Chronicles of Gaia (RP)

Rowan frowned, thinking hard. He kept his hand on his bow, not entirely convinced by this guys assurances. The Iliya person certainly was someone he hadn't met, though Rowan wouldn't be afraid to bet 10 bucks whoever they were it was related to Mizuki, Kuja, and Rikazu. What did this guy need from Tore though? Assuming that was the goat person they were talking about. Then again this place had a lot of different 'monsters' so maybe there were other goats... "I do know someone like that, but whether or not it's the one you're looking for is questionable. Why don't you tell me your name and what business you have with the person you're looking for?" Rowan asked smoothly, trying to make it clear this person wasn't going to walk past him so easily.

---

Laura meanwhile was patiently waiting for their return to the surface. Another person might have wondered what the others were doing right now, but she was too focused on herself to really care at the moment.

The purple-haired male remained calm despite being well aware of the angel's wariness. He wasn't bothered by it, knowing his flowers would protect him should he actually decide to draw his bow. However, no matter what was going to happen, he would not attack the angel. "My name is Labrador", he spoke, keeping a calm voice, though his gaze seemed to sadden slightly at his next words. "They may be able to help me save her...before that man destroys her world completely..." Deep down the purple-haired male knew, both the goats would not be able to intervene, and yet he still hoped the future he foresaw could be changed. He thought for a moment, but then decided that withholding too much information would not help him earn the angel's trust. "...You see, the man holding her captive doesn't want us to find her, and as such has been cloaking her presence from myself and her two other friends specifically. My ability to foresee the future allows me to see what's happening to her, but leaves me unable to pinpoint her location. They might be able to help me locate her though." It was already the second time that Rockna had knocked Rikazu straight out of his Trance, letting out a disappointed sigh. "Come on old man, you can do better than that." He had no control over his Trance, and yet Rockna could tell he was still holding back considering the ease at which she knocked him out of it. Rikazu didn't respond, the green glow immediately enveloping his body again. "Control it, don't let it control you. You want to protect your daughter, don't you?" she spoke again, narrowing her eyes at the male. Rikazu's eyes truly held something evil within them, and he didn't bother to mask the malice in his voice in the slightest. "Come now Phoenix, I don't need a babysitter, I just want to have some fun", he grinned widely before reappearing right in front of her. "But if you don't stop getting in my way, I truly will kill you this time." "And that's quite enough of that again", Rockna's fist immediately connected with the blue-haired male's gut, her flames adding a considerable amount of force to her attack, once again knocking Rikazu out of his Trance. This was going to be a long night... "Huh, that does sound quite versatile..." Mizuki was still feeling quite intrigued, and Aislin's explanation suddenly had her curious as to how her own magic would change in the world they were currently in. Or perhaps it wouldn't change all that much, since this world seemed to take innate abilities into account? She shook off the thought again. "So I suppose many worlds one way or another need someone to save it?" Her own had ended up needing saving too, after all, and the current world seemed to as well. "Well, I guess mine wasn't all that different...it needed saving too...from Kuja..." The thought crossed her mind that Aislin may have already known that, depending on what the alternate timeline she'd seen was like. Even now, the feeling of having been torn between helping her friends save the world and protecting Kuja saddened her.

Kudret practically sprang forward, eager to get away from whatever the Demon Wall might acually be. He stooped low for a bit, just enough to grab hold of Celere -and then he was off again, tail swirling behind him as he used inertia and Celere's weight to keep moving across the bridge. It wasn't too long before he had gone through and exited the ruins itself. Kudret allowed himself to slow down, scattering his paces to come to a stop safely, and maybe try not to overbalance gripping Celere in a half-formed bridal carry to set her down into the snow safely. ...Relatively safely, that is. The beastman could hear two other sets of footsteps -that meant Marco and Seyr had gotten out safely too. Good. Aislin caught the sentence and then barely caught herself from mentioning Garland and Terra. Instead she hazarded a cautious, "Did you want to talk about your world next? If you can tell me a little of what it's like, I can tell you some of the stuff that's different in what I saw of it." Hopefully this would get things started on letting Mizuki know that it was okay to talk about things with other people. ...Not that Aislin was any better, really. She's just had a little more experience in bleeding off the stress/frustration... and the little fact that she didn't have access to magic helped, too.

Mizuki remained quiet to think for a little bit before answering Aislin's question. "Well, I did promise I'd tell you more about what happened in my world, did I not? Though I suppose that...what you really want to know is why I don't get along with Rikazu very well, right?" She took another brief pause, but then decided to trust Aislin with her story. She owed her that much after lashing out the way she did earlier. "Truth be told, I...don't know all that much about my own world. I lived in Cleyra with Rockna until I turned 16, which was protected by its sandstorm...so everything that went on in the outside world was lost on me. After that she and I went to Lindblum to look for the Regent's wife, Hilda, since she was good friends with my mom...I thought she'd be able to tell me more about being the Avanquilist. There we soon learned that the city of Burmecia was under attack, which is what began the conflict in my world that's lasted for four years..." Mizuki let out a sigh, having mixed feelings about those memories. "Burmecia is where I met Kuja. Back then I had no idea that he had anything to do with the attack, he'd saved me from a monster when I got separated from Rockna and some new friends I made, and I...kinda fell for him instantly..." There was an apparent blush on the blue-haired girl's face as she said that. "He brought me to Treno where I met Rikazu...who then showed me around the city, I had a lot of fun with him back then. It wasn't until we went back to Cleyra that I came to realize Kuja wasn't who he seemed to be, and while Queen Brahne of Alexandria was about to destroy the city, Kuja forced me to summon Odin and do so instead. You see, the Avanquilist has to make a pact with another mage to survive, keep their unstable magic in check...but that pact has side effects, a complete loss of free will being one of those...Kuja made use of that every chance he had. I've been with him and Rikazu ever since that day, and while Kuja became cruel to me, Rikazu was always very kind and protective...almost like a father, or what I imagine a father to be like at least..." She shook her head, not wanting to remember that. She promised herself she wouldn't be deceived by Rikazu's actions again. "As the war raged on, eventually all the major cities in my world were attacked, most by my Eidolons...Kuja even made me wipe out Queen Brahne and her army when he was done using her as a pawn...But despite all that...Kuja and I gradually grew closer to each other...And all the while those new friends I'd made, led by a thief named Zidane, as well as Rockna, chased after Kuja, trying to stop him and to save me...Rikazu would stall them whenever they got close though, yet for some reason at Mount Gulug during his 'stalling' he actually fought Rockna and killed her...I arrived late, so all I saw was Rikazu's ice magic piercing her body...but it was enough for me to lose all the trust I had in him..." At this point, Mizuki decided to pause again, giving Aislin room to comment or ask questions if she wanted to. Seth had carried Iliya all the way back to the inn, placing the wounded girl down on the bed and pulling up a chair next to it. Iliya hadn't said a word the entire time; breathing was painful enough on its own. On top of that, the added poison from Seth's blade made the girl's mind extremely hazy as she faded in and out of consciousness. After a moment, Seth placed a hand on Iliya's forehead, before whispering into the girl's ear. "Don't you see yet? Those people are your enemies. Just now they overheard what was happening to you, and yet they made no effort to come and help you; they don't care", he cast illusion magic to try and ease the girl into believing him. Iliya struggled to fight the feeling in her mind that told her Seth was right, though with everything going on she wasn't able to concentrate in the slightest. "N-no..." she fell quiet after that, unable to speak properly. "No? Rikazu has the ability to teleport wherever he wants to, he could've easily rescued you just now. But even if he did, that group would just use your abilities all the same", Seth continued to push. "Nobody's coming to save you, little Ghost, so isn't it about time you started obeying me?"

"Ability to foresee the future huh?" Rowan murmured. Had this been a lighter situation he might have made a 'what am I about to say' joke, but as it were the angel did not feel anywhere near relaxed enough on this foreign world to crack jokes with strangers with strange powers. "Alright, only two more questions. Firstly, who in our group is this 'man' targeting? And secondly, why are you looking specifically for Tore? You seem aware enough of the members in our group, surely you must have realized that to seek the aid of one of us will bring the aid of those with him as well."

Aislin's face had been shifting throughout the discussion, from amusement at what she spoke of for meeting Kuja and the blush, to thoughtful at the mention of Rikazu acting like what Mizuki thought of as a father's actions... right piece of irony, there. Aislin was beginning to muse on how to explain that her version of Gaia didn't have her, Rikazu, or even Rockna, when her mind screeched to a halt at the last of Mizuki's words. Her face now had a look of utter bafflement as she put the pieces together correctly, but the large picture still didn't make sense. "Wait, wait, wait," she exclaimed, "are you sure you have the full story here? I, I mean," the girl shook her head and attempted to explain, "Okay, so I'm not the best person to ask about relationships and stuff, but somehow, losing all faith for one act is... is a little extreme, right? Especially if you don't know the whole story? I mean, I know humans can be incredibly irrational about these things and..." She shook her head again and tried, "Let me try that again. I asked Rikazu about Trance back on the ship-did you know he has no real control over it? Apparently he used to travel, and back then he kind of copied people's abilities and then killed because he was drunk on power or something like that. Anyway, after meeting a few choice people he decided to make himself a better person, but when he goes into Trance he's back to that 'if you're in the way then you die' mentality and..." Aislin trailed off, her eyes widening. She let out a gasp and said, "Ohh, that's what must have happened at Mt. Gulug! He must have accidentally went into Trance while stalling and ended up killing Rockna!" She paused at that, as if realizing what she had just said, and then gave a polite cough. "Erm, sorry about that, Mizuki, Ricardo, Carbuncle. I'm... I'm going to put off telling you the differences between what I saw and your account of Gaia. Sorry." Aislin rather swiftly withdrew into herself, as if cocooning herself in an invisible shield. Mostly to mentally berate herself. She may have escaped going into detail, but saying it like that, of all things...! She should know better than this! Kudret looked down at the sensation of somehting running across his hand to find that Celere's tail had come back. A quick look at the sky offered a clear view and the moon coming into view -which meant he had to do something fast or else he'd have a diseased giant monkey on his hands, literally. Kudret had a pretty easy solution though; an extension, a swipe and it was done. Celere's monkey tail was now laying neatly in the snow, having been sliced off by his claws. ...Kudret now had to resist the urge to lick the blood off his hands.

Celere had been out of it the entirety of the carry out, she'd been holding her breath to avoid making anything worse, the sharp sensation of her tail being cut brought her back out of her stupor, the cleaner air up top lessening the flare up of the heart problem, enough for her to start thrashing about until she got out of Kudret's hold at least, a wheezing coming from her for a second or two, the breath coming out of her blackened, "Bad air, finally out of that hellhole..." it was still like she wasn't completely aware of her surroundings. Seyr on the other hand had taken some time to assess the creature in front of her, the light wall already cracking under the sheer force the thing was able to output, "Well I'd love to stay and chat but I'm needed elsewhere and that took most of my mana pool, so you be good and go commit yourself to this pit or something, thanks." as she turned tail and fled, it was worth noting that one of her tails, usually filed with Substance and held aloft was dark and dragging along the ground behind her, an easy way to see how full the Kitsune was on Magic, in this case, she was well below half, the second tail having dimmed considerably but still held aloft, a rough estimate would have been she'd used about ninety-eight percent to construct that wall. Lorica, still standing outside of the room, sighed, knowing full well that the 'Ghost' would be in here by now, she could trust the male to not do anything stupid while she searched around for him, he'd probably found one of the group, depending on who he'd found, could take a while, a sigh preceded her self-aimed words, "Guess I'd best locate the Pup, make a few things clear that he should rightfully already know..."

Labrador held a flower in his hand, gazing at it and seemingly deep in thought as he spoke again. "The girl with the blue hair; through her he'll be able to get his revenge against the man he calls his former best friend. Though don't think for a second he'll stop there; he gets to them and the rest of your group is next." The purple-haired male paused for a moment, pondering over his next answer. "Iliya's situation is one where she will no longer be able to tell friend from foe, the one currently holding her captive is making sure that she'll view all of you as her enemies, and that she even cannot trust those she's known from her own world. However...as a fellow user of soul magic, the goat may very well be the only one who can gain her trust and help her recover." Mizuki's gaze seemed to direct itself to the ground at Aislin's words. "Is it...extreme though? He killed my sister, the girl who raised me...and the only family I had left..." she spoke quietly, sadly even. Was she being irrational? After all, Kuja had killed, no, made her kill thousands of people, and yet she still cared deeply for him. Why was Rikazu's case so different to her? Her eyes widened at what Aislin told her next. "Rikazu...told you all of that about himself...? He's never really told me anything, if anything he seems to always avoid those kind of topics..." Somehow it didn't really seem like something he'd lie about though. "The magic I sensed...did seem more powerful than usual. But you're saying...Rikazu can't control his Trance? If that's true, then that's...a possibility, but..." Mizuki placed a hand on her forehead, feeling terribly confused. "But then why was he using his Staff? He only uses weapons when he's truly serious about a fight...that's how much it raises his power..." She paused again, taking a deep breath, the words that came out her mouth ones she never quite expected herself to say. "...I want you to be right though...I don't like this...hating him, distrusting him...I don't want it, but I just can't help the way I feel..."

Whatever world these people originated from, it must be culturally taboo to describe people by name until no other options were available, Rowan decided. Still the answer was satisfactory enough, names could be dangerous information when talking to strangers in a strange land. Labrador's warning had also unsettled him, even if he'd for the most part been expecting it. Their group had been growing in strength variably, unevenly, with many weak spots and links. They couldn't necessarily rely on Rikazu's strength, especially while they were all split up like this. Outwardly, Rowan just shook his head and sighed in an exasperated way. "Mizuki is just never going to get a break is she? Oh well. Come on then, I'll take you to where I last saw him. He can be the judge on whether to help you or not." The angel waved for Labrador to follow him, as the angel turned back the way he came and began retracing his path back to where the group had split. Of course Tore had gone off somewhere since then, but it would be as good a place as any to start tracking him down.

Aislin frowned as well, turning her attention back to her surroundings as she replied, "The staves are power boosters? That does explain a few things... In that case, a few possibilities come to mind depending on what you're talking about. If you're talking about here, on this world, then it's likely that he isn't up to his full power from your world, or thinks that since we invited him along he'll need the extra strength to protect all of us." Her gaze had begun to drift towards the ceiling of the tent again as she talked. "If you're talking about your own world and back then... perhaps he was forced to pull out the staff due to either Zidane and his friends, or just Rockna herself, being much stronger than he had expected. Or maybe the two got into an argument?" Aislin frowned again and shook her head, slightly leaning back while continuing, "I think our main problem here is that most of this is guesswork. Unless we can get a few more facts, or ask Rockna for details, I think this is as far as this conversation can go." She then tilted her head a little and focused on what Mizuki had said last. "Is it like... holding a permanent caution or something? Someone did something to you, and you don't want it to happen again, so you're always kind of... suspicious of them and all that they do?" Aislin gained a slightly pained smile and pressed, "Is it anything like that? Because if it isn't, you're best off asking someone else since I won't fully understand." Kudret let go rather hastily when Celere began thrashing, and took the oppurtunity to get slightly away from her and wash his claws clean in the snow. The beastman looked towards the sound of the footsteps to find that Marco had gotten out first, and then he spotted Seyr come running out as well. While that did make everyone with them, he was still a little worried about one... no, make that two now. "Is the Demon Wall able to come after us?" he asked after Seyr had come into speaking range, "Also, is something wrong with your tails?"