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[Xeres]

Xeres nonchalantly picked at the food after being forced off her post, eating for sustenance rather than any flavour that could be derived from the questionable meal. That was probably for the best, as the food barely looked edible.

She'd nodded her thanks to Rhiannon after being handed her plate, not really aware of the captain's presence.

Glancing out over the water, Xeres considered the distance left to cover from the ship and nodded. Swimming was never her strong suit, but she had her own ways of getting to land... Provided it stayed dark enough.

She cast a sidelong glance at Selena becoming aware of the breaking daylight.

"Perhaps we could move quickly, if I may insist?"

[Selena]

"Quickly would be a good idea, yes," Selena stated. Her weapon in hand, and all her belongings accounted for, she stood up on the edge of the ship. Looking down into the crystal blue water, she turned back to her young apprentice, deciding that she didn't trust Rhia to disembark gracefully. And so, she decided to save the young girl some trouble.

Her fist locked onto Rhiannon's shoulder, and she shoved the girl roughly over the edge, tossing her into the water. Selena's lips twitched into a small, barely noticeable smirk as she watched her disciple go 'kurplunk,' and then snickered to herself. Then, when the merriment was over, she held her weapon high over her head, and followed behind.

Falling down into the water, she nearly gasped at how cold it felt thanks to the night's lack of heat. Her head became submerged entirely, but she quickly popped back up with a kick of her legs. After all had settled, she swam forward until her feet hit bottom, and as soon as it was neck-high, she began to wade forward, keeping her weapon up and out of the water to prevent future rusting. A slow process, but she'd rather have walked than swam. Water. Bah.

Her long hair clinging to the side of her face, and to her back, she passed Rhiannon by, and smiled in a far too creepy manner. "Rhiannon, you're wet."

Chuckling to herself, she walked herself to the beach, and shook some water off her clothes, as best she could. Right. Soon as they get to town, they buy Rhiannon a decent weapon. As in, not butter knives.

[Rhiannon]

"Lena you cow!" Rhia cried after. Except for the unexpectedly painful push into the water, Rhia loved it. She dove under and swam to the shore. Piercing the water with her hands. She swam to the shore where Lena stood, took off her shoes and cloak and hung them up on a nearby branch to dry while the waited for Xeres.

"Gah, I hate having wet clothes on."

[Xeres]

Xeres looked over at her companions, deciding quickly that she preferred staying dry over their course of action. She dropped suddenly over the edge of the boat, and disappeared into a shadow just before hitting the water.

The next thing her companions knew Xeres was appearing beside them, the shadows taking shape as the teleport spell ran its course. She smirked slightly, taking inventory as the shadows disappated.

"...Any later and I would be in danger of losing a limb. Very unpleasant."

She looked at her soaking wet companions and tilted her head to one side.

"Next time, perhaps I could incorporate the two of you into such a spell. It would make you... Less... Wet."

[Selena]

Selena frowned at Xeres' display. Now that was a nasty trick. Letting the two of them leap into the water like that instead of just telling her up front that there was a magic non-wet transportation spell (of doom) in her arsenal. Losing a limb, bah. Selena wrung out her hair and looked over to Rhia, as if to silently convey a message.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind, Xeres," Selena replied, finally feeling somewhat comfortable in her now soaked clothing.

First things first. Had to get her bearings. The small hamlet she had seen marked on the map was just a few miles to the north. They could perhaps get information there and get a few supplies before starting a serious trek through the heart of Sornaiid. Medical supplies were a must. Alliance patrols were sure to be heavy, and she didn't want to risk anything this far from home.

"I'll take point. First stop isn't too far away," Selena explained.

She began to take a step forward, but, out of playful bitterness and mischief, she spun around as if she were in combat and, to make sure the girls were all matching, shoved Xeres as hard as she could back towards the water. May the tricksy assassin trip on a rock and fall in.

That done, Selena began to lead the way north, whistling an old tune innocently. A war veteran and political exile though she may be, her disposition could still be childlike when she wanted it to.

[Xeres]

Selena's move surprised Xeres, and she found herself stumbling backwards. She quickly found her footing, a couple of inches from the water's edge. Embarassed at being caught off guard so easily, she shook her head and corrected her posture quickly and made to follow after her would-be attacker. She smirked slightly, amused by Selena's childlike behaviour.

"I was not aware you had such a bitter streak within you."

She bowed her head slightly, as an admission of her fault. She was simply not used to considering other people around her. She travelled and worked alone, as a rule, and this 'teamwork' business was taking some effort to adapt to.

"Perhaps I could teach you the spell the next time we have an opportunity. It would be my way of apologizing, most assuredly."

She thought for a moment.

"Or I could douse myself in the nearest fountain, if you perfer."

Summoning her heavy cloak, she hoped Selena wouldn't take her last suggestion seriously. Being bogged down by water in her heavier attire would be much more trouble than it was worth by way of an apology.

[Selena]

Smiling at Xeres' offer, Selena quietly led them away from the cove and up twoards higher ground. It took roughly an hour to reach the hamlet that Selena had in mind. The pink glow of the dawn was gradually being replaced by hazy blue, a particularly nice morning for the northern nations. Clouds would soon set in, she figured. Sornaiid's rocky coasts were ever dreary this time of year, for the most part.

As the trio of women reached the border of the town, Selena stopped. A few homes with smoking chimneys, a shop or two, but not much else. Just a small little coastal village. At least her clothes were starting to dry. Though that would certainly raise some questions for the people living there. She pointed up towards the buildings.

"This is Strandheim," Selena said, reciting the name from the map. "Resden's a few days walk south of here, but we'll be avoiding the capital for now. Primary objective is to reclaim the spear before we lose it in the Woods. We'll stock up here and then continue northwest. Maybe the folk here heard something."

She shrugged. "Just keep your cool and act like a normal civilian grunt. That means no flinging butter knives, and no manipulating shadow. Or whispering darkly. We'll get some medical supplies, maybe some travelling food - jerky and the such - and then stop into the tavern to see what they all know."

She continued forward again, walking up the trail that led to the village. As she passed by the single watchtower and the first few homes, she drew her cloak over her head. Looked odd, surely, but perhaps it was best not to have her face in the open. Who knew how many still knew what Selena looked like this far away. Or how they'd react. For all she knew, they could have praised her for being a rebel, or they were loyalists who'd turn her in. In either case, the three were all ready getting stares from the few villagers going about their morning routines. Probably hadn't seen an outsider in years.

She made her way inside the first shop see could reach, and placed some of her gold on the counter. There, she gathered the bandages, herbs, and other supplies she deemed necessary for their trip. Plenty of food for the journey, as well, though she figured they'd have to do their own hunting at one point. The boring part done, they headed to the tavern. Decent food, for a change.

"Your best drink, and whatever breakfast you've got," Selena ordered.

The bartender gave them all a drink, and his assistant got to cooking. He eyed them all, naturally curious. "Never get many strangers here."

"Just passing through," Selena replied. "Heading home after a visit to Resden."

"I see. Well, welcome to Strandheim, then!"

She smiled politely. "Why thank you. Though we heard something interesting during our stay in the south. You hear about the Kanagida?"

The bartender laughed. "The kids around here have been ranting about it for the last few days. Merchant mentioned something about it when he stopped by on his last route. Don't know if I believe it, though. Still, some of the young guys have been heading north to find it. My son's itching to go too. Last I heard, they thought a military convoy was up near Alsvard. Kids. How easily bored they get in a small town."

Three plates of real, solid food was placed in front of them. Finally! Selena took a swig of her drink, and chuckled. She wondered how Rhia would handle such strong alcohol. Not dwelling on that long, she practically inhaled the plate of food in front of her. Much better indeed.

[Rhiannon]

Rhia lagged behind. Her cloak was still wet and she was not happy. After what seemed for forever and a day, Lena stopped at some shop to buy some healing supplies and all that. Rhia wandered around the store, it was in fact quite interesting to see. Herbes of all sorts lined the walls, crystals of all colours and shapes were displayed in glass cases and the thing that interested Rhia the most, were the shrunken heads that casually fell from the ceiling way in the back of the store, almost hidden.

"Rhia!" Lens yelled from the front of the store. Startled, Rhia jumped backwards,managing to knock over a table of books with a loud bang. "Eeeps!" Rhia scrambled around trying to get all the books back on the table. She ran to the front appologized to the lady and ran out after Lena and Xeres. By the time she reached them she was out of breath and quite relieved that they were going to get some food. She watched impaitently as Lena flirted with the bartender, tapping her foot ever so softly. Finally Lena ordered for them all. She took a huge gulp of her drink, expecting a coke or something. Immediately she spat it out and fell to the floor.

"Oh god." She huffed. Trying to regain her breathing, she glared at Lena's smiling face.

[Xeres]

Xeres drank slowly, not caring much for alcohol. She had resummoned her heavy cloak and wore it as closely as possible, being back in society had its price for her. She had no desire to be recognized or exposed, as usual.

Trying to sound non-chalant, as to not arouse suspicsion to those around them, Xeres spoke, not making eye-contact with Selena.

"...What exactly do you plan to find out here?"

Looking around, she wondered what kind of intel would present itself in such dreary surroundings. Pubs were havens for local gossip, of course, but she sincerely doubted the validity of what could be heard here. She'd much rather be threatening an official at the point of her blade, rather than waiting for some drunk to make a halfhearted pass at her... Then again, the cloak was usually enough to repell such actions... It was hard enough to tell she was female when she wore it.

She shrugged and awaited some sort of response.

[Selena]

Selena took a large, probably unhealthy, swing from her own beverage, and then smiled broadly. It probably wasn't a good idea to get too terribly tipsy, but then again, her past had made her alcohol tolerance quite high. She could likely have two or three or seven and still be good to go. Maybe. She did, however, chuckled a bit at Rhiannon's reaction to the liquid.

"Rhia, you wuss, get back up here and off the floor. It's not even that strong!" Selena told her.

Knowing Xeres probably didn't enjoy this kind of revelry, Selena decided to hurry things up a bit. She took a big forkfull of food and nearly swallowed it entirely without chewing, manners not on her mind in such an informal occasion. There was always something about a pub that made her act juvenile again. If the bartender had a certain accent, it would've made things even more homey.

Truth be told, Selena much preferred the knife-to-the-throat method of interrogation as well. But she'd be hard pressed to find any official who had knowledge of the spear unless they were in Resden. And security there was more than likely too tight for her liking at the moment to backtrack there. And the best bet after that? The simpletons.

"I just like hearing all the gossip," Selena said to Xeres in a far too sweet voice, more befitting of a civilian teenybopper than an evil warlord. "You never know when information like that will come in handy!"

Alsvard, Alsvard... Selena mused. She tried to wrack her brain for any information on the town. It'd been a while since she had to be aware of key locations in other lands. Not since her days as a member of the Tower and Khuffie's inner circle. Alsvard... a decent sized town. There would probably be someone worth interrogating there. There would certainly be some kind of local military outpost to protect the area from Sornaiid's rebel population and the Woods' forces.

"Maybe we'll swing by on our way 'home,'" Selena said, taking another bite of food. "If there is such a thing as that weapon, I wouldn't mind seeing it."

"More crazy kids," the bartender muttered.

"Not the first time I've heard that, that's for sure," Selena replied. She then turned to Rhiannon. "If you're not going to finish your drink because you're too wussy, then can I have it?"

[Rhiannon]

Rhia sputtered a bit, grabbed a hold of the stool to get her balance and stood up slowly. Her head swimming from the sudden intake of alcohol Rhia frowned and slowly ate her meal. She asked the bartender for some water and downed it quickly. Suddenly Lena turned towards her and asked for her drink with a smirk. Rhia glared and slid the glass towards her.

She listened intenetly as Selena muttered to herself. "Maybe we'll swing by on our way 'home."

"...Lena what in the hell are you talking about?" Not awaiting an answer Rhia stood up and went to the washroom to wash her hands. She quicked the door open not wanting to touch any kind of surface in this bar and went towards the sink. Suddenly an ederly lady came out of the closest stall and began to mutter unintelligable words.

"Excuse me m'am, are you alright?"

"Yes yes, of course" she spook gently. "Who are you? You and your three friends, you're not from around here I can tell."

"Erm, well no we're not. Just passing through really. Road trip if you will." Rhia smiled sweetly, hoping to avoid any more questions. She was an awful liar, an atribute which Selena had never let her forget. To her dismay the old woman kept asking questions.

"Road trip eh? Where to? Special reason? I don't mean to pry but we rarely ever get visitors around here." The old lady inched closer and closer. Rhia was backed up against the wall.

"Yes. A road trip. We're from a small town and would like to experience a big one." Rhia hoped the old lady was taking it, she barely believed herself. "In fact do you maybe know anything about Alsvard?"

The lady rose her eyebrow in Rhia's direction and quickly frowned. "I don't know much, never left here myself. Alls I know is there's bad buisness over there. Why are you going there? Of all places, there's nothing but military convoy's and dry grass."

"Excuse me, but how do you know so much if you've never left?"

With that, the lady quickly scurried out of the bathroom without a second look back. My goodness people are sure weird here. Rhia finished up quickly and left the bathroom. Right away she saw Lena and Xeres looking down at their plates, deep within thought. They were defenitely not hard to miss. Rhia hadn't realized how much they stood out. She quickly stored a mental note in her mind to tell Lena when all of the sudden the bell over the door rang. Rhia looked over towards the sound. Immediately, her mouth dropped open, she squealed and ran to the person who had just come through the door.

"Eeee!!"

[Goose]

As the captain squealed at him, Goose couldn't hlep but smirk. He'd missed the young lass, she reminded him of a time long past, where he was young and innocent. He missed those days, but he wasn't one to live in the past.

"Fancy seeing you here cap'n. "

She hugged him again.

"Ok, Ok, Im here, now get off me already, I need a long, stiff drink of water."

He walked over to where his hignessness was sitting. "Ninja will be along soon, she got caught up in the space time continuim, and ended up about 10 miles south of here. I was going to go get her, but it was just too funny, because although she didn't make it here, her clothes sure did."

Goose smirked again, he loved his line of work.

[Selena]

Selena flinched and then groaned as Rhiannon practically mauled the new visitor to the tavern. Did that girl always have to be so damn loud? The squeal alone practically made Selena's ears bleed. But she quickly moved to take notice of Goose, who strolled in as if he were just taking a nice walk through the countryside. She didn't stand to properly greet him, but nodded her head to at least acknowledge him.

"Rhia, give the boy some air or he's going to pass out," Selena warned.

She turned back to quickly finish the rest of her breakfast, keeping her eye on the old woman Rhiannon had been talking to. She swore, if that girl blew their cover, she'd skin Rhia and wear her a jacket. But there were more important matters to take care of. Like determining where the hell Goose had been and what their next course of action should be.

Selena stood from the table, ready to get going. If Xeres or Rhia wanted any more of their food, they'd have to scarf it down as fast as possible. Though she was sure the taste of alcohol had done away with Rhia's appetite. Hmm. That reminded her. Lena took a long swig of what Rhia didn't finish, tempted to burp but deciding against it.

"Goose, we're leaving this little village and heading to the north, to Alsvard. It's close to the border with the Lost Woods. Follow us, we'll need the support," Selena ordered, trusting that agile Shiima would be able to track them and regroup. Clothes on her back or not. "Furthermore... just where exactly have you been and what's happened?"

[Rhiannon]

Rhia was happy Goose was here now. He always made her feel like she could have fun, where as Lena was mostly serious or just made fun of her. She waltzed over to the counter, brought Goose her water and stuck out her tongue at Lena.

"You're just jealous." With that, she gave Lena a huge hug, enclosing Lena's arms so they wouldn't strike her. Quickly, Rhia ran two stools down so Lena could hit her, she sat down with a smirk.

"Yes Goosey, do tell us of your adventures! Actually..." began Rhia "maybe he should tell us on the way..." she stopped. The creepy old lady from the bathroom was looking at them again. Rhia watched as she eyed Lena's weapons. Pfft, and Lena scolded her for drawing attention.

[Toan]

Two townsmen just chitchatted away.

"Oy, n' den Merv pick'd uppa rake an' said "AYE BUGGA, I'LL SHOW YEH A TING A' TWO!" Blimey, Vern, ya shoulda see da size a' da ting."

"Gary, yas tellin' lies now - dere's no way da beastie was as big as da 'avern."

Gary looked disgusted. "Oh, 'n Ah bet youse was dere too, eh? Listen, Ah's tellin' da story here'n-"

Vern laughed, "A-course! Cuz dat's ALL it is, Gary - some story yas made up'n ya 'spect me ta buy it!"

"Vern, 'Ee kilt Merv right afta dat! Ah din't even see wat da bugga did, but Merv look'd a right mess..."

"...No, dat's wat happen'd da Merv? 'Ee look'd like 'eed fought wiffa dragon wen dey found 'im... in pieces 'n parts burnt 'n..." Vern shuddered at the recollection.

Gary halted and nodded his head in a direction over Vern's shoulder, his eyes fixed on it very intently. Then he spoke very lowly. "Vern! Dat's da bugga right dere! 'Ee did Merv and 'ees come back fa ME!"

The hooded figure was clearly exhausted as it reached the town limit of Strandheim - population 230... well, 229, now that Merv's gone. "The infidel stood in my way and doomed himself. I was merely his messenger and messiah, releasing him from his sinful flesh..." the hooded figure reassured itself. Toan cast a glance around as a door slam shut and two faces stared fearfully from a window. Clearly Vern and Gary wanted nothing to do with Toan, yet their curiousity got the better of them. It was not in his agenda to toy with townsfolk, but he couldn't help but tap into the already present fear here... So the Zora concentrated on the window for a moment, and whipped his cloak.

Vern felt a tap on his shoulder. "Wha- Gary, cut it out - where'd da bugga go?" Vern turned to Gary to complain to him, but Gary had the fear of The Gods in his glassy eyes until they closed, and Gary slumped over sideways, unconsious. Vern turned to see Toan face to face with him.

Toan smiled and growled, "Where's the tavern, stranger?"

Vern stammered "A-Across d-da road..." and with that, he shit himself and passed out. The Zora nonchalantly walked outside and chuckled. Down to business, now... If I want to know anything about the residentials, the tavern is the only place to go...

Toan walked right into the bar and sat down on one of the stools in between one experienced drinker and one girl who clearly didn't belong in a tavern. Still hooded and keeping mostly to himself, he said, softly, "I'll have the strongest drink you have."

Moments later, he was holding a drink which clearly had nothing on the drinks that knocked you off your stool back in Sæglópur. Regardless, it was paid for, so Toan downed the entire glass in a single gulp.

"Looks like your certainly no stranger to strong drinks!" The bartender chuckled. Toan looked up at him and decided to get down to business and asked, somewhat louder than he intended, "Has a warrior by the name of Rhiannon passed through your tavern recently?"

[Selena]

Selena was impatietly waiting for this little reunion special to wrap things up so that they could at least get a solid day's journey under their belt. But, as always, they wanted to chit chat, and Rhiannon felt, once again, the need to hug Lena tightly. The leader grimaced. Damn it all, she knew not to do that! Lena hated that! Crossing her arms afterwards, she tried to shrug off some of Rhia's germs that had probably been left behind in the mauling.

"Keep your hands to yourself, you perverted lemo..." Selena began to say, then trailed off as she saw a certain Zora enter the tavern. Naturally, Toan didn't pay any attention to them. It was an airheaded trait he'd picked up from his adoptive mother. Selena made a face as he sat down and had a drink, glad to see her tolerance for alcohol at the very least 'ran in the family.'

"Has a warrior by the name of Rhiannon passed through your tavern recently?" He then asked.

Selena put her hand to her head. Oh, dear, he wasn't going to be bitter about being defeated by her protege, was he? Well, knowing what Selena surely knew, this was either going to end in he and Rhia fighting to the death, Selena getting him in a choke hold, or the two of them debating about the existence of islands.

As if to answer Toan's question, Selena put her elbows on the bar and leaned drastically to her side, bringing her face just a few uncomfortable inches away from the Zora's scale laden cheeks. And was sure to breathe heavily to show off that wonderful stalker side of her personality.

And she just sat there waiting for him to notice, whilst her apprentice began to squirm in the background out of fear. But, Selena's patience didn't last more than a few moments, and so she finally greeted him.

"Why, hello there, handsome," she said with an erratic look on her face. "Where are those ten gold pieces you owe me?"

[Rhiannon]

Rhia squealed again as the bell over the door rang. Instantly she knew something was wrong. No more feelings of unease, this was it. Her squeal faded quickly as to not draw more attention to herself. He strode in his perfection towards the bar to where Rhia had been sitting right before she ran away from Lena's wrath.

She breathed heavily out of fear. He was so close. She was petrified. Lena would be ashamed. Speaking of Lena, what the hell was she doing?

[Toan]

....

....That couldn't be-

....Oh shit. That girl... his sister... Toan's life must simply be a sitcom to The Gods at this point. He asks for Rhiannon and he gets his sister instead! And she reminded him of owed cash; that was eons ago! Before his banishment from Sæglópur... ages to Toan, at least...

He sighed in her face and replied under his breath, "...Hello, Selena..."

[Selena]

Selena scrunched her face up in disgust. Why is it that all Zora's had breath that smelled like rotting, maggot infested fish? The giant swig of alcohol he'd taken hadn't helped those matters any. This could be fun, really. Like with his visits to the Labyrinth, they could both get into a drinking contest. Though this bartender wasn't Irish, so the atmosphere wasn't perfect. And she had a mission to go on. But damn, it was tempting!

"Now, really, you don't seem all that happy to see me," Selena cooed, tapping the Zora on his nose. "Of all the things we could talk about, and with all the mayhem we could cause, your reaction to seeing your darling older sister is akin to 'oh, it's HER.' Well, I love you too."

She stood back up, pacing back and forth a bit with her arms crossed tightly. It was a bad habit of hers really. Always needing to stand. "Well, my dear fish, I would be lying if I said I expected to see you so soon. I didn't know you left the Woods since the end of the war. You've been a social recluse lately. More so than me, and that's the scary part!"

She really was tempted to drag him all the way back to the Labyrinth with her other agents and force him to make his rounds there, but alas, there were no entrances to the underground fortress this far north. Which was a bit unnerving, but she could manage. They had much to talk about indeed. But first things first.

"Now what's all this about you stalking my little apprentice? Are you going to call little Rhia out for a duel to the death?" Selena inquired. "While I enjoy a good fight, I'd rather it not be between my adopted brother and my slightly brain damaged disciple."

[Rhiannon]

Rhia put up a hand to casually hide her face. Lena was keeping him busy. That worked for her. She casually got up, thanked the bartender and strode to the door. Outside, she let out a deep breath. She needed calming. Rhia crossed the street and went into the park.

Lena will work her magic and everything will be fine.

[Toan]

Toan turned to look at her. Ah... those eyes. No, no, The Gods wouldn't have that - he'd be expelled from the Church for the mere thought of it... yet.... he'd already done it, once before. Alcohol reduces inhibitions, and in no time they both saw new definitions to "family relationships"...

He stood and left his empty glass on the bar as he took a few steps towards Lena and put his head close to hers, his mouth right next to her ear and whispered, "You mean to say that she's here? In this very tavern?" He flicked his tongue and felt a warm glow inside...

[Selena]

Okay, tongue in ear, that was not the reply she was expecting, but it wasn't surprising. Like mother, like son. Boy never did learn the meaning of one night stand. Especially considering they'd both been completely wasted, she didn't remember half of it, and Chikara had both spanked them for the encounter. Though they might have all still been in the Red Room at that time, really. Oh, well.

Not exactly moving her head away, but still giving herself some breathing room, Selena spoke back. "Here in this tavern, well..."

She finally focused on the room again, and looked around. Well, she HAD been in the room. Where in god's name had the girl gone? She finally scooted away from the Zora and calmly looked about. Only Xeres and Goose were left. The Captain must have pulled some sort of 'exit, stage left' move when the two adoptive siblings were greeting each other. A wise choice, if he really did intend to kill her, actually.

"I never said anything like that, brother, just inquiring what you want with that particular individual," Selena replied sweetly, attempting to be inconspicuous. "I don't see you as the type to socialize with the Ikana. Oh, did you want me to set you up with her, maybe?"

[Toan]

Sharp as a tack, Toan shot back. "Pfft... she and I have unsettled business... though it's hardly of the same nature as our..." Toan's eyes met hers, "...unsettled business."

He smoothly turned away and calmly sat down in his seat, dropping a coin on the bar and retrieving another drink. He took a small sip to wet his lips before he continued. "If you don't recall, she left me to die on our last encounter, and I intend to repay her. Divine judgement comes in many forms, sis..." He sipped again and met her gaze with his.

[Selena]

Selena opened her mouth to reply, but noticed fairly justified stares coming from the bartender and the older female Rhia had been talking to earlier. Okay, they were kind of blowing their cover out of the water talking like this. Selena grabbed Toan by the arm, and, poking her head outside to make sure Rhia wasn't in the same area, began to drag him outside into the street, leaving Xeres and Goose behind for the moment.

She took him behind the tavern, away from public eyes and ears, where they could talk in private and not look any more suspicious than an angry outsider and a overly devout fishman could look. Clearing her throat, and keeping her distance from the pent up fish, she continued with where she was going earlier.

"Now, now, Toan, I'm not going to condone any fights between Rhiannon and yourself," Selena warned. "Point in fact, that will make me most upset, and no matter how well you've honed your skills, you know that your dear sister will always be able to kick your sorry ass all the way back to the Desert of Mystery's era."

She crossed her arms and leaned in. He'd missed out on quite a bit, actually. Better brief him, as well. "Listen, Toan, she's one of us now. You understand?"

From the look she was giving him, she hoped that he would pick on what she was meaning without having to actually come right out and say it. "And because of that, I can't allow fighting. At least not serious fighting. We have our other objectives to be working towards, you remember. And anyone who diverts from that plan will be systematically taken out of the equation, of course."

Selena laughed. "She's your new teammate, I'm afraid! You could have a love/hate relationship like mother and I. It works, you know. Death threats and hugs."

[Xeres]

Xeres sneered and pretended not to know Selena as she quite effectively ruined any chance of going under the radar by talking to the Zora out in the open like that.

She had listened intently as they spoke, well aware of their tawdry history, and taking the opportunity to see them interact. As interesting as it was, it was far outweighed by the frustration of such a wrench being thrown into their plans. It was as if both Rhiannon and Selena had forgotten that they were not to be creating a scene.

Standing, she made a move to leave the bar, passing by Goose and nodding at him slightly, so as not to alert anyone else to her allegiances. She hoped that the bard would understand the need for secrecy and perhaps get around to locating Rhiannon, whilst she would follow Selena.

Outside of the bar, Xeres wasted no time in following the rather offputting Zora musk that Toan radiated, and followed it to the area behind the tavern, standing some distance behind Selena, concealing herself in the shadows to perform as a lookout of sorts.

[Toan]

Toan had been dragged outside by his older sister. This was all too familiar.... except usually this action was accompanied by something exploding in the distance and a more potent smell of liquor. Ah, memories.

Settling in an alleyway, she babbled something about being able to kick his butt... Toan wasn't really listening, he wanted back inside, to finish his duty...

"Listen, Toan, she's one of us now. You understand?"

Toan looked Selena straight in the eyes and felt a dead weight drop in his stomach. The Labyrinth accepted her?!? Well... clearly she had the fighting prowess...

When Selena finished, Toan was still silent, a war of epic proportions raging inside his head. The Gods spoke to me! I must do as they bid!

Are they really where your allegiance lies? You've been a member of the Labyrinth since birth...

One musn't defy The Gods and the Divine Providence! My powers derive from Theirs!

Do they? Your powers enhanced greatly with solitude in the Woods... away from your "Gods", Toan...

Toan...

Toan sighed and clutched his rosary. He turned it in his hands... it was no longer the symbol of his life as he had once seen it. He tucked it back in his robes and fumbled with a different necklace with an all-too familiar pendant he'd ignored for eons... his Labyrinth symbol of Prince. Far shinier than the others....

"....She's really one of us, Lena?"

[Rhiannon]

Rhia walked around the gardens, smiling at the cute boys as she passed. Suddenly she saw a bench in the middle of a flower garden. She sat down and smiled. She had missed this.

[Selena]

Selena rolled her eyes. Toan and his shiny objects. Did she even have her Labyrinth pendant anymore? She had a royal family signet, though she wasn't wearing it because of her role as Ikana's consul, but that was all she had in terms of items. Aside from that spear. Spear. She needed to get the spear back. Right, that was the mission. There would be time for drinking and merriment later. Though if she could weasle Toan into helping her, that would be better. No having him as the loose cannon.

"Yes, Toan, she's really one of us," Selena replied. "She's a bit confused and certainly new, but you know how all the new bloods are when they first join up. She'll find her niche soon enough. Until then, I'm personally mentoring her. So don't kill her off just yet, all right?"

She waved her arms in dismissal, hoping he'd drop that idea from his mind all together. She spoke quietly then, keeping her voice low enough so that only they would hear. "The reason we're even up here is to recover one of the Labyrinth's weapons. My weapon. Heading towards your Woods as we speak. And then we might cause some mass panic is Resden for fun. To shake things up a bit. And..."

Selena put her hands to her hips and glared, but somewhat good naturedly. "Well, you'd know all this if you wrote to your mother or sister once and a while. Ingrate."

[Toan]

Toan's ear twitched and he moved closer to Lena and whispered sharply "What?!? They found your weapon? I wonder how close they are to finding any of my various artifacts, or if they were all destroyed... Anyway, 'write' once in a while? And what would that look like, you, Leader of Ikana getting a letter from the depths of the Lost Woods signed by a creature this neck of the Woods, no pun intended, has come to fear? And why write mother... I love Mum and all, but she's all but entirely dropped from my life... I don't suppose you see her as often as you used to, am I right?"

Toan tucked his pendant in his robes hastily; if anyone heard or saw any of this, they were certainly in quite the predicament. He untucked his rosary once more... looked at it, and yanked hard, breaking if off his neck and tucked it in a pocket.

The Zora then put his hood back up and said, "Before we go and regroup with the girl, is there any more 'catching up' you and I should do? Or have Labyrinth followers been tailing me for longer than I've suspected?"

[Selena]

Selena turned and started to walk back to the main part of town. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Toan, we're everywhere. Rhia, of course. And that eternally pissed off looking woman who was with us. The bard's still in the dark. So watch what you say around him. Other than that, you're all caught up. As for mother, I only see her about business. But we're all busy."

She shrugged as they returned to public, going quiet about any and all aspects about their conversation that shouldn't make it to a stranger's ear. She looked around a bit before catching sight of her disciple hanging out in the gardens, her eyes glued to various men. Selena rolled her eyes. Now, honestly, did they have time for that? Okay, somewhat hypocritical since Toan was practically mauling her earlier.

"Rhiannon!" Selena shouted to get the girl's attention. She waved her over. "Xeres, Goose, you too! Time to get out of here."

She was quite tempted to burn the town to the ground, so that no one would whisper about the odd strangers that came to visit, but all those random village burnings usually ended up with one young man living who would eventually rise up to overthrow an empire out of revenge, and she didn't feel like dealing with that right now. It was just easier to leave.

She tapped Toan on the shoulder. "Say hello to our newest teammate. He'll be joining us on our journey to Alsvard. I know, short notice, but he's an old friend of mine, and, well, he's trustworthy."

"And stop looking at boys, Rhia," Selena said with a wink, hoping that both she and Toan would keep their cool, lest she have to beat them into submission.