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[SeriousConcentrate]

Anya had finished her game of solitaire as Bael spoke, deciding to just keep quiet instead of interrupting. She packed the cards up, put them back in their container, and slid it into an inside pocket of her robes. "Rae is... well..." Anya rested her chin on her hands, elbows on the table. "Simply put, a demon toyed with her emotions, made her go against everything she believed in, and tricked her into attacking her allies. She's not handling it very well. The deal is, she's a bit childish and innocent, no?" The sorceress toyed with the end of a twintail absently. "People like us, we've done things we've regretted before. We're used to taking responsibility for our mistakes. She isn't. And this is a pretty big thing to start learning with."

She shrugged. "As harsh as it sounds, the best thing we can do is give her a little space and time, and then when she reaches out for help, we give it to her. As I said to Rudra, it's a little like growing up. She'll come to terms with it eventually, and I expect Toman, Tali, and Ria can walk her through it. As far as I know the two T's have been friends with her for awhile, and if her sister can't help her out I don't think anyone can." She leaned back in her chain and folded her hands on her table. "That's why I think it's for the best we return to business as normal. If we keep moping around, she's going to keep moping around. If we act like nothing's wrong, it'll help her eventually believe nothing's wrong. Positive reinforcement, that."

Rudra had suggested taking the sisters along. "Could be an idea, asking Ria. I'd like to get to know her a little better, too. Bael, you're her husband, right? What does she like to do for fun?"

[Dwarmin]

Bael smiled.

"I am her betrothed, yes.

As for fun, Ria often enjoys merely being with others-it helps her concentrate on the real world, instead of the spiritual one. She does like to collect small treasures as well, much like a magpie for her nest. I took her beach combing, once, and she enjoyed that...Material possessions of a strictly monetary sort have little meaning to her. They must mean something more...much like Ser Rudras staff, and Ser Aliths bow.

And, Ser Lucus, do not question me so lightly on those matters....the sort of Oaths I have taken, are dark indeed. It is not something shared pleasantly over the breakfast time."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"All right. I think I'll go ask her. See you in a bit, Rudy, Azasar. Er, you do want to come with us, right?" she said, meaning Azasar. After getting her answer, she headed to Ria and Bael's room and rapped on the door lightly."Hey, miss Ria? Anya here. Some of us are heading out into town to spend the day. Would you like to come with us?" she asked, not opening the door to respect her privacy.

As for Rae and Toman, Rae was still being emo in the hold and Toman was busy hauling crates onto the ship, finding simple pleasure in hard labor. It wasn't often he got to simply relax and just do something like that.

[Dwarmin]

There is no answer from the door right away, but Anya does hear a sonorous Elven prayer being spoken from within.

"Oh, Amatae...ail os Jhyli...ail os Jhol...nir tia moraes thol caes shae cysti..."

A few moments later, Ria opens the door a crack, staring down at Anya.

"Hmm. I think I will. Give me an hour or so, yes." Her tone is slightly cold, but otherwise emotionless.

In fact, Ria looks...very odd. One cannot place it exactly. She seems almost...Fey. Strange. Other worldly.

Meanwhile...

Another *Thunk* reverberated throughout the ship.

Tali's homemade bullseye, hung on the wall of her quarters, was looking pretty shabby. Practicing with her new throwing axes was a good way to kill time, anyway...in fact, she had been pretty much constantly practicing, all day and most of the night.

It kept her mind off other things, she didn't want to think about.

She grimaced, arched her hand and threw again.

*Thunk*

"...It's all my fault..." she muttered miserably, surveying her shot dispassionately.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Toman came down from the deck, running a cloth across his face to wipe away the sweat. He nodded to everyone in passing - even Anya, who was standing outside Ria & Bael's room looking puzzled - before making his way to Tali's room. There was still a constant thudding sound inside: axe hitting wood. He knew it pretty well. He counted another few to make sure Tali had thrown them all before entering and taking a seat on the barrel she and Rae used as a table. "Tali." He placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, trying to not take up a quarter of the small room and failing miserably at it. "...Are you all right?" he asked after a moment. "I know the two of you are close. I thought that, perhaps, you would like someone to talk to."

[Dwarmin]

Tali arched one eyebrow, striding over to pull the axes out of the wall. It took a deal of effort, because they had been thrown quite hard.

She responded after a moment, a guarded expression on her face.

"...Not quite all right, Toman. Not at all.

Not sure what's to say.

I should have been there. I wasn't. Rae's hurting, because of me. I didn't do the deed, but...I haven't been honest with myself, my...feelings? I don't know how to say it. I'm used to playing games with people. It feels like I've been doing it to Rae, and I didn't even realize it until now.

I guess this is the first time I've felt guilt in years. Thought I put it behind me, when I left home. It still hurts like Hell.

I was the one that made her vulnerable, Toman. And someone found her weak spot...because of me."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Toman nodded. "I see..." So he had been wrong about that. Or, perhaps, merely wrong about if they were aware of it. "You can't blame yourself, Tali. Hell, if it comes down to it, I should have went instead of her in the first place. Let's face it: if I had gotten manipulated by a demon, I would have reacted by blaming it, not me, and I wouldn't particular care if everyone hated me for smacking some of them around a bit." He sighed and looked down, rolling his shoulders to get some of the aches and pains out of them.

"I don't think any of this is your fault. It either isn't anyone on this ship's fault, or it's everyone's. There's something all of us could have done. Me, you, and Ria could have went, Rudra and Anya could have thought to cast Detect Magic on Rae when they saw her again and caught the problem before it started. Same with Luke and that truth sutra ability of his, had he been there. Any of us should have noticed she wasn't acting the same as she normally does. Rae herself is not completely innocent in this either... not for being exploited, but for turning that anger at being exploited in on herself instead of the demon actually at fault."

He spread his hands for a moment. "But if that's how you truly feel, maybe you should try telling her that. Not that you feel guilt about what happened - I think anyone saying that would only hurt her further - but about how you feel about her. That in spite of this you still...?" He wasn't sure if Tali's feelings extended that far, although he was sure Rae's did. The girl always wore her heart on her sleeve, and was obviously pleased to see Tali whenever the two had been apart for more than a few hours... moreso than she was to see him by far even though they were friends, and perhaps even Ria ignoring when her sister had first joined the team. But to be fair there, she hadn't seen Ria in years...

"...I'm hardly the man to be giving advice on this subject. I literally know less than nothing about it. But I do believe that love is blind; it knows no race, gender, nation, or boundaries. I mean, y'know..." He scratched the back of his head, realizing he had talked himself into this situation and now he was going to have to figure it out. "...I think now maybe I'm just assuming things..."

[Dwarmin]

Tali grunted.

"That's just it Toman.

What's love to me...I never really found out. I've never been with anyone long enough to care to find out.

...No idea how'd she take it, if I told her. We're friends, sure. But...this is something alot different. It's going to be...difficult.

I've made my life avoiding getting entangled, keeping from being weighed down..."

Tali's voice turned a bit distant, as she yanked an axe from the wall and studied it. She was almost talking to herself.

"Honestly, I don't know what to say to her...because, I'll get tied down. I'll...burden myself. Gotta keep moving. I can't...not good enough for her. Or anyone.

And, I'm not brave, I'm not a hero, not strong...and sooner or later, I'll...

...Betray you all. Like I always do. I always betray you. What if that's who I really am?"

[Araph]

Back in the galley...

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cause offense."

Lucus apologized to Baen. It seemed he'd joined the group at a rough patch. His years of experience told him the best thing he could do was shut up before he (metaphorically) stuck his foot in his mouth again.

[The Fool]

He flicked through the three pages one last time realizing that he had no where to look for the logbook. Luke sighed and closed his journal. He redid the string binding that held the cover shut, and put it into his jacket pocket. His crossbow clips jingled as he pushed the book down. "I'm off to look for a new weapon. It's about time I got something new." Luke glanced over at Lucus, and realized that he must have not been paying attention or something. "Oh. Hello. I'm Luke." He said with a hand outstretched to shake the newcomer's hand. "What brings you here?"

[Dwarmin]

Bael nodded. His mood suddenly turned, from bored and aloof, to almost excited.

"And, I accept your apology...let's speak of something else. I tire of politesse.

...I can tell by a few things, that you and I share a common profession. We are both adherents of the bow, the shadow in the forest, a skipping stone in the pond of time..."

He smiled ruefully, actually sitting down at the table across from Lucus, for a moment.

"I admit, I look forward to testing my skills against yours. Here, I was thinking I would be the only Ranger on board this expedition..."

Jhondryr-Baels Elven Hound Companion-trotted into the room at this moment, taking a moment to sniff Lucus's pants leg.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

OOC: Elven Hound Image

Bael whistled, and the Hound settled back down at his feet, while he petted her green furred head. He took a small treat from his belt and tossed it down to her.

"Jhondryr, jhaeli cos shi...

Well, excuse Jhondryr, she is too protective of me, forgets her manners.

You don't happen to have a companion of your own, do you? Also, tell me of your weapons, your training, your history...your favored enemies. If you don't mind?"

He turned to Luke, who had spoken up, and smiled.

"We shall get to that in a moment, I think."

OOC: Also, Lucus is a Human Ranger, right?

[The Fool]

"Sorry. I think I got a bit too caught up in my work." Luke scratched the back of his head with his free hand, while keeping his other hand outstretched to greet Lucus.

[Araph]

((He's a half-elf, actually.))

Lucus shook Luke's proffered hand and responded to Bael's questions.

"I have no animal companion yet. As for my history, it's probably not nearly as interesting as most of the other adventurers here. Long story made short, I came from the streets of Nio and left to begin a search for an unknown place. Now, let's see... thirty-five years later, I still haven't found it."

He paused and leaned down, holding his hand out for Jhondryr to smell.

"I haven't actually had any formal training with weapons, aside from short lessons from skilled fighters I've met over the years."

Lucus gestured to the unusual shortswords hanging at his belt. Their handle were nearly double the length of normal sword hilts, and the ended in slots that looked as though they fit together.

"These blades are pretty cool, though; they can be snapped together at the ends of the hilts to form a double-bladed sword. Regarding favored enemies, my top enemies are demons. Devils and demons. They're a blight on the world, and their seems to be more of them every year."

He says the last sentence with a grimace.

"What about you? I can see you have a hound as a companion."

Turning to Luke, he voiced a question Luke is no doubt quite familiar with.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's up with the wings? Are you a celestial or something?"

[Dwarmin]

Bael put a hand to his chin. Perhaps this was an 'Urban' ranger. He had heard some stories of them, before. Indeed, he had not noticed the man was a Half-Elf until this moment. His gear was free of the erosion that might have come from long travel overland, but much more battered, suggesting what he missed in exploration, he made up for in desperate fighting.

Jhondryr sniffed hesitantly, and then licked Lucus's hand.

"Those strange weapons of yours certainly seem unwieldy. I'll be interested to see them in action. I prefer the Longbow, of course, otherwise a Guisarme or Longsword and shield. Most of which, my Love built with her woodshaping talents. If you ever find the time, I'm sure she would make some proper Elfcraft for you."

While Bael wasn't wearing his shield or bow, a single edged longblade lay in a polished wooden scabbard on his belt. Of more interest is his armor, which looks like a standard Lamellar cuirass, only instead of metallic scales, it's composed of what looks to be forest leaves that match the color of the season, and gleam subtly like iron. One assumes it would perfectly blend into dark, forested undergrowth.

"My own hunting skills are tailored for slightly more mundane enemies. There are not many Demons in my homeland-Orcs, Aberrants creatures, and Undead on the other hand, abound...

And, I have wondered about the wings myself."

[Skyrunner]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

((Something cruel!))

The dull rumble of a small explosion was heard from the deck. Near the main mast, a small red creature with smaller horns and tiny bat wings, along with a pointed tail appeared. It had a leather pouch tied to its foot.

"Hey, Damned Delivery here. Anyone named Kanesrae Tyritamore? Tyrimore? I can't read the last name. Elf, yellow hair, head band, sword, crushed soul? I've got one package from 333 Corruption Plaza, Dis, Baator. Prepaid and tracked delivery!"