-Errant Milask-

The murmured mixture of words filtered through all around Errant as he moved through the crowds, there was a small pang of guilt in his heart as he listened into conversations, heard their joys as well as the occasional dispute. The smells of warm food and the fermented taste of ale hung in the air, cemented the feel of the feast, this truly was a farewell that would not soon be forgotten but to him this would not be apart of the feasting, not directly by most means.

The alehouse continued to rumble as it's occupants danced, sang and ate, how many of these feasts had this old building seen? At least a couple dozen. In a way he envied the Sleepy Sheep for it alone could witness these events and held what it saw and heard to itself. Errant chuckled to himself as he climbed the stairs to the largely unattended second floor, what a tale that could prove to be if the Sleepy Sheep could tell the young. Instead it had to rely on those few storytellers out in the world to retell these old tales, tales that most would fall on deaf ears for why would the young care to listen to a story that couldn't capture their attention, their imagination, their inspirations and leave the embers of knowledge in their hearts that their forefathers and foremothers had once gathered here as they did. In this way history had repeated itself. Laughter and tears went hand in hand on this day, as it did many times before with this event. Under the fire's warming glow the people, no, the families of Amber Falls celebrated their children's promising future.

Errant looked on from the balcony, he could heard the bard's song, sung by the aspiring bard; Veint Falko, though he could not see him in the crowd Errant pictured the look on his face as he finished with pride in his chest perhaps even a smile on his face knowing he had enjoyed himself. The young archivist looked further into the crowd, fathers and mothers off all walks mingled talking amongst each other, their words lost in a sea of voices yet the looks of their faces told of how they felt, in their hearts they were saddened to let their children go, do they think back to the day they themselves left on their adventure? Did they think of how it was now a role reversal? To stand in their parent's shoes and be the ones to say farewell and give well wishes?

Pulling out a small scroll and a pot of ink from his satchel Errant sat down and mused to how he should begin, taking an old quill the youth began to write all that he saw and heard, writing down his thoughts and reflections. He chose to distance himself from the world below him but for a reason few would understand and for now perhaps it was best that way.

~Zephrin Seams: Bitch I'm Fabulous~

Me in one of your dresses?

Oh no.

"I wouldn't want to be found dead in one of your creations."

Oh no he did not.

He didn't.

He really. Fucking. Didn't.

Zephrin's heart was at a standstill as a rage quite unlike that of the heathen gods grew inside of his faulous little heart.

"I mean really. Your Clothes look nothing like the real fashion designers."

He. Fucking. Did. Not.

But dont worry I bet they can use a mediocre tailor down at the guild.

That was it. That was the end of the line. He was having a good day. He was going to try to be nice. He was going to try not to start anything. He was going to be nice.

And then this motherfucker.

Well, that had crossed the line. But for the sake of reputation, Zephrin attempted to keep his distance and not feed the fire. This brute was a bully, he wasn't worth it. It was probably best to give him the cold shoulder. Perhaps he should just go sit somewhere, or leave the party altogether.

Sandra, the whore, was busy playing with the men's emotions.

He would talk with Alexander right now, but he was busy having his little chat with Emeline over Emball knows what.

He supposed he could talk to the bard and compliment him on his lovely singing.

The apprentice cook was busy, obviously.

Gregory and Orcus were talking.

He could also welcome the latecomer and chat with him. Rel was a pleasant enough company.

As for Sandra's friend and Co. they seemed too wrapped in their conversation. He'll have to introduce himself later.

At the moment "screw everything and leave" seemed to be his best bet. Ariannah wasn't here anyways. It wasn't worth it to stay. He would just have to return to the shop hungry. If the apprentice cook came back he'd just have to give the deer meat to someone else who cares.

But that never happened. No matter how many times his conscious told him to "just leave", his much larger sense of pride forbade it. Zephrin wasn't about to let this brute win. No. He was going to show him that he was the better man. And he would not stand for this humiliation.

"You know, it's sort of funny, that a oaf of a miner who couldn't possibly know a thing about fashion thinks he can criticize my sense of style. What, with that nearly bald head of yours, I almost took your words to heart. But you know what, I know that you hate me, just as I know a bully when I see one. And you know what else? You're not worth my time or energy. Have you spent two years miles away from your family in a town that you couldn't possibly like? Are you studying under the guidance of an old tailor whose once marvelous threads had finally began to lost their color? HAVE ANY OF YOU DIRTY PIGS BEEN WILLING TO STAND UP FOR SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN TREATED LIKE A FREAK HER ENTIRE LIFE?" He shouted the last bit.

It seemed like his initial plan to take the bully's words in stride had failed him.

Zephrin stood at the serving table, his heart full of rage, and his eyes piercing every single person in the room.

"Oh right, I forgot. You're all cowards, hiding away in your perfect little worlds with a family that loves you, masters that care for you. You all make me sick, especially you Baldemar. You know, I actually wouldn't have minded if you came to me, asking for me to mend your torn blue shirt even if it is merely a piece of filth covering up your even filthier body. What ARE you compensating for?..."

With that, Zephrin walked away from the apprentice miner, sitting down next to Errant (someone he knew wouldn't bother talking to him at the moment), far away from the conversationalists in the room.

He wasn't in the mood to socialize anymore.

All he wanted was to see Ariannah, and then go home where he belonged. Not in this pigpen of a town.

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

-Errant Milask, Sleepy Sheep-

The feel of writing, the weighted movements and the flow of thoughts that were written down did not distract Errant as the parchment before him slowly filled with the reflections around him, even as the sound of an argument cut across the general merriment and judging by the sound it was the noble; Seams. A smile played on the teen's face at the irony, both the surname as well as the situation that was figuratively before him, for the this child of nobility was an apprentice in the art of tailoring and this day he reminded how noble he had been; standing up for the weak -so to speak- and cried out against the injustice of an unfortunate soul. Truly a noble deed.

As the shouting died down Errant found the younger lad come before him, or to be more precise he chose to sit with him. From a glance the lad seemed to be fuming, most probable about the person who set him off, from the words Zephrin had shouted the perpetrator had been Baldemar the only apprentice miner who would be joining them on the journey.
"And thus the prince did defend the soul home he met, a companion whom he held true. Noble and just he did defy the evil before him for the sake of his friend." Errant smiled quoting from an old fairy tale called A Companion's Heart, it was one that wasn't often told as there were few battles to retain a young one's mind, rather it described the virtue of companionship and told of words that can bring desolation.
"So tell me Mi'lord, what bother's thee upon such a fine evening? Is it the smell of wine, the taste of an exotic meal or is it the company of such well mannered guests?" The smile this time was one of noticeable sarcasm partly aimed at lightening the mood... and partly for his own amusement as he put his quill down.

Gregory smiled as he sat down, happy to hear that Orcus still remembered who he was. Wasting no time, he poured the Spook his glass of water and began answering the small talk.

"Better than ever, Orcus! It's great to see everyone again." He gestured to the others in the room. "It's been a busy few weeks with these graduations coming up, lots of parents coming to buy little trinkets and goods to send off with us. We do get the occasional interesting traveler seeking arcane goods. There's been one guy perusing the store for a bit looking for an... amber..." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Ah well, can't quite remember what it is. Nothing I've seen in my time at the store." He chuckled and shrugged, wondering about the strange man who he had been seeing the past few weeks during his time working at the store.

"Yourself?" Gregory asked, repeating Orcus' question about how he was doing back to the spook.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

Alexander Greir-

Alexander wanted to say million things with a bout a hundred statements and questions came into his head when she started talking about friends ,he felt a bit like a loser when he realized what he'd just said ( Oh yeah, rather than spend any time with with an actual human bieng, I'd much rather spend time in dark lonely places in a corner sticking a tool in some gears.) He slapped himself on the head and tried to reply Uh-no I meant, I mean uh, yeah , that'd be great too. When she yelled I almost forgot his eyes got wide and he fell out of his chair.

When he picked himself up he was curious about these fortune flyers she was talking about.
He began to respond when the argument interupted him No, I don't recall hearing about-
Alexander Immediately grabbed his ale and started chugging it, to relieve him of his humulity No I doooo not thi-iiink I've ever heard of those. He couldn't hold his ale well, but it was working as a stress releiver, sssssso w'tre tho-oose flyer thingies?

_________________
I got friends on the other side ~

Orcus hesitated. He was never entirely sure about how to answer this stuff, generally people didn't ask. So long as the Spooks were concerned, if you were standing, that's fine, if you weren't, get up. Tests. He said simply, Frost had made him go over everything he'd learnt in the last eight years, he'd mainly just stood in front of him and recited notes all day. Training. Gaius had gone over all the foundations of everything he'd taught Orcus, deciding that if the boy knew the framework well enough, it should be enough to let him survive against anything he came across on his travels to the Dawn Guild. He'd then beaten the crap out of him each time Orcus failed to block against an untraditional move or irregular step. His skin at the moment tended to blend in rather nicely with the black clothes, which was one of the reasons Orcus had the hood up. God, his jaw hurt, the only reason the black eyes weren't noticable was because they merged with the bags under them. Technicalities... He drifted off a little there. Minor details about city life and how to act on his own. Very...emphasised points. His arm twinged slightly. His expression remained blank. Like stone.

He jumped slightly at Zephrin's sudden shout, jerked from his thoughts. The arm on his lap immediately twitching up to his staff, but that was all, he immediately brought himself under control, and as if like clockwork, turned to look at the commotion. Someone else may have smirked slightly at Zeph's speech, they may have expected Orcus to chuckle a little at the bitter humour, but he just stared emotionlessly at him, apart from when Zeph glanced towards them and his face seemed, despite logic, lock down even more. Once Zeph was done, he turned back to Gregory, now returned to his normal "fortress-of-doom" impenetrableness. Does he mean...Ari...annah? He asked, searching for the unfamiliar name for the unusual girl. He'd never noticed or heard of her being treated badly before, although he'd expected some minor bullying of course, name-calling and the like. Excusing his natural introversion, he still thought he'd have heard about something of the level Zephrim seemed to imply. Frost was always telling him to keep an eye on and a working knowledge of the community. They spent two hours a week going over what was going on in the village, birthdays, deaths, etc. I should have known of anything serious.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

~Zephrin Seams: Company of Fools~

"Company of fools more like" Zephrin responded, taking a sip from the cup of wine he had gotten for himself. It was almost calming, the toxic tang of the substance, a sort of medicine for the seething headache he had acquired from dealing with the brute. He just had to crack a smile at the storyteller's tale however. That's what Zephrin had always liked about Errant, he always had a way with words.

"You would think that when someone 'accidentally' bumps into you they would have the sense to apologize politely instead of insulting your line of work." However at least one other person had bumped into him, Alexander. But Alexander was apologetic about it, perhaps a bit too apologetic, but that couldn't be helped.

Perhaps Zephrin was a bit out of line in his response. He wouldn't be surprised if Baldemar tripled his attempts to get him riled up but that was something Zephrin was willing to deal with. He couldn't stand the level of cowardice this town distributed any longer. He couldn't wait until the feast was over so he could hightail back home and sleep the rest of the night away. He just wished he could see Ariannah before then. "You wouldn't happen to have seen Ariannah on your way here have you?" he asked, sounding a bit hopeful that she could be just lagging a bit behind on account of nervousness. He figured that some of the latecomers might have ran into her, or at least seen her walking silently, all alone and frightened. He had to fight back the natural bitterness that came with such thoughts.

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

Sabeam Nightshade – There and Back Again...A Fletcher's Tale.

She looked back at the path set before her to which her tired legs carried the young teen back to her dwelling. Sabeam opened the door and headed to her room expecting Donovan to say something...yet oddly there was nothing but silence. 'That's strange...' She thought to herself while plodding up the stairs to the living quarters of the store. 'Its probably late...old man must be sleeping...' She thought again while she neared her room. It was rather dark as she walked down the wooden hallway where a drawing of a particular cliff side hung on the wall. In fact built into the cliff side appears to be a tower that shot like a spire heading for the heavens. In the painting the sea seems to be crashing against the cliff side as if this was drawn during a storm. Sabeam had asked about the painting to which Donovan always shrugged it of as 'an oddity that he bought years ago.' Yet she felt that the painting was more valuable to him then just some oddity.

Once the raven haired girl arrived in her room she grabbed back pack and started to pack a few items that she would need for the morning. Slowly she started roaming around her room grabbing and gathering a few items and just placed what could fit in her pack.

* Silk thread
* A bag of half feathers
* Dagger
* Bow
* Quiver of arrows

After about fifteen minutes or so she finished her light packing, though she knew she did not have enough yet she figured that the Elder would give them all basic supplies before they were to head out. Yet she figured she would head back to the inn, for she did not really eat anything for a particular wood cutter technically commandeered her small feast. 'I swear if that girl even tries it...' she thought while mentally shaking a fist, yet she knew she was too tired to even try and fight that young woman. Sabeam left her room leaving her door opened, yet just before she left the room she took one last look at her room and sighed to herself. She felt a small bit of pain shoot through her as she felt rather saddened by this odd fate. 'I don't want to leave...' she thought silently to herself and she left her room. She then passed that painting again and continued down the hall until she stopped at the top of the stairs. The raven haired teen fought off her tears and focused on going back to the inn to get something to eat. She slowly plodded down the stairs and then headed out the door, though she locked the down thinking that Donovan forgot the lock up the shop like before.

A gust of wind blew by the teen causing her shoulder length hair, that is no longer being held in a braid, to blow about wildly in the cool breeze. Still the verbal debate between the crickets and the cicadas continued while the rush of the waterfall could be heard off in the distance. What broke that beautiful sound was the annoying grumble and rumble of a rather hungry fletcher. She rolled her violet eyes while looking rather annoyed at not only her hungry state but the fact, in retrospect, she allowed someone to take her meal. The pale skinned teen then headed down the dusty path towards the Sleepy Sheep Inn where she required sustenance. The fletcher could hear the sounds of merriment drowning out the sounds of nature as she neared and neared the inn. Sabeam was about a good few paces away from the door when she stopped herself and sighed to herself, 'here we go again...' She then opened the door hearing the large booming voices of all of the others together; the merriment, the drunkenness, the music; the smells of wonderful food, and the small awkward conversations. She headed inside while darting right for the bar to which she asked if she could go up stairs to leave her belongings in a vacant room.

_________________
You've tried so hard until now, you needn't blame yourself.
You've treasured your Rose Signet until now.
I shall give you a kiss as your reward.
This is your consolation.

Lara Kossak ~ With a little help from my friends

Lara wiped a tear from her eyes as Malkizid lifted her up. How could he tell her to slow down when there was so many people that still needed service? The girls brow furrowed as Mal cleaned off her cheek with his thumb, swatting his hand away after she was sure he'd more than cleaned the smudge away. Nevertheless though, his question did make her smile a bit. "Careful Mal, keep teasing me and I'll tell daddy you're the reason I come home with all these bruises," she snickered, knowing full well her father would see right through that little scheme.

"I just spotted the others. Have you seen Sandra tonight? Seems someone actually got her into a dress," the young barmaid said as she pointed out her older friend. "Why don't you take a break and go say hi to everyone? I'll watch the table for a little while. Hurry up though I want to see what everyone is up to too you know."

-Malkizid Soluvan-

Patting Lara's head softly, Mal returned the empty trays to the feisty young girl and gave a shrug. "Socialism isn't for me Lara, my place is right here watching over the herd silently." A warm smile crossed his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the bar whimsically thinking about the position he'd chosen to occupy. His thoughts were disturbed as the local hunter finally arrived with a bag of fresh game, as always that boy showed up with excellent items in perfect quality. With a wave, Mal spoke up as the boy walked by. "The counter is a good place to put it, I'll whip something up for you in a moment."

Turning his attention back to Lara, Mal grabbed her shoulder and spun the young girl completely around. "Go play with your friends Lara, this is a feast! Not a job at the tavern! Go put those trays down and join the people who really enjoy your company, I'll be fine. You can tell me all about it later." A slight push to her back was all the girl usually needed to get in gear, as for Mal? There was wild game sitting on his counter that needed cooking.

_________________
"But when one of it's baby chicks is in trouble, Momma comes a run'nin' and a squawkin and a run'nin''." -General Treistar

William Bruce

To say that William was relieved for Crimcha's presence would be a gross understatement. The situation had turned from threatening to force William to bolt outside to slightly less likely to make him bolt outside. He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like an affirmation in response to Crimcha's instructions. Keeping his head down and shoulders slumped, William shuffled his way along with Crimcha towards the bar. He longed to be able to get out and escape from the stifling room with all the crowds of people.

Against his better judgement, he looked up and peered through his thick curls around the room. He saw various events happening throughout the room from a large throng of girls talking to the little baker kid to a sudden outburst from that fancy Zephrin fellow. William thought to himself, someone must have really pushed his buttons...though it seems that a few folks do that to him just by existing. William wondered how many people actually knew who he was or what his apprenticeship was. Probably nobody...can't blame them though, not like I go out of my way to talk to anyone. William really wasn't too unhappy with that though, in fact he was quite content in hiding away, being around people made him nervous.

William had kept moving when he retreated into his own thoughts, as he was apt to do. He hadn't noticed that he had made the way to the bar until he had nearly walked right into it, stopping just shy of an embarrassing collision. William looked up and spoke in a rare moment of using a normal volume instead of a mumble or a whisper. "T-thanks Crimcha, I,I really appreciate the help." It seemed for a moment that William managed to stand up straight, his shoulders broadening out from their slouched position. For a brief moment, a smile lit up his face...and then it was gone just as quickly as he shrunk back to his normal stance. After a moment, he looked towards the bar in a way that managed to keep his head facing downwards and mumbled, "E-excuse me, I,I'd like to order something a little d-different. Afterwards, he spoke again in an even quieter voice, "I,I mean...if that's okay of course.

Emeline looked at Alexander in amusement for a moment after he fell out of his chair. "Ah you're all right," She decided as he got back up. As he continued to talk, her brows raised with a mix of humor and concern as it became evident he had had a bit too much to drink. She casually reached for the mug as he was just about to take a sip and calmly took it from his hand, "Nah. Probably don't need anymore of this."

Like several other people, she too observed the scene Zephrin made. It wasn't surprising to see him involved in some kind of commotion, however she was surprised to see Baldemar part of the incident. She casually turned her attention back to Alexander as if nothing had happened. She was glad the boy was unfamiliar with fortune flyers. "They're awesome. I think they're meant for kids but I don't really care. I like 'em." She took a swig of her own ale. "Hmm I'll let them be a surprise then." She jerked slightly, suddenly feeling the effects of the ale. "Whoa. Might be enough for me."

Emeline set the mug down. "So now that we, and I mean mostly you, got our fill of ale, are we ready for tomorrow?" She asked with a laugh. As she waited for an answer, Emeline stared at the scar running across the boy's face. She sort of wanted to ask him about it but didn't want to be rude.

Lydia Chandler, suck it up and be an independent woman.

Lydia blinked as Junior had got up from the table and asked to look after his stuffed cat Rhyme, the sixteen year old just nodded slowly toward Junior all the while waiting for an answer from Millie, expectantly.

The boy had come back and offered them all a slice of cake, Lydia smiled lightly. “Thank you Junior.” Though still she hadn’t even eaten anything so far, would it be bad to not accept the cake just yet and grab something else first? “I think I will have it soon, after I eat something else. Alright?”

With how Sandra had acted, she knew it was coming once the cake was offered to her, shaking her head as she watched the girl chuff it all down, like a wild animal. But kept her silence, she just sat there silently watching Sandra as she got up from the table to talk with Rem.

Lydia then listened in to Millie’s response, though it wasn’t the one she had wanted Lydia had to suck it up and be independent. The girl nodded to herself reminding herself she CAN do this, just go home repack with Millie’s suggestions then it will all be fine. “Thank you anyway Millie. I’m sure I can do this.”

“Now, if you don’t mind me Junior and Millie, I will be back in a minute. Just need to get something to eat first.” Lydia finally got up from the table and made her way toward the serving tables to get some chicken and vegetables for dinner, but… Zephrin, that self-proclaimed fabulous tailor had been there talking with the cook. Lydia just wanted to avoid him, if anything stay right away. But she couldn’t help but hear the sudden outburst he had. She sure heard his insults to the entire room, she couldn’t stand up to him though, she kept her silence despite wanting to say something to shut him up, she was more nervous than anything, she waited until Zephrin left and approached Baldemar and the serving table.

“Don’t mind him..” she sighed softly as she mumbled towards the miner. “We all have a place in the world; it doesn’t make you any less equal of where we all stand. Right?”

Baldemar:



Baldemar's mind filled with pure white hot rage at His comments he stood silently as his mechanical hand crushed his mug of ale. As the liquid ran down his mechanical arm he looked over to Zephrin and then he snapped. He walked over to the table and grabbed Seams by his shirt and hauled him up to face level. You listen real good. You may have grown up away from your family you Pathetic little fuck! But at least their still alive! I never knew my mother, and My father died in the Mines! I'm the only one left and I have to come by with this worthless mine so maybe it's not so strange that my clothes are a bit old and I cant afford to come see you! And I nearly lost my arm in an explosion, this armor is the only thing keeping it functional! he then lowered Zephrin back down. My life has been nothing but hard work and suffering. So dont you ever talk to me about perfect little worlds or loving families Because I never had any of those. baldemar then turned to Milask. Sorry for interupting.

_________________
Dragonborn Dragonborn, by his honour is sworn, to keep evil forever at bay
and the fiercest foes rout, when they hear triumph's shout.

Dragonborn for your blessing we pray, and the scrolls have fortold, of black wings in the cold
that when brothers wage war come unfurled, Alduin bane of kings, ancient shadow unbound
with a hunger to swallow the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50u0zUeCmU

Alexander Grier- Plans for tomorrow

The girl had asked him a question that took a bit longer to swim to his brain through all the ale in his head. Alexander tried to anwser but, all that managed to come out was Ubblllrg, smsrrrt He decided to just nod his head slightlly to answer her.
Then someone started shouting again and it was beggining to annoy Alexander..Yooo'u-oood think thee-eyd know how ta act in a public place. Alexander said as he swayed in his chair I mean I'm drunker tha-an the word itself and even I have better manners than that.He watched as one of the two picked up the other. Now that right there is just sad...OH yeah, speaking of surprises, If I'll happen to see you in two weeks I'll be able ta s-show you something really cool.He looked at her with a sort of childish innocence when he thought about showing it to her

_________________
I got friends on the other side ~

~ Veint Falko ~
~ Apparently Aspiring Lady Killer ~

Veint's eyes glittered in the opportunity for a tease, "Look at you, not a word and all subtext" he smiled cunningly looking at how blushed and taken aback Sandra was. Fenrem took out a flask with obviously liquor inside it, Veint reached out to get it with a graceful movement, but of course Sandra took it first saying "Ladies First", back to her cheeky old self, Veint let out an approving chuckle, "Of course" he added taking a clumsy step back - almost knocking off a person that was behind him - and taking a small bow while waving his hand in an inviting gesture. His usual discreet, yet mocking grin never leaving his face. He stood up straight as Rem spoke up interrupting their little exchange

Veint blushed slightly at the action between man and woman that Rem suggested. It was true, Veint had little experience with the opposite sex other than a couple (or more) of crushes in the past couple of years; his Master always teased him when he realised the boy had a new crush. Actually there was a period that he had a crush on Sandra as well, until she punched him for teasing her. So Veint acted the only way he knew how to respond to that, he ignored that part of the comment and continued as if nothing had happened "Why, is that a compliment Rem? Rare thing to hear from your mouth" he bantered back in a mischievous voice "Soon you'll be giving me advice, if I hadn't know better I would say you liked me" a wide grin broke on his face and he reached out and took the flask from Rem's hand and downed a large gulp, grimacing as the liquor pleasantly burned his throat. He wasn't as used to it as most people but he never said no.

"Amen to that" Veint said in response to Sandra's outburst and willingness to get drunk. He raised the flask and downed another big gulp, the metheglin leaving a sour after taste in his mouth. His master would kill him if he saw him, he always said that drinking is not what a bard's supposed to do, although he knew for a fact that Master Loren liked to drink wine every now and then. He let a small shout of satisfaction after the flask left his lips as the liquor was passing through his system.

_________________

-Fenrem-

Rem gave a small, secret smile for himself as he realized Veint's casual glossing over Rem's little jibe at Veint's experience....or lack thereof.

"You know Veint, you shouldn't acquiesce so easily to a young woman's demands...especially this one. I mean, the last time I helped a girl out with her shoes, we ended up -"

Shouting interrupted him. Rather, inevitability interrupted him. Sticking a large crowd of emotionally volatile teenagers in one room was just asking for disaster. Sticking alcohol, especially his master's dark brew, with these children was reeling disaster in with bait. He spared a glance at Zephrin and Baldemar as they became the first victims of poor planning and even worse social idiosyncrasies.

Rem was, to Sandra's general distaste, on fine terms with Zephrin Seams - Rem's talents had allowed him to see Zephrin's rather...flamboyant nature belied a fairly pure and insecure soul that found solace in his work and station. He was good people, though. Naive, Rem thought, but good. Plus, Rem was pretty sure he was one of the few people who knew Zephrin wasn't a homosexual.

Baldemar, on the other hand, was surly, angsty, and self-obsessed. Worst of all, he was a mean drunk. For this reason alone, generally, Rem went out of his way to keep from socializing with the apprentice miner.

...And he wasn't about to start now. Confrontation was not the Muerin way.

"So," he said cheerfully to Veint, passing over himself and offering the flask back to Sandra. "What do you think of Sandy's new look? I'm gathering opinions so I can go gush about it how appreciated it was to Ma Pilkington tomorrow."

Emeline - Surprises

"You'd be expecting too much from people then. Especially from someone as 'fabulous' as Zephrin," Emeline joked. She lightly shoved the boy, "You could always go rough 'em up, teach them a lesson." Emeline wasn't as drunk as Alexander. A little buzzed at best. She started to reach for the ale without thinking, suddenly stopping herself, pointing at the glass in a scolding manner, "No. No!"

Her ears perked up when he mentioned a possible surprise. "Is it an invention?" Her eyes grew wide again in excitement. 'If I'll happen to see you in two weeks.' She crossed her arms and shook her head. "If you see me? No, I don't like that. WHEN you see me. You have to show me now." She tried to look serious but couldn't help but crack a smile at his blissful, childlike expression which made it evident he was happy with whatever his thoughts were.

*Kurokage Shuriken Jr., with Lydia, Millie, and Sandra before she left*

Junior's eyes widened and he quickly covered his face with his arms as Sandra wolfed down the cake, pieces of it flying in the air as she did so and spraying over him. He removed his arms from his face once it seemed the spray of cake pieces died off, a small smile spreading on his face as Sandra and Millie both praised the cake. "Y-You really like it?" he asked, his baby blue eyes lighting up brightly, feeling happy that the cake had turned out well after all.

He looked over to Lydia, who hadn't taken a bite from the cake, opting to save it for later after getting something to eat first. "Oh, okay!" he replied as Lydia excused herself to grab some food, a little bit cheerier now than he had been earlier that evening, now that his nervousness about the cake was gone. He began to wipe off some of the cake pieces from his jacket when suddenly an argument broke out between two of the older boys, both of whom Junior didn't really know, though he may have seen glimpses of while working in the baker or looking out his bedroom window. One was dressed rather extravagantly (compared to the rather average dress of practically everyone else who was attending), and he seemed to be shouting at the drunk boy who had been enjoying his cake previously. Junior watched them nervously, fearful that a brawl might ensue between the two if things escalated. He began to look away, until Zephrin shouted something to the rest of them that hit him right in the gut.

"HAVE ANY OF YOU DIRTY PIGS BEEN WILLING TO STAND UP FOR SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN TREATED LIKE A FREAK HER ENTIRE LIFE?"

Junior looked back over to the scene, his eyes wide as Zephrin called out each and every one of them. "Stand up for...someone who was treated as a freak?" he repeated the words in his mind as he thought about what Zephrin meant. "I...I-I didn't know that something like that was even going on..." But of course he never knew; he never knew the happenings of the village, staying inside all the time in the relative safety of his home, or inside the bakery with his mother. He was left in the dark about everything, how could he have possibly have known that poor Ariannah was being picked on and being horribly mistreated? How could he have known?

"Oh right, I forgot. You're all cowards, hiding away in your perfect little worlds with a family that loves you, masters that care for you. You all make me sick, especially you Baldemar."

Junior winced a little as he found those words hit a little too close to home. It was awful, to know that as much as he would have liked to deny it, Zephrin was right. He was completely right. All his life, Junior had been hiding away in, as he had put it, 'a perfect little world with a family that loves you and a master that cares for you.' There wasn't anything Junior could say in his defense for that. And, truthfully, he probably was a coward. Even if he had known what was happening with Ariannah, would he have been able to do anything about it? Would he have been able to summon the courage to stand up for her? He, meek, timid little Junior--would he have been able to do anything? Or would he have just stood there, a passive witness to the crime of bullying, a bystander too frightened to get involved?

Junior bit his lip, his eyes watering as he began to cry, his heart aching with guilt and shame. He quickly wiped his eyes, then grabbed his stuffed cat, excusing himself from the table and running through the crowd out of the Sleepy Sheep.

He gasped for breath as he went outside, breathing in the cool night air as he tried in vain to calm himself down, trying to stifle his crying. He sat down on the steps, hugging Rhyme tightly. Just like that, the night was spoiled for him.

_________________

-[Really guys, already?]-

Renaldo's eye twitched as Zephrin and Baldemar yelled at each other, only standing up when he'd had enough. He walked over to the two and stood between them. He stared at each of them in turn, his blue eyes piercing both of them. "You two need to get a handle on your emotions." He said sternly, but calmly. "We're all going to have to get along, or at least tolerate each other for the duration of this trip, so you two are doing a pretty shitty job of that thus far." Clearly, he was not amused with the situation. "Sure, not everyone's had to suffer the same, some not at all. But everyone here has worked hard to get to where they are right now in their apprenticeship."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Life sucks, shit happens. But you know what? Dwelling on it and using it as an excuse for your actions and words makes you no better than a liar or a cheat. Now I don't give a shit if you two act friendly to each other, but I will NOT suffer you two being ignorant assholes." He then stood between the two, waiting for their replies on his words. He expected no more than being yelled at, which was fine with him, for he could dish back equally harsh words.

_________________

Lara gave a soft pout as Malkizid tried to weasel his way out of being social. "Oh no you don't. Like you said, this is a festival not a job at the tavern. Now you get over there and say 'hello' to everyone," the tiny girl commanded as she began pushing against her brothers back, her little arms failing to so much as budge him. Truth be told, it wasn't so much that Lara wanted Malkizid to be more social, she just knew that there was no hope of her going over there alone without embarrassing herself. She'd never been able to speak on her own in front of the others without Mal around. Something about them just made her nervous. "Come on you big oaf, move!"

"Yeesh, Touchy.." Gregory commented upon recalling the end of Zephrin's speech where he suddenly assaulted everyone in the room. Gregory himself had not been listening and so found the outburst very unusual. Then again, Zephrin had always been something of an oddball in his eyes. Not that that was a bad thing, he simply wasn't intending to worry much on the matter. He did not pay much mind to Orcus' question about Ariannah, as he was focused on something entirely different, which he chose to bring up now.

"So Orcus, that ring of yours." The shopkeep began, pointing at the object. "Seems like a unique piece of work. What's its story?" He had grown a keen interest in artifacts and treasure over his time working in the shop and wanted to know what sort of interesting objects this group he was going to be traveling with had on them. He leaned back in his chair relaxedly as he awaited Orcus's response.

_________________
These are a few of my favorite things

Orcus stared blankly at him for a moment, creating an awkward silence despite the chatter of the hall. Each spook gets a ring like it on his acceptance into the profession, hardly unique, the gemstones vary sometimes, Frost has a sapphire, Gaius has an emerald and I possess a tanzanite. He answered eventually, casually raising his hand to head height and showing the back of it and the gemstone to Gregory. The metal of the ring made of black gold, created as such by a few minor spells that are crafted into the ring whilst being forged. Blessings and enhancements mainly, minor things like that. It is quite a common practice amongst magicians to have jewellry formed with magic in them. I am sure one or two of the blacksmiths here will learn about that eventually. Gemstones are added as they are good at storing spells, some are better at storing different types of spells or some can store a wider range of spells at a loss of effectiveness. His other hand was now holding his staff lightly as the ring hand reached for his cup. Prolonged social talking tending to dry his throat these days.

He took a draught as Renaldo stood up and began to end the troublesome commotion. This was good, Orcus had been worried about having to act himself, it was odd that the guard-in-training hadn't taken action himself yet. Perhaps a hint as to why was the nickname "chickenheart" he apparently possessed. An odd nickname for a guard to have he'd thought when he heard about it. He put the cup down and stared at Gregory again, his cold stare seeming to have a more drill-like quality than before. I have answered your question and you will now answer mine. What has been happening to Ariannah? There wasn't even a rising inflection at the end of the sentence, he would have sounded almost bored if it wasn't for the hint of a commandment in it.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

~Zephrin Seams: So This Is Amber Falls~

A few minutes before Zephrin went upstairs...

Zephrin figured that the dumb brute would react, but secretly he hoped that the pig would be a tad bit more intelligent. And yet, he had completely forgotten about the toxic that had already affected the apprentice miner's bloodstream, driving his emotions over the edge. The young noble tried his best to keep a straight face as Baldemar's saliva showered all over his fair skin, possibly bringing millions upon millions of germs with it.

At the moment, he was practically numb to the brute's pitiful excuses. 'So what?' he thought, 'It's not like he doesn't have any friends to fill the gap. Does he honestly think I would feel sorry for him? Especially with the way he's handling it now?'

Zephrin waited patiently for the miner to finish, growing quite bored with his attempts to assert his false sense of superiority. When his feet was finally safe on the ground, Zephrin started to speak again before he was interrupted by Renaldo, the apprentice hunter. Normally Zephrin didn't mind his company, but really, he was not in the mood. He glared at Baldemar.

"You're lucky. It seems like most people here are a lot braver than you would ever dare to be. I have no problem tolerating you, or anybody else's existence, but if you dare to lay a finger on either me OR Ariannah I will make sure that this 'Hell' you describe your life to be becomes a whole lot worse. You may have lost your parents, and you have my condolences, but there is no doubt in my mind that even they would love even a despicable, rotten, slob of a pig like you. Hell? Ha! You don't know the meaning of the word."

Before he left he had one last thing to say to the crowd, upon witnessing the youngest apprentice's abandonment of the scene. "Also, a word of advice, I would pay more attention to your surroundings if I were you."

With that, he left them all to squabble amongst themselves. They knew how he thought of them and their town. Whether or not any of that would change was up to destiny.

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

-Malkizid Soluvan-

"H-hey! Cut it out!" He protested as Lara began to push him out instead of the other way around, she wasn't moving him at all but the effort was clearly visible. Looking down at her, Mal gave an inward sigh of acceptance. Mal knew Lara very well so this had become common routine. "Fine... Fine, I'll go say 'Hello' but that's it." Picking up the small girl was effortless, placing the trays on the bar as he did so, and let her sit on his shoulders. Now everyone would see her.

It wasn't until he began walking that Mal finally noticed the squabbling and arguing of 2 other young patrons, not unusual but still unappreciated at this time. But atleast Renaldo was their to try and help, right up until Zeph started to walk away from the group rather flustered. Taking a deep breathe, he began to walk forward hoping Lara wouldn't protest being upon his shoulders.

"Renaldo," Calling out softly but enough to be heard over the noise, "Baldemer," Calling out again, but in a very serious tone while turning his head. "ZEPHRIN!" He shouted, but it was a shout of compassion not anger. "Stop your mindless squabbling please! This is supposed to be a festive occasion, not just for ourselves but for the ones too small of age to walk out into the blue yonder. Set an example for them," Tickling Lara slightly, hoping to break the tension with her laughter. "And set an example for the ones who will be at your side here on out." Taking his usual place beside Renaldo, Mal wore what seemed like an expressionless face.

_________________
"But when one of it's baby chicks is in trouble, Momma comes a run'nin' and a squawkin and a run'nin''." -General Treistar