The Red Rose

[Ellin Destroix]

Ellin watched from one to the other, as one insulted her ways, and the other-- well... it was right not to trust a stranger. The knight cleared her throat, seeming to have A LOT to say to Beatrix... but chose not to.

Here, she wished to say: "The darkness corrodes those of weak a' heart, MADAM. You should know EVERYTHING about that. Even in the light, there are villains and I am staring at a bi-- Language, Ellin!"

Ugh, if only she could get away with it, but still. Cosmos' way was just and right, and she wished to follow it to become a righteous Light warrior someday.

She bowed her head a little, before looking to the corn-haired woman, a soft look in her lavender eyes, " Madam Agrias Oaks, yes? Rest a sure, I have never raised even a FINGER toward a White Mage, or an innocent for that matter. I shall search around then, if you'll excuse me."

Ellin turned in place, and began to walk away to begin her woman hunt.

[nexus]

Nexus had found himself roaming the halls of the ship. Giving a whistle from time to time on how extravagant the ship really was. From the curtains down to even the very doorknobs on the doors, this ship was well crafted and meant for traveling with the feeling of royalty. Nexus kinda felt out of place here, he was an adventurer, someone who slept out in the open plains, or in the trees. This place made him feel a little less at ease. It didn't help the fact that most if not all of the population of the ship just happen to be female. He could handle dragons on a daily basis , but women were another story all together.

Suddenly the alarm sounded, and he readied himself a bit, not really knowing what was going on. He decided to follow a group of soldiers and found himself coming into a large common room. He saw a large number of soldiers surrounding a woman clad in black armor. He fallowed her gaze to see that she was talking to Beatrix, with Agrias standing next to her.He was quit relieved to see that Agrias was alright, last he saw of her, she was worse off then he was being carried out of the castle

Nexus listened in to the conversation that was being held between the group.He stayed next to the door and watched the dark night finishing speaking and turn and walk away from them to go looking for Abby. When she passed by him, he slid a bit out of the way to allow her to pass by before looking back to Beatrix. "Shall i follow, and keep an eye on her, Beatrix?" he asked a little less "friendly" then he meant to and he left the "Lady" title prefix out of his speech for Beatrix for now. Not really knowing what happened back at Prince Adam's castle, he didn't know if he could trust her. He still saw her as a leader but not sure about much else right now

[General Beatrix]

Beatrix folded her arms together and looked onward as the Black Knight made her way through the halls of her ship. Gritting her teeth she sat, looking to Agrias with a gentle eye. Why start up trouble now, of all times? If the Black Knight were here to begin hostilities...surely she would have done so by now?

"Agrias...I understand your kindness extends to even those who've overstepped the boundaries of light and into the dark...but like with me, how sure are you can you trust it?"

Frowning, she loosened her arms and set them neatly in her lap.

"How sure are you that your forgiving me will be enough to keep the darkness within from stirring once more? By Alexander's light I am a criminal now, unworthy of my noble title any longer."

Another frown, the general shook her head. "I need to go collect my sword now, Agrias. I'll be back shortly."

She stood up and leaned back to kiss the woman's forehead, leaving the note on the cushion beside the Holy Knight before exiting the room completely.

[nexus]

Nexus seeing that he didn't get a reply assumed that Beatrix had a lot her mind, so he decided to follow the dark knight anyways. He wanted something to do, plus he's never seen someone like her, so he thought it might be interesting.

Airinose on the other hand was still in the hold watching the small group conversing across the way. She stirred a bit and stretched some too. She began to wonder about the communication that she started to do with Nexus and wondered if he was the only one that could hear her. So she thought now might be a good time to attempt such a thing. She readied herself "Tell me .........Tell me if you can hear me young ones" she said without words the same way she talks to Nexus.

[Ellin Destroix]

Ellin began her little quest, her hands held to either sides of her head casually, meaning no harm to anyone. Of course, the soldiers around her would be tense and wanting to end her on the spot, but she continued her calmness, looking around at rooms, pools (she received major slaps there and a soap bar hit her arm while she ran away), upper decks, and finally storage areas.

Wow, she wished to be one of them once, but was it truly what she wished now? She would of been stubborn like them if she had, and she wouldn't of helped so many people along her journey.

As she made her way into the storage area, she encountered a giant dragon there, along with a chocobo and two ladies in the back. She examined them both, and saw that they did not look like the blond swarm she had been seeing throughout the ship.
She decided to slowly make her way over, waving a little at the dragon as she did, and she bowed when she was near them.

[Agrias Oaks]

The holy knight stayed back, watching as Nexus went to follow the mysterious black knight, and Beatrix left to retrieve her sword. She sighed, reaching up to rub at her head a little, certainly there was no time to rest, this was proof of it, and she needed to keep going.

Agrias stood up, and stumbled a few times, not wanting to fall back on her usefulness, and slowly made her way to the General's room, where she hoped to find her own sword. Her ever faithful Save the Queen... she wondered in what condition it was in.

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail smiled as Boco came to recognize her, and giggled happily when the giant bird pressed his head into her by way of hugging. She was quite pleased to see him too, and could understand his confusion due to her new appearance. "You silly bird!" she teased as she set herself to work. She enjoyed caring for Boco, and hoped maybe someday to have a Chocobo of her own. After all, she had seen them maybe once or twice in flyers for the Gold Saucer, and dreamt of riding one of purest white across the finish line (in her private moments, of course). She sighed, shaking her head as she allowed these peaceful moments to come...

That is until Lilith came up behind and scared the living daylights out of her! She practically leapt all the way into the air, on her feet in microseconds and having her staff at the ready in even less! She spun on the spot and pointed the "business end" directly at Lilith's nose before she'd blink and pull it away. "Oohh, goodness, Lilith!!" she complained, stamping her foot once. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I could have knocked your block off!" she said, then sighed softly.

A warm smile crossed her features as she looked to the vampire woman. "Whatever are you doing here? Surely there's a comfortable enough room with your name on it?" she asked with a kind tone in her voice...

[Lilith]

Lilith almost fell about laughing as Abigail jumped into the air, that was until she was looking down her nose at a rather imposing staff.
"sorry about that, old habits die hard."

Lilith leaned in close to the mage, her eyes began to glow a little and her voice deepened.
"and knock my block off? eh? I'd like to see you try."
she immediately went back to her usual stature, she blinked and her eyes turned back to their dull crimson and a familiar light hearted smile replaced her blunt expression.

the vampire sighed at Abigail's last sentence, she twisted a strand of hair around a finger.
"I like it down here, its where I belong..."

[nexus]

Nexus fallowed the dark knight around the ship, staying outside when she entered some rooms and just watched her as she entered some other rooms. Along the walk he would notice her demeanor, she didn't act like she was a stern knight, she seamed like an adventurer looking for something, it was oddly.......normal. Eventually he would fallow her down into the cargo hold. Instantly he would notice Airinose and let the Dark Knight go off on her own down here as he went to check on his friend. "Airinose, so this is where they put you" he called out a crossed the hold as he made his way over

Airinose smelled Nexus before he even entered the hold and was happy that he was alright. She watched as a Dark armored woman entered the cargo hold being fallowed by Nexus. She smiled (sorta) as Nexus made his way over to her, but she noticed that his arm was still in a sling, much like her wing was wrapped. It seemed like the white mages magic didn't heal either of them fully. Naturally dragons are resistant to magic, but why was Nexus not fully affected. "Nexus, I'm glad to see that your well, and yes where else would i fit on this thing?" she asked referring to the ship. "Also it seams as tho your the only one who can hear me, i tried to communicate with others" She said looking at the women "But to no avail"

Nexus looked at the gaggle of girls on the other side of the hold then back to Airinose, then he rubbed his arm that was in the sling. "Yeah Airinose, i know , it's weird , like somethings happening and we don't have answers for it" he said while stroking her neck "but hey, we got time to figure it all out." he said

[Ellin Destroix]

She would watch them at first, seeing them converse. Certain to wait for their conversation to finish before making her presence known. While this happened, she would glance every now and then to the young man with an arm splint following her.

"Evening, Ladies." she called out politely, standing straight up afterward, and taking out the note from her metal hold at her side, "I have a message for a White Mage... One of pitch black hair, and eyes of crystal hues of purest blue."

She looked from one to the other, before her lavender eyes set upon the long, black haired woman with blue eyes, she grinned a little shyly at this, "Ah, well... I am guessing, madam, but could you possibly be Lady Abigail?"

[Lilith]

Lilith's head twisted unnaturally towards the black night, she glared at the new presence a bit annoyed to be disturbed in the middle of a conversation by a complete stranger.

the vampire was at the knight in an instant, a pistol aimed square at the knights forehead.
"its rude to drop in unannounced and its rude to interrupt someone in the middle of a conversation."

Lilith's eyes were dull, the first signs of her being hungry.
"you could at least of introduced yourself... or knocked... or not entered my abode in the first place..."

[Ellin Destroix]

Ellin, being the knight that she was, backed away at the sight of a gun and she bowed politely to the hostile vampire, "My oh my, how rude of me, Miss!" she chuckled, standing straight before giving something similar of an Alexandrian salute, " Ellin Destroix, here to deliver a message to the lovely Abigail as well as a few other crew men, or should I say--women, onboard?"

Slowly, the blackest knight raised a thin, black brow in confusion, "I apologize yet again Miss, but I was given permission by the b-" she paused, clearing her throat, "--General Beatrix-- to go on about my business. " she made a quick save.

"I, Ellin the Black Knight, mean no one harm... I am only but a messenger." She pointed forward, striking a heroic pose as she did so with that signature smile of hers, "Ah, for justice, of course!"

There came a pause, and the armored heart relaxed, looking to them both with a smile, " So, as I was saying--"

[Lilith]

Lilith tilted her head slightly.
"black night? I bet your 'real' popular."

Lilith stepped back and lowered her pistol but didn't holster it just yet, the vampire scratched Boco's head a little.
"just do what you came here to do..."
she looked at Abigail out of the corner of her eye
"...it was nice talking to you... while it lasted."

Lilith flicked her hair and disappeared into the maze of crates blending perfectly into the shadows.

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail giggled somewhat, patting at Lilith's shoulder. "Stop that!" she said in return to the vampire's little flirt about 'wanting to see her try'. It was odd how relaxed she was around this vampire, and she was about to comment on the matter when others made themselves known.

She blinked a bit, spotting Ellin before she spoke, and when she did she couldn't help but be taken aback by the fact that is dark defender... spoke so highly of justice! She was... confused, really, but who was she to judge so quickly? Lilith on the other hand wasn't quite so slow to make decisions about how she felt on certain subjects.

"Lilith, please!" she said, trying to get the woman to stop, but she did so on her own. The vampire leapt off into the darkness, leaving Abigail there with the knight, boco, and Nexus with Airnose not far off from where they were. She sighed softly, shaking her head a bit. She really was beginning to enjoy this conversation.

Looking now to Ellin, she put her hands on her hips. "That could have been handled better..." she said, but not in a demeaning tone, more a bemused one. She walked over and looked at the woman, leaning in a little to try and sneak a peek at her eyes. "You have a message... for me?" she asked, blinking.

"Who would be sending me a message? No one I knew was around to see me take off with Agrias and Bea..."

[Ellin Destroix]

At the sight of those blue eyes, the dark knight dropped her guard. Reaching up, she would scratch a little at her cheek, before relaxing there, "A rather jumpy one, is she not...?" she chuckled, clearing her throat before straightening her posture out of habit of the old days.

"Oh, but this invitation is addressed to you, Miss." Ellin held out the nicely sealed letter, bowing her head politely, so some of her hair was over her lavender eyes and she could not see well, " By The Master of the Arts, Acteur de La Noir, a rather talented Heartless with a knack for e--"

She had spoken too much, her eyes shot wide open and she looked up to meet Abigail. Why did she have to be so honest?? Why did she have to go and say the "H" word to a PRIESTESS??

"O-oh wait!" she tried to speak.