A Rose and its Clippers

[The Alexandrian Army]

Daphne considered Sai's response with much appreciation. Not only was she being listened to, but also contradicted! This felt very good, as Sai produced debates. She squealed on the inside, but refused to show it externally. Instead she moved closer to the Nobody the moment he gathered his notes. She looked them over, rereading the ones he'd shown her previously, and then read the newer ones received from General Beatrix.

"My word, Sai! How ever did you get the general to part with these?" she grinned, and walked over to a large, spinning top-like contraption, its point facing downward on a disk. This machine was black, with red glass windows covering the inner gears and panels. She plucked the handle to one and pressed in some numbers and flipped a switch. The Analysis machine started up, whirring quietly and rumbling softly. A blue light shot forth from the point and set down a spotlight radius on the disk below.

"Anyway, please set a Note down one by one and we'll scan them. Whichever is the forgery I'm sure will be discovered. Though couldn't the general have discerned this? Or is she playing coy again?" She scratched her chin and decided to instead bring one of the notes over, eager to come to a conclusion.

The light shown down on the crinkled paper, and she brought a large magnifier down which attached to the side. She peered into it, while glancing over at the screen nearby to watch for results. "Hm...this one is original; at least I think it is. The ink's not fresh in the slightest and this paper's not even made anymore. Discontinued six years ago after the extinction of the tree what produced them. Sai? Next Note, please?"

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail... did her best to smile, to be strong for this knight. She reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder lightly, then sat beside her and produced a small book from the folds of her clothing, marked with a simple symbol of a woman surrounded in radiant rays. She opened it and began to read softly.

"Lo there, do I see you crying alone in darkness. Lo there, do I see others who are blind to any but themselves. Lo there do I see the wretches and the dredges and the broken. And Lo there do I see the blessed, for they are the ones who shall know me, and to whom I give my love. Light knows not the barriers of pain, of misery, of sorrow. Light knows only to cast warmth and kindness to those who need it. And most assuredly, those who have fallen into the deepest of darkness are truly the blessed, for they will feel the warmth all the greater, when I accept them into my arms at the end of their long suffering. I am love, I am light, I am forgiveness... Book of Cosmos, 3:12-17..." she said softly, then looked to Agrias again.

"You see? Cosmos doesn't pass judgement on you, she forgives you, no matter how terrible things may seem. If you wish it, she will accept you..." she smiled, then flipped to another page.

"...though the hero was lost, though he had failed time and time again, finding no hope, no glory, I still stood beside him. Even as trial came, and trial went, and the hero found naught but hearbreak and despair, I stood beside him. And at the end of his travels, when he encountered the greatest challenge of all, I reminded him of all his perils, and he found the strength to overcome. Book of Chaos, 3:42-45." She looked up, holding her place so that she wouldn't lose it.

"The Book of Chaos is... one of the hardest to read. It goes into some of the harder things about life, but it reminds us that even in the most dire, most desperate of circumstances, good can come of it, and that in the end, perhaps all that pain is the foundation for something greater? I know it hurts, Agrias..." she reached over and placed a hand on the woman's, looking to her.

"But you can't give up!" she added, trying to grant the woman courage. She looked to the book and flipped to another page. "For when the Hero ended his long, and tiring journey, I was there. At the scene of his greatest triumph, I was there, to accept him into the light and grant him the peace he long deserved... Book of Cosmos, final chapter, final verse..." She closed her book, and bowed her head. "And that's the ultimate lesson, that no matter how hard life is... that everything will be alright so long as you live your life for the light." She smiled a little, whiping her eyes. She tended to get emotional when reading these passages.

"So, Agrias... know that Cosmos has already forgiven you, and wants nothing more than for you to find your way. As do we all..." she smiled sweetly to the woman, hoping she had gotten somewhere...

[Agrias Oaks]

The knight watched the priestess as she went on and on about the Book of Cosmos, her eyes growing a little brighter, and her heart feeling a bit lighter. After a few moments, she regained a small smile, unable to forgive herself still, but grateful that she is forgiven by a superior being. Agrias etched a little closer to Abigail, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and pulled her close into a tight embrace. Some of the many flower petals would flutter a little out of the cushions because of her movements.

"Your heart knows no bounds, Lady Abigail..." she would whisper, before letting go, reaching to brush a few tears away from the mage's cheeks, " ... and your Goddess seems passionate, as a caring God would be. She is lucky to have you under Her service."

There was a small pause between the two, and Agrias would rest back against the head of the bed, looking at her hands, "... yet... I feel I must repent somehow... to repay my comrades, and my Queen for my faliure..." she made a confident fist, though spoke in a calm voice, " ... so their spirits may finally rest in peace... I must grow stronger for them, and I cannot stop..."

~Elsewhere, the armor which rested upon the chair began to glow a dim light-- the sword remained without glow still~

"...I must do my best to protect and help all whom I can assist" she nodded to herself, " As a knight, I cannot stop until I have found my path once more!"

At this, the knight crawled out of bed, and gave Abigail a confident look... a serious look.

"I believe I have rested enough, Lady Abigail... there is so much to do... too much to do to wallow in self-pity. I should help around the ship the very least, I saw much damage that needs to be fixed. Do I have your permission?"

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail smiled happily, overjoyed to see that the Knight was slowly returning to herself. She would have glowed all on her own at that, but then the added happiness of Agrias holding her took hold. She sighed dreamily, so warm and content here... And on top of that, she was being praised by Agrias. She was pretty much in a happy place now.

When Agrias crawled out of bed and seemed so determined to work, Abigail... couldn't really argue with the woman. She sighed a little, not too thrilled with the idea, but had a feeling Agrias was too fired up to really listen if she said go back to bed. She looked at a nearby clock to see it was still very early and shook her head a little.

"Fine..." she said softly, then looked to Agrias, standing up and pointing a finger to make her point. "However," she warned, looking the woman directly in the eyes, her other hand on her hip. "You are to take frequent breaks, am I understood? Work an hour, then take fifteen minutes at least. I also want you to carry this..." she reached here into her pouch of infinite holding and produced a full sized canteen filled with pure, cool water. She handed it to Agrias. "Keep yourself hydrated. The last thing we need is for you to get faint from over-working. It refills itself, so don't worry about emptying it. And finally, you're to report any injury right away directly to me. I don't care if it's as minor as a scratch that doesn't even draw blood, I want to be the first to know, alright?"

Here she smiled, then lowered her hand. "That's all... And Agrias..." she blushed a little, looking off before picking up her book and reaching over to slip it into the woman's pocket. "May Cosmos guide you to your path..."

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias grinned when she heard she could work again. She hoped in place once, in a victorious fashion, taking the canteen and putting it in her left pocket, while Abigail tucked the Book of Cosmos in her right pocket. She reached over and hugged the white mage tightly before letting go, turning in place, and going to the doorway, "Yes, Ma'am!" she would say, looking to Abigail, her eyes still a brown color, " I will be sure to notify you if any ailment is casted upon me. Till later."

With that, she went out, meeting with a few soldiers who were glad to see her alright, and set off to work on the ship. A few would give her odd looks, since she was still wearing white, silk pajamas with BOOTS while she worked around the deck. She had ripped the sleeves off the shirt (Being it was too hot for sleeves), and used it to tie the long pant sleeves up, making makeshift shorts. Some of the Alexandrian knights would see it as her patient wear while she worked, so she would be comfortable, and dismissed the thought of Agrias loosing her mind.

'Heave-HO' would call some of the soldiers, using a pulley system to take out a large chunk of rubble that had jammed itself within the broken floorboards. Agrias walked over and took the rope with them, 'Heave-HO' all of them went, and soon, the rubble became unstuck. Now able to work on the floor, all got their hammers and salvageable pieces of wood and began to work on the deck's surface.

[Secondary Characters]

Lilith spared a final glance of the General before waving a hand, picking up her step and leaving, "How 'bout I send her when you are all well and rested?" she would ask, walking to the door and holding it open a moment, "I can smell it... you are tired. Your roses cannot hide the scent of drowsiness. Sleep." she smiled, and gave her a wink before exiting Beatrix's chambers.

Outside, she would look for Lexia, telling her that once The Captain was done sleeping, that it was the girl's turn to be interviewed.

"Let the woman sleep for now..." she would pause, reaching up to rest her hands behind her head, in a questioning pose, sniffing the air, " ...hey, I'm curious... what are you going to tell her? I mean, she was being kinda rough. Seems the kind to throw you off the ship if you don't pull your weight. Whatever it is, just remember to tell her something good, ok?"

The vampire went off, to see if she can help around the ship.

[General Beatrix]

[glow=red,2,300]Beatrix gave a weak smile and stood up once more, nodding her head in thanks to Lilith as she left. "Perhaps I do need some rest," she said quietly, and moved across the room and plopped down onto her bed, tossing off her metal boots and gauntlets, and throwing her face into the pillow. She threw down the somewhat translucent curtain and fell lay there in her sea of roses until sleep set in.

What she dreamed of was a black, raging ocean, a tempest blooming high into the sky, two glowing yellow eyes looming over the horizon. At first she thought it was the face of Atticus, until one of the eyes went black, and a blue orb hovered in the center of the glowing left eye.

She was on a small boat, holding on for dear life as waves smashed into her, threw her up, and at several points merely spun her around. Her large, glowing eye beamed with utter glee as she was knocked to and fro, and when she capsized and fell into the sea she saw a beast.

The beast looked something similar to Lady Agrias, only darker. It drew its sword and moved to her as quickly as if it were on land. Drawing Save the Queen it crumbled in her hands. The last thing she saw before the dream ended was Agrias' hand reaching out to pluck her other eye.

For the rest of the night Beatrix slept a dreamless, restless sleep.[/glow]

[Sai]

Sai would nod, and get the other notes ready. He set them up so they would automatically feed, and turned up the sensitivity on the machine itself so it would do a more thorough scan. The tradeoff was that it would take the machine much longer to complete the work. Looking to the time, Sai noticed this was probably a very good thing.

"Daphne..." he said, looking over to her. "It is late... with my blood so low, even I must rest tonight. You have already deprived yourself enough, having woken so early and coming back here. The machine will take several hours before completion. I think it best that we return to our cabins and get what sleep we can manage..."

He tried to offer her a smile, which could somewhat be seen through the folds of his scarf, thinking this might convince her to return to bed. "In the morning, if you would go over the machine's findings while I check our destination for new notes? I will meet you back here at 9am sharp, provided no emergancies stall me."

With this, he stood up and offered her a polite bow. He then went to the door and walked out without any more of a goodbye than that. He made his way to his cabin, found his bed (barely more than a cot, but comfort wasn't important), and laid down. He was asleep before the third tick of the nearby clock...

[Leckseeuh]

Earlier, Lexia had walked out of the room where she spoke to Abby and walked to the hall, where several crates sat. She gently kicked one of them to see if it was sturdy enough. She sat on it and pulled out a few things to make potions. It was really the only thing to keep her occupied by herself, rather than sleeping or scavening for a decent, easy meal to cook. Instant Ramen Noodles were hard to come by when you're walking through a place that doesn't really rely on electricity.

She looked up when Lilith walked by and began to speak. She bit her tongue, trying to finish that one last potion. She smiled in delight and searched for a cap, putting it on the top and stirring it around. Nice.

What are you going to tell her? Lilith said. Lexia tilted her head slightly. What do you mean, tell her?

As Lilith walked off, she pouted her signature pout and relaxed on the crates.

[The Alexandrian Army]

Daphne frowned when Sai suggested they sleep. She stared him down with shifty eyes and clicked her tongue. Then he gave her a smile; she knew it was fake, but he was trying. Manipulative tactics, most likely, as the Nobody species could feel nothing emotional. She shrugged.

"I concede, Sai," she said, and set the machine to run until finished. She stood and shut down her workstation and returned to the soldiers' barracks and climbed to the top bunk, where she tried to catch a couple more hours of sleep.

"Oh, Sai..." she would whisper lightly, before drifting off to her dreams of a Nobody.

[ultimecia]

[glow=purple,2,800]
**From Castle Oblivion, a Rift in Time ... **


'Oh...Sai... Indeed.'

Thought a figure as she watched the scientist drift to sleep, her golden eyes peering through the darkness as hovering orbs. Ultimecia stood there, in a phantasmal form as she was traveling through time, being at several places at once. She would walk over to the woman, and look to her a moment, in thought, before disappearing from that location.

She was now in front of the mage dressed in silver, watching him now as he rested. The witch would cross her arms, allowing her black wings to relax freely behind her, before they would wrap around her form. She would close her eyes and wait...

She patiently stood in the shadows...after all, she had all the time in the world... and he had only so little to work with. Her appearance was faint, being that she was a few seconds in the future, alternating with a few seconds in the past to mask her presence. . . She had a hobby of watching people as of late. . . and so she watched him, until a disturbance. . .

The witch's left eye would twitch a little, and she would look sharply to the side, feeling another presence there.... somewhere in that ship. A certain TaruTaru who was being quite.... naughty.

"Shantotto...!" there was disappointment in her voice, blinking a moment at her clumsyness... had she just made a mistake and spoken out? She looked to the man, wondering if her voice woke him, or if not. The witch froze in place, the anomaly of the midget had escaped her equation...what was she DOING there?

There would be no time now... but there will be more later. If the man would wake and look up to the figure, he would find it gone. An excuse of the mind playing tricks? Or something more?

** Retreated to Castle Oblivion, a Rift in Time**[/glow]

[Shantotto]

Jun 29, 2010 13:48:40 GMT -5 Abigail Crescentlight said:

Here she smiled, then lowered her hand. "That's all... And Agrias..." she blushed a little, looking off before picking up her book and reaching over to slip it into the woman's pocket. "May Cosmos guide you to your path..."

[glow=teal,2,300]A small creature no taller than a couple of feet, with a purplish glow came out from the corner of the room with her ironic trademark laugh. "Oh~ohohohoh", just moments after Agrias had left.

"Do my eyes not deceive! I do believe I found a mage worthy of my teachings. Though the looks of you is less than par compared to a taru like myself ohohohoh! I suppose you'll do." Shantotto would speak this while trotting around Abigail's chair, poking and examining her like something she was about to buy and bring home.

Even though Shantotto is a bit rough around the edges, quiet blunt and to the point, maybe a bit crazy, she was serious about teaching the young mage some dark areas of magic. She thought this would be a great place to start her "personal enjoyment."

Shantotto finished her pacing around Abigail and withdrew her Jupiter's Staff, pointed it's round spherical orb right in Abigail's face and asked "Why be lead when you can be leader? Why sit back and relax if you can pull your fill? Before you are taken, why not go for the kill?! Oh~ohohohoh" She stretched her little tarutaru back backward laughing hysterically. "So what say you Abigail, the question is not am I on your side, the question is are you on Shantotto's side? Think of your answer carefully, there's more going on that your tiny brain can comprehend at this time."

Shantotto withdrew her staff back and reach into a satchel and retrieved a crystal. She handed Abigail this crystal with an expression quiet strange and leering. "Shatter this crystal, and I will aid you in the ways of black and ancient magics. You'll need work, a lot of it, but even I can turn a loser into a magnificent tarutaru wonder! Oh~ohohohoh"

Shantotto then started to chant, as a purple vortex would open up behind her. She left still in high spirits at her play full antics, and left into the swirling portal. Returning to Castle Oblivion, A Rift in Time.[/glow]

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail smiled after the woman as she left, sighing softly. She covered half her face with a hand, embarassed for her as she walked off in just her pajamas. "Oh, Agrias..." she sighed, giggling lightly in amusement. At least she was feeling somewhat better, right? She was just about to pick up the mess of sheets she had left behind when something... unusual happened.

"Eek!!" she gasped, standing perfectly still as this strange, small... thing began walking around her and speaking in such an odd way! She was being poked and prodded, something she wasn't at all fond of, so she would on occassion try to push the creature away from herself with her foot. "Shoo!" she cried every once in a while, but the strange intruder would just keep talking! It was as if Abigail's words didn't even penetrate the small... female's personal bubble!

"Teachings... kill... black magic??" she repeated confusedly, mostly due to the diminuative woman's quick way of speaking. "Oh no, I'm afraid you have the wrong idea! I don't-" but before she could finish, a crystal was put in her hands and she was given further instruction. She was about to protest, but the woman just kept going! When she finished, Abigail frowned harshly, but still held the orb.

"What do you mean 'loser'" she demanded, but it was too late. The teddy-bearlike thing was already gone, disappeared through one of those nasty portal things that the bad guys liked to use. She sighed, lifting a hand to her head and shaking softly. Had she finally lost it? Had all the stress and lack of sleep gotten to her? She set the crystal down on the nightstand, where it wouldn't roll off, and sat down on Agrias' bed.

She needed to rest... She must have just been hallucinating. She looked down at the pillow... thinking. "It does look comfortable..." she whispered, then looked around quickly. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind..." she reasoned with herself, then slowly lowered until her face touched the cool fabric there... She inhaled deeply, smiling as she smelt something like Agrias' hair in the pillow. A dreamy sigh, and she'd curl up there, in full clothing, and fall asleep.

If that crystal was still there in the morning, she'd talk with her fellow sisters about what it meant... otherwise, she'd know not to stay up that late any more!

[General Beatrix]

***TIME SHIFT: RED ROSE, 8:27 AM***

[glow=red,2,300]As the first streaks of sunshine beamed through the suite's decorated windows, Beatrix awoke to a comfortable warmth, hugging herself as she looked about the room through her curtains. She yawned and moved the cloth aside and stood up; grabbing her eye patch she moved quickly across the room to pick up Lady Agrias' armor.

I should really bring these back to Lady Agrias, thought the general, turning to exit her cabin. She moved quickly down the halls, saying her 'good morning's to some soldiers as they passed, others she just stared at while they gave her dreaming and strange looks.

Once she reached her Sister-In-Arms's room, she knocked, and turned around to face the opposite direction, awaiting a reply.

Two soldiers on their morning rounds walked by and gave her a salute, and she nodded with a weak smile. When she noticed how the armor she held began glowing again, her eye widened, and her smile deepened. Lady Agrias was going to be fine.

After a while she knocked again, and called out: "Good morning, Lady Agrias!"[/glow]

[Sai]

When the morning came, the Nobody was awake fresh and early. He was already on the bridge of the ship by the time the General was outside Agrias' door, sipping on a cup of coffee. He had been up since 6am, though he took his time finding his way here. At 7 he had checked the progress on the machines, and organized the lab workspace for Daphne's arrival. They had determined that notes number 2 was in fact the falsified notes, so he had set them aside. If they could somehow determine who had altered these words, they might find some clue as to where the real notes were...

But, seeing as they had a plan in place, he decided to come here instead, watching as Prince Adam's Castle began to grow in the distance. Ellis was still in bed, he assumed, because an ensign was at the helm right now. In essence, because he had no one to talk to, he remained silent, taking a sip of his drink every once in a while. The flavor was French Roast. It wasn't that he preferred it, but because it had the higher caffeine percentage of the two flavors available, and he wanted to be alert...

He pulled his scarf back up once his cup was empty and turned to the hallways. They would be arriving soon. Best to be where he had to in order to get on with his mission...