merchant with open arms.

"Jacopo! I knew you'd still be here! How you been?"

The merchant looked at Kotka and also sprang up, he immediately took one of his random goods and showed it to Kotka...

"Ah! A customer! Finally heard of the famous Jacopo have you? 'Tis true, I have the finest goods in all of Spira, fancy a potion or two?"

Kotka looked confused, and tried speaking sense into the merchant to get a response closer to the one he had imagined.

"Jacopo, it's-a-me, Kotka!"

"Kotka?"

"Yes, Kotka."

"Kotka! I remember! How long has it been, 5 years?"

"6 actually, but I see you're still here, selling stuff. How's the business going?"

As the two continue mingling, we move onto one of the other characters, not knowing where their conversation takes them.

Uskatelm look at the ship with a sickly look. He would rather walk or ride a chocobo but he did not like to be on ships. He shook his head as he walked up on the ship trying to remain calm. "I'll be in the room, if anyone needs me" he said to everyone around him as he walked to his room. He rather sleep off the whole trip then be awake for it.